The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

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 | 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
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		(story)

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

Production Design by
Alexandre Trauner		(as Alexander Trauner)

Art Direction by
Tony Inglis

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

Production Management
Mohamed Abbazi	....	production manager: Morocco
David Anderson	....	production manager
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)
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)

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

Visual Effects by
Wally Veevers	....	optical effects
Albert Whitlock	....	matte artist

Stunts
M. James Arnett	....	stunt coordinator (as James Arnett)
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Maurice Arnold	....	camera assistant
Dennis Frazer	....	key grip
Alex Thomson	....	cameraman: second unit
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)

Casting Department
Boaty Boatright	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	wardrobe designer
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

• Allied Artists Pictures
• Devon/Persky-Bright
• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Allied Artists Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1976) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1976) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• 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
• Lorimar Pictures

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) | 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, who played the high priest Kafu-Selim, was 103 years old when he made his first and only film appearance. When he saw some of the footage he declared that now he would live on forever.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The avalanche footage was clearly shot at a ski area, as many ski tracks can be seen as the avalanche falls. Such tracks would be highly unlikely high in the Hindu Kush.

Quotes:

Daniel Dravot: Peachy, I'm heartily ashamed for gettin' you killed instead of going home rich like you deserved to, on account of me bein' so bleedin' high and bloody mighty. Can you forgive me?
Peachy Carnehan: That I can and that I do, Danny, free and full and without let or hindrance.
Daniel Dravot: Everything's all right then.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in INRI (2009)

Adventure! Excitement! Exotic Locales! You too can experience these in the Queen's Army!

My friend threw this DVD at my head one night while we were arguing about film. I said all adventure movies left me feeling a little hollow - adventure movies tended to abandon story, really, in favor of plot (important distinction: stories are interesting, plots boring; consequently a film with a story to tell is better than a movie with a plot to move forward). I think he hurled the disc at me out of pure frustration with my point of view. In doing so, he also won the argument.

The Man Who Would Be King is the single greatest adventure film I've ever seen. It's a story - It's a tale - It's not a series of plot developments (to me, to go further with this plot/story dichotomy, a plot is mechanical (and sometimes that machine is well-oiled) while a story is organic and feels less contrived (though the story, as organic matter sometimes is, can be rotten)). It's a very good story at that. The Man Who Would Be King (I believe as a result of its derivation from Kipling) has a depth and development of character that is foreign to most adventure tales. Few films are as rousing as this and few films that are this rousing have nearly as much to say about mankind.

John Huston, of course, is a master of instilling greatness into traditionally tedious genres. He transformed the mystery, the western, the swashbuckler. Why not the adventure story too? As evidenced in The Maltese Falcon and Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Huston can take what might wind up a plot and transform it into a story. He understands that characters - human, conflicted, devious characters - are essential to creating genre pictures that transcend their genre. Without Huston, this film would have undoubtedly faltered; his steady and determined hand guides this film from the hazards of superficiality without sacrificing entertainment and adventure.

He does not create a great film single-handedly though, as Connery and Caine, who both give tremendous performances, bestow upon Peachy and Daniel immense likability despite their scoundrel airs. Caine proves again why he may be the greatest living British actor and Connery reminds us that there's more to him than 007.

As I said, this is one of the greatest adventure tales brought to the screen. Though some may disagree, in particular my friend who threw the DVD at my head, it's better than any of the late 30s swashbucklers and better than most shoot-em-ups made since.