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Directed by George Stevens and inspired by Rudyard Kipling's poem, Gunga Din is the story of three indomitable British soldiers who find themselves at the center of a battle against the bloodthirsty Thuggee cult. Captured and enslaved with an aspiring water boy (the title character), the men endanger their lives to thwart an ambush of the British army coming to rescue them. Gunga Din is a rousing adventure that exalts camaraderie among men. The stalwarts are played by Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Oscar-winner Victor McLaglen (The Informer, The Quiet Man). The men spend half their time quarreling and the other half working against a common enemy -- but it's a three-way bromance, to be sure. Grant and McLaglen even spend half the movie trying to trick Fairbanks, whose character is leaving the army to get married, back into service. Joan Fontaine has the thankless role of Fairbanks' betrothed, the Yoko threatening to break up the band.

My favorite scene in Gunga Din is one that beautifully captures its spirit of camaraderie. McLaglen and Fairbanks have just been captured and imprisoned with Grant, who got them all into this mess. McLaglen and Grant get into a shouting match while the weary Fairbanks puts his head in his hands and calmly declares, “You displease me greatly and I ignore the both of you.” But then McLaglen notices the bloody lashes on Grant’s back, and on the turn of a dime, both McLaglen and Fairbanks are standing at Grant’s side, ready to tear the Thuggees limb from limb. These men have their ups and downs, but the bottom line is that they’ll die for each other.

The battle scenes are done in the spirit of matinee fun, well orchestrated by Stevens and accompanied by a swashbuckling score by Alfred Newman. I also enjoy the spooky scenes inside the Thuggee temple, where the cult’s leader (Eduardo Ciannelli), with shadow of flame dancing around him, commands his Kali worshipers to “kill, kill, kill!” But my favorite parts of Gunga Din are the character-based comic ones. Highlights include Grant and McLaglen’s first attempt to draft Fairbanks back into service by poisoning his replacement, McLaglen’s interactions with his pet elephant Annie, and when Grant and McLaglen catch Fairbanks draped with curtains while shopping with his bride-to-be.

Oscar nomination: Best Cinematography (Joseph H. August)