This is a light hearted retelling of a Rudyard Kipling novel. It is about the trials and tribulations of three, rather incorrigible, privates. Privates Ackroyd, Sykes and Malloy are described as the Queen's Hard Bargain, as they get drunk, get in to fights and generally do all the things that a soldier shouldn't but very often does. Of course, as this is a Kipling story, at the end of the day, the incorrigible soldiers are not that incorrigible at all. They buckle under when the going gets tough and ultimately help to save the day. The storyline is actually not that fanciful and the shots of the marching soldiers and camps is extremely evocative. There are few films being made these days who can afford the quantity of extras that this film had.

This is actually quite an unusual topic for Hollywood to make a film about. The Kipling connection almost certainly has something to do with the making of this film. Although he was regarded as the 'Bard of Empire' his time spent in America made his works equally popular on that side of the Atlantic.

Do not expect any meaningful imperial history to come your way with this film, but sit back, enjoy the spectacle and have some fun.