The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

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

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 | Ex Soldier | Rifle | Soldier

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nadia Atbib	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Yvonne Ocampo	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Gurmuks Singh	...	Sikh Soldier (uncredited)
Kimat Singh	...	Sikh Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
John Huston		(screenplay) and
Gladys Hill		(screenplay)
Rudyard Kipling		(based on the story by)

Produced by
John Foreman	....	producer
William Hill	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Oswald Morris		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Russell Lloyd

Casting by
Boaty Boatwright

Production Design by
Alexandre Trauner		(as Alexander Trauner)

Art Direction by
Tony Inglis

Costume Design by
Edith Head		(wardrobe designed by)

Makeup Department
George Frost	....	makeup artist
Patricia McDermott	....	hairdresser (as Pat McDermott)

Production Management
Mohamed Abbazi	....	production manager: Moroccan Unit
David C. Anderson	....	production manager (as David Anderson)
Malcolm J. Christopher	....	production manager (as Malcolm Christopher)
Robin Douet	....	production manager
Ted Lloyd	....	production supervisor
Eva Monley	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Batt	....	first assistant director
Chris Carreras	....	second assistant director (as Christopher Carreras)
Michel Cheyko	....	second assistant director
Michael D. Moore	....	second unit director (as Michael Moore)

Art Department
Peter James	....	set dresser
Syd Nightingale	....	construction manager (as Sidney Nightingale)
Ron Quelch	....	production buyer (as Ronald Quelch)
Jack Stephens	....	assistant art director
Giulio Srubek Tomassy	....	sculptor
Jack Towns	....	property master
John Chisholm	....	props (uncredited)
Tom Jung	....	poster artist (uncredited)
Tom Jung	....	poster designer (uncredited)
Chris Seddon	....	drapesman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound recordist (as Basil Fenton Smith)
Leslie Hodgson	....	sound editor (as Les Hodgson)
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist
Terry Sharratt	....	boom operator (as Terence Sharratt)
Graham V. Hartstone	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Richard Parker	....	special effects (as Dick Parker)

Visual Effects by
Wally Veevers	....	optical effects
Albert Whitlock	....	matte artist
Doug Ferris	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
M. James Arnett	....	stunt coordinator (as James Arnett)
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
William H. Burton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Simmons	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Maurice Arnold	....	camera assistant
Dennis Frazer	....	key grip
Alex Thomson	....	second unit cameraman
John Tythe	....	chief electrician
Eric Van Haren Noman	....	camera operator (as Eric Van Harem-Noman)
Kathy Fields	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Dennis Fraser	....	grip (uncredited)
John Golding	....	focus puller: second unit (uncredited)
Rexford L. Metz	....	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Paul Vachon	....	wardrobe master
John Wilson-Apperson	....	wardrobe supervisor (as John Wilson Apperson)

Editorial Department
Eunice Beharrell	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Maurice Jarre	....	conductor
Herbert W. Spencer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Jacques Cruchet	....	transport manager

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity
Barbara Allen	....	production secretary
Latifa Irassi	....	production secretary: Moroccan Unit
M. Ram-Dani	....	liaison: Moroccan Unit
Bob Simmons	....	master of horse
Tony Williams	....	location liaison
Jim Huber	....	stand-in: Michael Caine (uncredited)
Annabelle King	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Emanuel L. Wolf	....	presenter (uncredited)

Thanks
His Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco	....	the producers thank for the co-operation given in the making of this picture (as H.M. King Hassan II of Morocco)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (as Columbia A Division of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.)
• Devon/Persky-Bright (as A Persky-Bright / Devon Feature)
• Allied Artists Pictures (uncredited)

Distributors

• Allied Artists Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lorimar Pictures (1975) (worldwide) (all media)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1976) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1976) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
• Sony Pictures (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Allied Artists Pictures (video)
• CBS/Fox (USA) (laserdisc)
• Columbia Pictures
• Warner Bros. Pictures (????) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Royal Service Company  services by
• Moroccan Government  the producers thank for the co-operation given in the making of this picture (as the Moroccan Government)

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) (passed with cuts) | Argentina:Atp | UK:PG (tv rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) (1992) (2002) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

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: When Peachy and Danny travel with the caravan into the Khyber Pass, all of the camels are African (Arabian) dromedaries, rather than Asian (Bactrian) beasts, which would have been used on the Central Asian trade routes. This however is due to the fact (as acknowledged in end-credits) that the film was shot at location in Morocco (in westernmost Africa) not in Pakistan/Afghanistan where these events supposed to have taken place.

Quotes:

Daniel Dravot:You have our permission to bugger off!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Farscape: Jeremiah Crichton (#1.14)" (1999)

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.