a rousing adventure form director george stevens ( before he would turn to more serious fare such a 1948 i remember mama and 1956 giant ) that set the standard for all future action yarn to follow . loosely base on rudyard kipling poem of the same and gunga din follow the journey of three military officer in 19th century india . the noble trio must brave a series of battle and other various danger include a thuggee cult and a temple full of gold . their screen adventure remain thrill even after more than six decade and and have lend inspiration to nearly everything from the cliffhanger inspire space opera star war ( 1977 ) to the similarly plotted raider of the lose arc ( 1981 ) . the big reason for the picture success and however and be the pitch perfect performance by the film trio of extremely charismatic actor . victor mclaglen have rarely be well a the strap tough guy and cary grant be the ultimate comic foil and and douglas fairbanks and jr be as suave a swashbuckling hero a imaginable perhaps even more so than rival errol flynn . the chemistry between the three actor simply could not be improve upon and and such warm and believable comradely be precisely what miss from most modern action picture and they receive tremendous support from the marvelous sam jaffe and who overcome the obvious physical miscasting and make the title character a beacon of humane sweetness and quiet strength . a huge hit in it day ( the film be reportedly the second big money maker of 1939 behind the outrageously successful go with the wind ) and and it remain arguably the best film of it kind .