Kim, an orphan boy in 1885 India during the British Raj, works at times for his friend Mahbub Ali, 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 Buddhistlama 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, 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 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 during the first part of his summer vacation in how to make careful observations and remember coded messages. Later, Kim saves the life of Mahbub Ali. He is then reunited with his lama and sent to help Hurree Chunder 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 is forced to kill the Russians. In the end, the injured lama finds his river, stumbles to it, and dies contentedly.
MGM originally announced the film in 1938 as a vehicle for Freddie Bartholomew and Robert Taylor but World War II saw this put on hold. In 1942 it was reactivated to star Mickey Rooney, Conrad Veidt and Basil Rathbone, from a script by Leon Gordon and produced by Victor Saville. However this was postponed out of fear of offending Indians and also war-time allies the Russians, who were the villains.
Development
In 1948 the Indian government approved the film and the Cold War meant it was permissible to have Russian villains. In January 1949 the project was reactivated as a vehicle for MGM's child star Dean Stockwell. Errol Flynn was signed in September. Paul Lukas and Flynn went to India but all scenes involving Dean Stockwell were shot in Hollywood. Flynn left for India in November after attending a Royal screening of That Forsyte Woman in London.
Shooting
Locations used in the film included La Martiniere Lucknow in Lucknow, the horse market at the Kashmir Gates, Sirala, and the Himalayan foothills and the Khyber Pass. Doubles were used for Dean Stockwell and the characters of Huree Babu, Creighton Sahib and Lurgan Sahib. The unit returned to MGM in January 1950 to shoot the rest of the movie on the backlot.
Reception
Box office
The movie was successful at the box office: according to MGM records the movie earned $2,896,000 in the US and Canada and $2,465,000 overseas, making it one of the studio's most popular films of the year. It was one of the most popular films at the French box office in 1951, with admissions of 2,514,860. According to Filmink magazine this was "the biggest gross of any Flynn movie during its initial release. Clearly in the right role and the right movie he remained a potent box office draw. " It made an overall profit of $1,064,000.
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.
