Kim

Kim

Synopsis of Movie

Ah, to be a young, colonial-era British lad with a taste for adventure… Rudyard Kipling’s Kim had been thrilling youthful readers since its first publishing in 1901, but the transition to the screen was almost as harrowing as the adventures in the book itself. Both Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney had been cast in the title role at separate times, but the outbreak of World War II and the post-war instability in India made location shooting impossible. Finally, in 1950, Kim became a movie reality, with a young Dean Stockwell as Kim.

Set in 1880’s India, the movies chronicles the tale of Kim, son of an English diplomat. India is a fascinating place to the restless boy, but he realizes the proper way to see it isn’t from inside a stuffy schoolroom. Disguising himself as a peasant, Kim heads out into the city, making new friends and finding new surprises around every corner.

Out in the marketplace, Kim befriends a holy lama who gives the boy a philosophical lesson or two. The lad also meets a horse thief named Mahbub Ali, who turns out to be a British secret agent. Kim’s life has never been more exciting, but when his new friends get caught up in an attack by Russian soldiers, the real adventure begins.

Filmed partly on location in India, Kim co-starred Paul Lukas and Errol Flynn (Flynn actually got top billing). A boys’ adventure classic, Kim brought Kipling to the big screen in a big way, but all the spectacle and pageantry never overshadowed the novel’s time-tested, basic appeal: that of one free-spirited boy having the time of his life.

Movie Release History

1950 - Kim

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
action/adventure

Movie Studio

MGM-UA

Cast

Mahbub Ali Errol Flynn
Kim Dean Stockwell
Lama Paul Lukas
Colonel Creighton Robert Douglas
Emissary Thomas Gomez
Hurree Chunder Cecil Kellaway
Lurgan Sahib Arnold Moss
Guard Michael Ansara
Conspirator Henry Corden
Old Maharanee Adeline De Walt Reynolds
Hassan Bey Richard Hale
Mr. Fairlee Olaf Hytten
Little Man George Khoury
Dr. Bronson Walter Kingsford
Shadow Frank Lackteen
Young Officer Edgar Lansbury
Laluli Laurette Luez
Sentry Richard Lupino
Conspirator Peter Mamakos
Haikun Donna Martell
Letter Writer Francis McDonald
Wanna Henry Mirelez
Woman with Baby Movita
Foster Mother Jeanette Nolan
Father Victor Reginald Owen
Water Carrier Stanley Price
Servant Rodd Redwing
Abul Frank Richards
Major Ainsley Hayden Rorke
Policeman Mike Tellegen
Russian Roman Toporow
Russian Ivan Triesault

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