KIM (MGM 1950) Warner Home Video

In the early 1950’s, MGM embarked upon an aggressive resurrection of the costume drama – many based on great literary masterworks from the past. Metro’s verve for such stylishly produced drama was only partly predicated on the fact that with the war over, they could once more indulge in the heady period pictures that had been all the rage throughout the early to mid-1930’s. Moreover, L.B. Mayer, about to find himself on the outside looking in, thanks to a nasty rift with New York’s Loewe’s Incorporated boss, Nick Schenck, approved of the grand and gargantuan stylized picture-making that had made MGM the envy of the world before – and even during the war years. But at war’s end, the market had shifted away from such fluff, and Mayer, paying too much attention to his personal life in lieu of managing the studio with his iron fist, had seen a downturn in profits, precisely at a juncture when such loss of capital could – and would not be tolerated. Victor Saville’s Kim (1950) was a picture MGM would have produced on a grand scale during Irving Thalberg’s reign; a lavish recreation of Rudyard Kipling’s celebrated literary classic. At the start of the fifties, it emerged as just another ‘par for the course’ offering from Metro, and not altogether successful, in that it cast one-time robust leading man, Errol Flynn as the titular hero; Flynn, having aged rather badly, thanks to his hedonist lifestyle. Kipling’s original authorship – a children’s swashbuckler set against the political unrest between Russian/British influences in Central Asia - had first been serialized in McClure’s Magazine in 1900. Ironically, the tale had never been told on film until MGM acquired the rights.

The screenplay by Helen Deutsch, Leon Gordon and Richard Schayer is a loose revamp of the novel with considerable artistic license applied along the way. Shot partly on location in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India, Kim also represents one of MGM’s last efforts to delve into their creative past in order to revitalize their future. The studio’s loss of revenue at the start of the new decade was only partly to be blamed on the advent of television. The rest fell squarely on Mayer’s inability to look beyond its past. By wars end, L.B. Mayer was spending far too much time indulge his new passion – horse racing – leaving the daily operations, more or less, to run themselves. Even if the old-time mogul's edict for glamorous entertainment endured, it increasingly fell out of touch with the changing times and tastes. In this context, Kim is decidedly a relic. The story concerns Kimball O’Hara (Dean Stockwell), the orphan of Sahib – an Irish soldier. Kim’s days are spent begging for food and running small errands for Mahbub Ali – the Red Beard (Errol Flynn). Mahbub is a horse trader and native operative for the British Secret Service. On his beggary through the streets of Lahore, Kim befriends a Tibetan Lama (Paul Lukas) who is on a quest for eternal peace. Becoming a disciple of the Lama, Kim accidentally learns military secrets. He is seconded into service for the British, running dispatches back and forth to Colonel Creighton (Robert Douglas).

By a gracious whim of fate, Kim is recognized on one of these exchanges by his late father’s regimental chaplain, Father Victor (Reginald Owen) who sends the boy away to be formally educated in Lucknow. After three years, Kim is given an appointment by the British consulate to partake in the espionage and intrigues between the British and the Russians. Next, Kim reunites with the Lama for a trip deep into the Himalayas where spying and spiritual awakening make for very strange bedfellows. The Lama unwittingly falls prey to Russian intelligence and Kim is forced to obtain top secret papers from the Russians to aid the British in their conquest of the region. In the novel, a character named Babu slyly befriends the Russians to provide Kim with the necessary cover to escape. In the film, Flynn’s Mahbub assumes this role – thus ensuring the actor a bigger part than the character can necessarily afford. Kim and the Lama escape persecution and Mahbub, discovering the River of the Arrow, achieves spiritual enlightenment. The ending of the film remains as ambiguous as it was in Kipling’s novel. At a crossroads between materialism and spiritual enlightenment, which will Kim ultimately choose?

By 1950, Errol Flynn had departed Warner Bros. the studio that had galvanized his iconography as a swashbuckling lady’s man. For many unfamiliar with Kipling’s novel, the expectation for more of the same from the actor must have yielded considerable disappointment. Although Flynn delivers a solid ‘star’ performance (with added scenes specifically written to take advantage of his particular brand of machismo) – Mahbub is, by no means, the central driving force of this narrative. Furthermore, there is very little of the actor’s trademark carousing and devil-may-care bombast on display. Yes, the story stands on its own as compelling entertainment of the exotic ‘Arabian Nights’ ilk that once proved highly popular with audiences. However, in the final analysis, Kim is an anomaly in Flynn’s body of work – like his efforts in The Prince and The Pauper (1937) – he remains an ever-present addition in a plot that increasingly gets away from him at almost every opportunity.

Warner Home Video’s DVD is adequate. Colors are mostly rich and bold, though just a tad less refined. Film grain seems exaggerated, and, there are a few rare instances of Technicolor mis-registration evident throughout. Contrast is bang on. Blacks are deep and solid. Whites are generally clean. Age-related artifacts are present, but do not distract. The audio is Dolby Digital 1.0 mono as originally recorded and presented at an adequate listening level. There are NO extras. Bottom line: for Flynn completionists only.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

3

VIDEO/AUDIO

3.5

EXTRAS

0