The Man Who Would Be King (film)

The Man Who Would Be King
Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung
Directed by	John Huston
Produced by	John Foreman
Written by	Rudyard Kipling (story) John Huston Gladys Hill
Starring	Sean Connery Michael Caine Christopher Plummer Saeed Jaffrey
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Cinematography	Oswald Morris
Distributed by	USA: Allied Artists Pictures Corporation non-USA: Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	December 18, 1975 (1975-12-18)
Running time	123 min
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Man Who Would Be King is a 1975 film adapted from the Rudyard Kipling short story of the same title. It was adapted and directed by John Huston and starred Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Saeed Jaffrey, and Christopher Plummer as Kipling (giving a name to the short story's anonymous narrator).

The film follows two rogue ex-non-commissioned officers of the Indian Army who set off from late 19th-century British India in search of adventure and end up as kings of Kafiristan. Kipling is believed to have been inspired by the travels of fellow British Imperialist freemason Alexander Burnes during the period of the Great Game between Imperial Russia and the British Empire. Burnes crossed the Hindu Kush twice and wrote a published account of the Kaffirs of Afghanistan. He was known as "Sikunder Burnes" and he and his brother James are still viewed as highly important figures in Indian freemasonry. The hero Danny of The Man Who Would Be King, is like Burnes known as "Sikander", like Burnes a Freemason, visits "Kaffiristan" and like Burnes is a British government employee. None of these things are true of the American Josiah Harlan, who was not British nor a freemason and whose identity with The Man Who Would Be King is a marketing stunt for a book.

Plot

1885: While working as a correspondent at the offices of the Northern Star newspaper, Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) is approached by a ragged, seemingly crazed derelict, who reveals himself to be his old acquaintance Peachy Toliver Carnehan (Michael Caine). Peachy tells Kipling the story of how he and his comrade-in-arms Daniel "Danny" Dravot (Sean Connery) traveled to remote Kafiristan (in modern-day Afghanistan, the province is now known as Nuristan), became gods, and ultimately lost everything.

Three years earlier, the pair of rogues had met Kipling under less than auspicious circumstances-Carnehan was a former Colour sergeant of the Queen's Own Royal Loyal Light Infantry who had pickpocketed Kiplings's Watch but was forced to return it because he was a fellow Freemason -he admits to Kipling to being educated in regard to whiskey, women, waistcoats and bills of lading while Dravot admits to Kipling that he and Carnehan intend to blackmail a rajah while posing as correspondents of the "Northern Star" newspaper {which Kipling futilely responds he is the "Northern Star" Correspondent!}. Kipling alerts British officals of their latest scheme. At a meeting with a colonial official who threathens to deport both the rogues as "undersirables" Carnehan blackmails him by a oblique reference that he did not tell the editor of the Northern Star about the editor's sister and a certain colonial offical! Despite being accomplished gun smugglers, swindlers, fencers of stolen goods, conmen, and blackmailers, both of them are bitter that after fighting to make India part of the Empire {such as fighting in the Khyber Pass under Frederick_Roberts,_1st_Earl_Roberts in the Second Anglo-Afghan War 1879-1880}, they will have little to return home to except porters jobs and pin money tips. Later both men meet Kipling in his office. Feeling that India is too small for men such as themselves-so after having gone and blackmailed the rajah for money to buy guns-they intend to take twenty Martini Henry rifles, help local king overcome his enemies, overthrow him and become rulers of Kafiristan. After signing a contract pledging mutual loyalty and forswearing drink and women until they achieved their grandiose aims, Peachy and Danny set off on an epic overland journey north beyond the Khyber Pass, "travelling by night and avoiding villages", fighting off bandits, blizzards, and avalanches, into the unknown land of Kafiristan (literally "Land of the Infidels").

They chance upon a Gurkha soldier who goes by the name Billy Fish (Saeed Jaffrey), the sole survivor of a mapping expedition several years earlier. Billy speaks English as well as the local tongue, and it is he, acting as translator and interpreter of the customs and manners, who smooths the path of Peachy and Danny as they begin their rise, first offering their services as military advisors, trainers, and war leaders to the chief of the much-raided village of Er-Heb.

Peachy and Danny muster a force to attack the villagers' most-hated enemy, the Bashkai. In their first battle, the natives decide that Danny must be a god when he is unharmed after being struck in the chest by an arrow, but in fact, the arrow was stopped by a bandolier hidden beneath his clothing. As victory follows victory, the defeated are recruited to join the swelling army.

