Did anyone else wonder whether the name of Newton's character, "Bill Sykes" was an homage to Newton's magnificent portrayal of the thief & murdered "Bill Sikes" in "Oliver Twist?"
WIthout reading Kipling's original, of course, one can't tell whether it was just an amazing coincidence or not.
All the names were changed (for whatever reason) so it's definitely possible.
John Learoyd becomes Archibald Ackroyd
Terence Mulvaney becomes Dennis Malloy
Stanley Ortheris becomes Bill Sykes
Although it seems the characters are a bit different and jumbled up (Mulvaney was the leader, so his replacement would actually be Ackroyd).
Ortheris definitely has the biggest name change so it seems plausible it was a nod to his role in Oliver Twist.