Drawing title and inspiration from Rudyard Kipling's 1892 ode to a courageous water bearer, RKO's production of Gunga Din (1939) would be the studio's costliest project at that point in its history. Although RKO's executives may have sweated the cost overruns like the Indian desert heat, this semi-comic adventure tale would become one of their most profitable efforts, and stands as one of the most entertaining action films to ever come out of Hollywood. In the mid-30s, adventure films set in Colonial India such as Clive of India (1935) and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) had proven to be tremendous draws. An independent producer named Edward Small found it worth expending $5000 to Kipling's widow for the film rights to his poem, and $750 a week to William Faulkner to flesh it into a screenplay. RKO ultimately bought the property outright from Small, and Faulkner's efforts were handed to Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht for reworking. While the assignment to direct Gunga Din had originally been handed to Howard Hawks, the RKO brass looked askance at the production delays plaguing Hawks' Bringing Up Baby (1938) and determined that George Stevens would be more likely to bring the picture in on time. The move essentially backfired, as Stevens proved to be no less deliberate, and insistent on performing location shooting in the deserts of Lone Pine, California, where temperatures topping 115 degrees took a toll on cast and crew. The performances in Gunga Din are memorable across the board, with Jaffe engaging as the noble, self-sacrificing bhisti, and Eduardo Ciannelli striking properly chilling tones of menace as the spiritual leader of the Thuggee. The three principals haul it all on their shoulders via their macho byplay. The political correctness of Gunga Din has been challenged as far back as its original premiere, when the film had been banned from distribution in India. But as a pure adventurous lark, Gunga Din holds up as well now as then, and retains its place amongst the top films of 1939, Hollywood's greatest year.