Kim (1950 film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kim |
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1950 Theatrical Poster
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| Directed by | Victor Saville |
| Produced by | Leon Gordon |
| Written by | Helen Deutsch Leon Gordon Richard Schayer |
| Starring | Errol Flynn Dean Stockwell Paul Lukas |
| Music by | André Previn |
| Cinematography | William V. Skall |
| Editing by | George Boemler |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | December 7, 1950 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,049,000 |
| Money made | $5,348,000 |
Kim is a 1950 adventure film made in Technicolor by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Victor Saville and produced by Leon Gordon from a screenplay by Helen Deutsch, Leon Gordon and Richard Schayer, based on the classic 1901 novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling.
The film starred Errol Flynn, Dean Stockwell, and Paul Lukas. The music score was by André Previn. The film was shot on location in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India, as well as the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California, due to its resemblance to the Khyber Pass. Of particular interest is the location filming at La Martiniere College in Lucknow.
Plot
Kim (Dean Stockwell), an orphan boy in 1885 India during the British Raj, works at times for his friend Mahbub Ali (Errol Flynn), a roguish horse trader who is also a secret agent for the British. Mahbub Ali becomes aware of a Russian-backed plot to instigate a rebellion.
Meanwhile, Kim encounters an elderly Buddhist lama (Paul Lukas) from Tibet, who is on a quest to find the "River of the Arrow", whose waters will cleanse him spiritually. Mahbub Ali has the young boy become the kindly priest's "chela" or disciple so that he can deliver a message to Colonel Creighton (Robert Douglas), Mahbub Ali's superior. On the journey along the Grand Trunk Road, the two travelers grow to love each other. Kim learns to beg passersby for coins.
One day, British soldiers set up camp. Kim notices that their regimental flag depicts a red bull on a green field, which matches a prophecy left him by his now-deceased father, so he sneaks into the encampment and is accosted by a sentry. During a scuffle, his captors discover documents Kim possesses which show that he is actually the son of Kimball O'Hara, an Irish soldier who had served in the regiment. The lama decides that Kim should live among his own kind to be educated (despite the boy's resistance) and pays for his tuition at the finest boarding school in India. The boy chafes at the school's many restrictions, but eventually settles down.
Mahbub Ali convinces Colonel Creighton, that the boy has the potential to become a wonderful spy; to that end, Kim receives extra training from the shopkeeper Lurgan (Arnold Moss) during the first part of his summer vacation in how to disguise himself as a native Buddhist chela, make careful observations, and remember coded messages.
While traveling in disguise, Kim overhears a plot to assassinate Mahbub Ali and warns him, saving his life. He is then reunited with his lama and sent to help Hurree Chunder (Cecil Kellaway) keep an eye on two Russian spies posing as surveyors. When he finds Chunder murdered, Kim continues the mission by persuading the Russians to hire him as their servant. He is eventually unmasked and the lama is beaten up. When news of Chunder's death reaches the British, Mahbub Ali is sent to take his place. He rescues Kim and takes charge of the interlopers' papers, but when a Russian expeditionary force approaches, the spies attempt to overpower him and he is forced to kill them; then he and Kim start a rockslide which buries the Russian force. In the end, the injured lama finds his river (at least in his own mind), stumbles to it, and dies contentedly, after which Kim and Mahbub Ali ride off together.
Cast
- Errol Flynn as Mahbub Ali, the Red Beard
- Dean Stockwell as Kim
- Paul Lukas as Lama
- Robert Douglas as Colonel Creighton
- Thomas Gomez as Emissary
- Cecil Kellaway as Hurree Chunder
- Arnold Moss as Lurgan Sahib
- Reginald Owen as Father Victor
- Laurette Luez as Laluli
- Richard Hale as Hassan Bey
- Roman Toporow as The Russian
- Ivan Triesault as The other Russian
Radio adaptation
Kim was presented on Lux Radio Theatre on February 18, 1952. The one-hour adaptation featured Errol Flynn and Dean Stockwell in their roles from the film.
