Though they are a vanishing breed, there are still those around here who pitch pennies in the spring, walk through puddles instead of around them, and go to film adaptations of Rudyard Kipling. They will enjoy "Kim" tremendously.

The movie keeps fairly close to Kipling's original plot. Kim is the orphaned son of a British officer in India, who roams around as an Indian boy "because they send white boys to school." As the helper of a traveling Lama, Kim becomes involved in the Great Game: Injuh. On the other team in the Great Game are the Russians, who sneak around fomenting anti-British revolts. Kim and his buddy, Errol Flynn, manage to rack up quite a few points for our side; Kim by spying and carrying messages, and Flynn by knifing, shooting, and rolling rocks down on people.

Dean Stockwell is Kim, the Little Friend of All the World. When he is saucy and conniving, he is almost convincing. But when he is serious, as in the mawkish Wheel-of-Life discussions with his Lama, he becomes a male Margaret O'Brien. In addition to his point-scoring activities, Errol Flynn also swings through a few harems as a red-bearded horse trader seeking recreation.

Kim is too Hollywood to be either a tense movie or a funny one. But there are still elephants and Lamas and red-jacketed British soldiers playing "John Peel," as they march through the dust; and our side wins in the end. There is still a bit of the call-of-Injuh flavor--enough to make the movie fun if you're in the mood.