Directed by John Huston
Written by John Huston and Gladys Hall from a story by Rudyard Kipling
1972/UK/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime Rental
Daniel Dravot: In any place where they fight, a man who knows how to drill men can always be a King. We shall go to those parts and say to any King we find – “D’you want to vanquish your foes?’ and we will show him how to drill men; for that we know better than anything else. Then we will subvert that King and seize his Throne and establish a Dynasty.
John Huston shows his continued mastery of the craft in this well-acted and written adventure set during the British Raj.
The setting is colonial India. Scoundrels Daniel Dravnot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnahan have finished their service in Her Majesty’s army. They consider that India is “too small” and decide the pickings will be richer in another country. And they have one in mind – Kafiristan – an isolated mountainous land which last saw white men when Alexander the Great came to call.
Danny cooks up a scheme to extort the money needed to purchase 20 rifles and smuggle them to Kafiristan. The pair will use these to train a small army of locals to defeat village after village on their way to see the religious leader of the country.
Danny’s schemes get more and more dangerous. Drunk with power, he makes a few mistakes. Peachy is loyal to his friend throughout. With Saeed Jaffrey as an interpreter/side kick and Christopher Plummer as Rudyard Kipling. The gorgeous Shakira (Mrs. Michael) Caine has a non-speaking part as Sean Connery’s intended bride.
This movie is great fun. There’s plenty of exciting action, the dialogue crackles, and no expense was spared on production values. Sean Connery is particularly good. Recommended.
The Man Who Would Be King was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; and Best Film Editing.
I love this film! Huston’s first choice was Gable & Bogart which would have been interesting, then Newman & Redford which simply wouldn’t work, then he waited for Connery & Caine which was ABSOLUTE PERFECTION! I can’t wait to which this again for the 20th time.
I’m glad that they did it right, with British actors and not to mention the perfect British actors. The dialogue for this one is so good that you need a good actor to do it justice.
Awesome film – such a beautiful piece of cinema. One of the peaks of Connery’s career. He and Caine really click. I love Jaffrey in this film – a genuine character who gets to be funny, rather than just a servant. Never forgotten the ending, either.
Do you know the idea of the distinction between a ‘film’ and a ‘movie’? A film is meant primarily as a work of art, or at least a cinematic style – a movie is something you eat popcorn to. This works as both.
It’s also a coruscating metaphor for imperialism – at first, they’re just in it for the loot, and then the power begins to go to their heads. Sounds familiar lol
Yeah, Sean Connery even says that being an Englishman is the next best thing to being a God. What a time it was! Most of the filmography of John Ford = works of art you can eat popcorn to.
This is very much a “Boy’s Own Adventure” type of film, except for the ending. It is great fun, though. Connery is great, but it’s Caine’s moments at the end that seem to resonate most with me.
I read that Caine’s performance was panned at the time but I thought it was as good as Connery’s.
One of my all-time favourite movies. I’ve watched it so many times. John Huston was incredibly lucky that he didn’t get to make this movie earlier.
What a long and great career Huston had!