The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Cast: Sean Connery (Daniel Dravot), Michael Caine (Peachy Carnehan), Christopher Plummer (Rudyard Kipling), Saeed Jaffrey (Billy Fish)

Dircetor: John Houston

Genre: Adventure



This was a superb story adding comedy to reality in a not so expected way. In the end, this movie was not the least bit disappointing. Originally, John Huston wanted to cast Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant as the two leading roles but due to uncontrollable circumstances (they both died and went to wherever), Houston cast Sean Connery and Michael Caine as the two leading roles. They both played off each other so perfectly that they could have paired up as a comedy team- similar to Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau but in a different caliber. To top this brilliancy, the whole bloody thing was directed by John Huston who has some big films under his belt (Maltese Falcon, Asphalt Jungle, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and African Queen- to name a few). The story line is from the short story of the same title by Rudyard Kipling. Incidentally, Christopher Plummer plays Rudyard Kipling in the movie- another brilliant addition to the film and a favorite actor of mine.
Two ex-British soldiers in India, Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnahan, take it upon themselves to leave India and travel to the far off land of Kafiristan in order to become kings of their own custom. They sign a contract between themselves with Kipling as their witness that they will not fail in their mission as Alexander the Great did not fail in his similar mission. Until they make Kafiristan theirs regime and destroy whatever enemies it may have, they will not so much as look upon a woman until they accomplish their goal.
Luck turns to their side as they travel through harsh conditions to reach this far off country. They win the favor of the natives quickly. Daniel is made a divine ruler due to his bravery and ability to fight off their enemies. They also earn the awe of the natives once they see one of the officer’s rifles. However, the high priest of the native god is not so certain of the two and tests Daniel’s “divine nature” by attempting to kill him.
While testing Daniel’s divinity, as luck would have it, the high priest catches a glimpse of the freemasonic emblem Daniel wears and recognizes it as the secret emblem of the god. This saves Daniel’s skin and is declared to be the long awaited son of their first divine king, Alexander the Great. As Daniel sits high and mighty on his throne, luck eventually turns on him when he chooses a wife. How life tends to repeat its habits!
This was a very entertaining flick; however, there are two scenes I found objectionable. When the two are offered gifts, the leader of the Kafiristan people offers his sons to the soldiers as an alternative to his daughters as gifts- if you catch my drift. When Peachy expresses his disgust for such an offer, Daniel rebukes him by saying their “culture must be respected.” Another seen shows the backside of a woman who tries to offer herself to Peachy. Thankfully, he refuses her in honor of the contract. Despite this, the film is well done and the cast is extremely enjoyable. The plot is easy to follow. The film almost seemed like a political satire of sorts but I will leave that up to the audience.