No little men

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2017)

I was surprised to read that when the film was first released some critics thought that Michael Caine infused too much humour into "The Man Who Would be King". However, there were others who thought the whole thing was simply a brilliant return to form by director John Huston. I'm with them.
The plot, based on Rudyard Kipling's short story, has two ex-sergeants of the Indian Army, Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), setting off from British India in the late 19th-century to seek their fortune in Kafiristan.
"We are not little men", Carnehan tells Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) before setting off on their quest, and this isn't a little movie; it has size to spare.
Of course these days, 50 years later, "The Man Who Would be King" is as politically incorrect as they come; it probably was in 1975 when Huston made it, but not so much in 1888 when Rudyard Kipling wrote the story and the British Raj still ruled.
However, for those who can see it as the pure adventure it was intended to be, it is a unique experience. It has similarities with "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Both films feature two buddies pushing their luck outside the law, but who have each other's backs despite the occasional disagreement.
As for Caine's comedy? Peachy is an irrepressible cockney who can see the irony in the worst situation; he keeps things in perspective even when Danny overreaches himself. The critics who didn't appreciate the light touch Caine brought to the film couldn't have read the Kipling story - much of the dialogue and that grandiose turn of phrase is sourced directly from there.
Huston added a lot of business to the story. It's as though Kipling composed the broad notes of the symphony, but Huston added the orchestral colour.
And the music? Maurice Jarre's score blends orchestral and Eastern instruments; at once mysterious, intimate and triumphant. He also incorporated the hymn "The Son of God Goes Forth to War" set to the tune of "The Minstrel Boy", which Peachy actually sings at the very end of Kipling's short story. It was another inspired touch in an inspired movie.
Huston made more than his fair share of masterpieces including "The Man Who Would be King". He could also write, he could act, he could be a tyrant and he could be a charmer; one thing's for sure though, he was not a little man.