Finally, nobody is left to stand in their way, and they are summoned to the holy city of Sikandergul, where the chief high priest, Kafu Selim, sets up a re-enactment of the arrow incident, to determine whether Danny is a man or a god by seeing whether or not he bleeds.

When Danny flinches, the monks grab him and open his shirt, only to be stopped by Danny's Masonic jewel (given to him for luck by Kipling, a fellow Mason). By coincidence, the symbol on the jewel matches one known only to the highest holy man, the symbol of "Sikander" (Alexander the Great), who had passed through the country thousands of years before and promised to return. The holy men are convinced Danny is the son of Sikander. They hail him as king and lead the two men down to storerooms heaped with treasure that belonged to Sikander, which now belongs to Danny.

As the months pass, Peachy is anxious to leave with the treasure before winter closes the passes (and before the natives learn the truth). Danny is against it, however, and develops delusions of grandeur. First, he suggests that Peachy bow to him like the others. Then, he begins making plans to turn the land into a modern country, to the extent that he envisages eventually meeting Queen Victoria "as an equal". Disgusted, Peachy decides to take as much booty as he can carry on a small mule train, with his old friend's blessing.

Meanwhile, Danny decides to take a wife after seeing the beautiful Roxanne (played by Caine's wife Shakira Caine), despite Peachy's strong warnings. Roxanne, having a superstitious fear that she will burst into flames if she consorts with a god, tries frantically to escape, biting Danny during the wedding ceremony. The bite draws blood, and when everyone sees it, they realize that Danny is human after all.

The angry natives pursue Danny and Peachy. Billy tries buying time by courageously charging the mob singlehandedly with a kukri, but the pair are soon captured. Danny is forced to walk to the middle of a rope bridge over a deep gorge and apologizes to Peachy before the ropes are cut. Peachy is crucified between two pine trees, but he is cut down the next day when he survives the ordeal. Eventually, he makes his way back to India, but his mind has become unhinged by his sufferings. As Peachy finishes his story, he presents Kipling with Danny's head, still wearing its crown, thereby confirming the tale.

Cast

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

Huston had planned to make the film since the 1950s, originally with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart in the roles of Daniel and Peachy. He was unable to get the project off the ground before Bogart died in 1957; Gable followed in 1960. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas were then attached to play the leads, followed by Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. In the 1970s, Huston approached Robert Redford and Paul Newman for the roles. Newman advised Huston that British actors should play the roles, and it was he who recommended Connery and Caine.

The film was shot at Pinewood Studios and at locations in France and Morocco.

Reception

John Simon of New York magazine considered the film to be Huston's best work since The African Queen, 23 years earlier. Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it: "Gloriously old-fashioned in its approach – right down to the characters' politically incorrect attitudes toward anyone who isn't one hundred per cent British – The Man Who Would Be King is pure entertainment in the grand tradition of Gunga Din." Jay Cocks of Time commented "John Huston has been wanting to make this movie for more than 20 years. It was worth the wait."

Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of a possible 4 stars and wrote: "It's been a long time since there's been an escapist entertainment quite this unabashed and thrilling and fun."

Some critics felt that the film was too long, and that Caine had overplayed his part. A review in Variety was critical of the film mostly because of Caine's performance, stating "Whether it was the intention of John Huston or not, the tale of action and adventure is a too-broad comedy, mostly due to the poor performance of Michael Caine."

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards:

• Best Art Direction – Alexander Trauner, Tony Inglis, Peter James
• Best Writing – John Huston, Gladys Hill
• Best Costume Design – Edith Head
• Best Editing – Russell Lloyd

Music

Maurice Jarre scored the film and invited classical Indian musicians to participate in the recording sessions with a traditional European symphony orchestra, blending the musical styles for the melodies, based around the hymn "The Minstrel Boy" (although the lyrics are those of Reginald Heber's "The Son of God Goes Forth to War"), which figures in the plot.

Comparison to the short story

The film is largely faithful to the original story except for the ending, which has the half-insane Carnehan leaving Dravot's head on Kipling's desk. In the original story, Carnehan takes Dravot's head with him; two days later, the unnamed narrator has Carnehan taken to an insane asylum, where he dies of sunstroke. No belongings are found with Carnehan. In the film, the character named "Billy Fish" is a Gurkha soldier, while in the story he is a Kafir chief whose name is approximated as "Billy Fish" by Dravot and Carnehan.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Kipling, Rudyard (2008). The Man Who Would Be King. NuVision Publications. ISBN 978-1-59547-609-8. 

External links

• The Man Who Would Be King at the Internet Movie Database
• The Man Who Would Be King at Rotten Tomatoes
• Photos
• The Man Who Would Be King – starpulse.com