The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

John Huston (screenplay) and
Gladys Hill (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Adventure in all its glory!

Plot:

Two British soldiers in India decide to resign from the Army and set themselves up as deities in Kafiristan--a land where no white man has set foot since Alexander.

Plot Keywords:

India | King | Soldier | Treasure | Friendship

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Daniel Dravot
Michael Caine	...	Peachy Carnehan
Christopher Plummer	...	Rudyard Kipling
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Billy Fish
Doghmi Larbi	...	Ootah
Jack May	...	District Commissioner
Karroom Ben Bouih	...	Kafu Selim
Mohammad Shamsi	...	Babu
Albert Moses	...	Ghulam
Paul Antrim	...	Mulvaney
Graham Acres	...	Officer
The Blue Dancers of Goulamine	...	Dancers
Shakira Caine	...	Roxanne

Also Known As:

Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Company:

Allied Artists Pictures

Trivia:

Karroom Ben Bouih (High Priest Kafu Selim) was the night watchman of an olive orchard near the filming location. He was hired after John Huston accidentally met him, and told to come to the set the following day. After he fell asleep a few times during filming, it was discovered that he had still kept his night watchman job. Huston had to explain to him that he didn't need that job any more - the film company would pay him enough that he could sleep at night.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In Kipling's office at the beginning of the film, Peachy states that according to Herodotus (pronounced "Harry-odotus"), Alexander the Great defeated King Oxyartes and took Roxanna as his wife. Herodotus actually died about 70 years before Alexander was born, thus making him unable to recount facts about Alexander's life history.

Quotes:

Daniel Dravot: The more tribes, the more they'll fight, and the better for us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Call It Magic (1975)

Unforgettable.

The greatest "buddy film" of all time. What makes this so? First off, casting two real life friends, Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Second, all other "buddy films" are simply comedies. And while the Man Who Would Be King has some laughs in it, and Connery and Caine bounce off of each other almost as good as Abbott and Costello, the story itself is a drama. And what a drama it is. Two English soldiers set out to be the rulers of a country, but can anyone who was a grunt one day, and a king the next, become a King without getting an inflated ego? The answer is no and that becomes the ultimate test for these two friends. Terrific performances by Caine, Connery and even Christopher Plummer, who gives a brief, but good performance as Rudyard Kipling, the man who wrote the short story this film was based on. This film features perhaps the greatest ending to a movie ever made. You will never forget it, and you will wish that you had a friendship as strong as these two individuals.