This happy-go-luck 1939 military swashbuckler, based rather loosely on Rudyard Kipling's memorable poem as well as his novel "Soldiers Three," qualifies as first-rate entertainment about the British Imperial Army in India in the 1880s. Cary Grant delivers more knock-about blows with his knuckled-up fists than he did in all of his movies put together. Set in faraway India, this six-fisted yarn dwells on the exploits of three rugged British sergeants and their native water bearer Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe) who contend with a bloodthirsty cult of murderous Indians called the Thuggee. Sergeant Archibald Cutter (Cary Grant of "The Last Outpost"), Sergeant MacChesney (Oscar-winner Victor McLaglen of "The Informer"), and Sergeant Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. of "The Dawn Patrol"), are a competitive trio of hard-drinking, hard-brawling, and fun-loving Alpha males whose years of frolic are about to become history because Ballantine plans to marry Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine) and enter the tea business. Naturally, Cutter and MacChesney drum up assorted schemes to derail Ballentine's plans. When their superiors order them back into action with Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham (Robert Coote of "The Sheik Steps Out"), Cutter and MacChesney drug Higginbotham so that he cannot accompany them and Ballantine has to replace him. Half of the fun here is watching the principals trying to outwit each other without hating themselves. Director George Stevens celebrates the spirit of adventure in grand style and scope as our heroes tangle with an army of Thuggees. Lenser Joseph H. August received an Oscar nomination for his outstanding black & white cinematography.
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positive