The Man Who Would Be King

Plot synopsis:
In 1885, while working as a correspondent at the offices of the Northern Star newspaper in India, Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) is approached by a ragged, seemingly crazed derelict, who reveals himself to be his old acquaintance Peachey 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, Dravot and Carnehan had met Kipling under less than auspicious circumstances; Carnehan, a former Colour sergeant of the Queen's Own Royal Loyal Light Infantry, pickpocketed Kiplings's pocketwatch but was forced to return it as he was a fellow Freemason. Carnehan claims to be an expert in "whiskey, women, waistcoats and bills of fare." Both Dravot and Carnehan are in the process of blackmailing a local Rajah by posing as newspaper correspondents of "The Northern Star" newspaper-which outrages the real correspondent (Kipling). In order to save their lives, Kipling has the local district commissioner detain both Dravot and Carnehan - who obliquely blackmail the commissioner himself.
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 British Empire, they will have little to return home to except dead-end jobs. Both Dravot and Carnehan turn up at Kipling's office and explain their biggest gamble yet: feeling that India is too small for men such as themselves, they intend to travel to Kafiristan, a small and remote country in order to help a local king overcome his enemies, overthrow him, and become "gods"/rulers themselves before stealing various riches and returning to England in triumph. After signing a contract pledging mutual loyalty and forswearing drink and women until they achieved their grandiose aims, Peachy and Danny (taking along twenty Martini Henry rifles) set off on an epic overland journey north beyond the Khyber Pass. Kipling, after attempting to dissuade the men, gives Dravot his masonic emblem as a token of brotherhood. Over the next few weeks, Dravot and Carnehan travel through Afghanistan, fighting off bandits, blizzards, and avalanches as they make their way 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 missing mapping expedition sent several years earlier which had been lost in an avalanche. Billy speaks English as well as the local tongue. Acting as translator and interpreter of customs and manners, he smooths the path of Dravot and Carnehan as they begin their rise, offering their services as military advisors, trainers, and war leaders to the chief of the much-raided village of Er-Heb. Dravot and Carnehan muster a force to attack the villagers' most-hated enemy, the Bashkai. During the battle, Dravot is struck by an arrow, but is unharmed, leading the natives to believe that he is a god. 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 Dravot is a man or a god by seeing whether or not he bleeds. When Dravot flinches, the monks grab him and open his shirt to stab him, only to be stopped by Dravot's Masonic jewel. By coincidence, the symbol on the jewel matches one known only to the highest holy man, the symbol of "Sikander" (a linguistic corruption of Alexander the Great), who had conquered the country thousands of years before and promised to return. The holy men are convinced Dravot is the immortal son of Sikander. They hail him as king and lead the two men down to storerooms heaped with treasure (gold, silver, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, among various jewels) that belonged to Sikander, which now belongs to Dravot.
As months pass, Carnehan is anxious to leave with the treasure before winter arrives and closes the mountain passes (and before the natives learn the truth about them). Dravot is against it, however, and develops delusions of grandeur. First, Dravot 'suggests' that Carnehan bow to him like the others, ostensibly to "keep up appearances" in front of the natives and continue the deception. He adjudicates disputes among local people and villages, and issues proclamations overseeing their administration. 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." Resigned that Dravot's mind is made up, Carnehan decides to take as much loot as he can carry on a small mule train and leave alone.
Meanwhile, Dravot decides to take a wife after seeing the beautiful Roxanne (Shakira Caine), despite Carnehan'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 Dravot during the wedding ceremony. The bite draws blood, and when everyone sees it, they realize that Dravot is not a god but a man after all.
The angry natives pursue Dravot and Carnehan. When it becomes clear that the battle is lost, Dravot and Carnehan offer Billy a horse to escape, but Billy refuses and wishes them luck before courageously charging into the mob with a kukri single handedly. Billy is killed amidst the mob and Dravot and Carnehan are soon captured. Dravot apologizes to Carnehan for spoiling their plans, and Carnehan forgives him. Now resigned to his fate, Dravot is forced to walk to the middle of a rope bridge over a deep gorge as the ropes are cut. Carnehan 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 Carnehan finishes his story, he presents Kipling with Dravot's severed head, still wearing its crown, thereby confirming the tale.

Tags: avant garde, satire, murder, historical fiction

Review:
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.
Even his lesser work has value, and his best films, which certainly includes THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, are unforgettable.The tragicomic tale of two ex-Sergeants turned confidence men with a grand scheme to fleece a near-legendary kingdom had been a 'pet' project of Huston's since the forties, and he'd spent years tinkering with the script, planning to film it with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart in the leads.
As Dravot (Connery) tells him, "We are not little men", and India, bound up in British bureaucracy (as well as becoming too 'hot' for them) could never provide the immensity of riches they dreamed of.Huston eschewed the 'traditional' approach to adventure films, with cardboard heroes performing near-impossible deeds until the inevitable 'happy ending', and grounded his story in reality, which disappointed any viewers hoping KING would simply be a variation of GUNGA DIN.
The explorer Robertson, whom Billy Fish reports has having died, did not die in real life but was rescued by a British military force in 1895, after Kipling wrote his story.The people of Nuristan are believed to be descendants of Alexander the Great, who came there in 328 BC, just as the movie states.
Besides Connery and Caine, it has many memorable characters, like Christopher Plumming as Kipling.Stan Huston directs, and I think it shows.
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.
Overall, it was worth the wait.Based on Rudyard Kipling's short story, "The Man Who Would Be King" is a tale set in the 1880s at the height of the British empire's rule in India.
With beautiful locations and a wonderful musical score by Maurice Jarre, "The Man Who Would Be King" is not only one of Huston's best, but is also one of the best films to come out from the 70s that still had a certain feel of stories that had a feel of a time long gone when film audiences were able to enjoy films that had everything.
Outside of the obvious reflections on the immoral and absurdly hypocritical nature of early British colonialism, it's just a damn entertaining movie.But you have to think that Rudyard Kipling, who grew up under British rule in India, was certainly trying to shake some sensibilities when he first wrote the story as part of an 1890 package called The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories, nearly a century before it was made into a film and during an era when the British Empire was still very much a reality.From the perceptive realization that even the staunchly important Masonic Lodge -- which had infilitrated every aspect of Britain's upper classes -- could be easily corrupted; to the arrogance as Sean Connery's character Daniel Dravot, who elevates what he sees as mere social superiority into a god-like status; to the inevitable humbling of both men at the hands of the 'savages' they profess to rule, the film is ultimately about the humility all men should exhude, particularly in the face of the unfamiliar.Kipling's tale also preached tolerance, though you might not consider that to be the case based on the film's climax:   consider that if Daniel and Peachy had shown an iota of respect for the religion that they instead decided to fleece, how differently the tale might have played out.The film owes much of its success to the chemistry between Caine and Connery, who regardless of later plaudits, gave the finest performances of their careers.
As examples, witness the zenith of Peachy and Daniel's hazardous trek through the mountains played out in full panoramic detail, only to be followed 90 minutes later by the tight shot of Kipling's face, the revulsion fairly etched into every crease as we reach the climax.But perhaps the true hero of this film was Boaty Boatright, who also cast Connery's classic "The Wind and The Lion." He managed to take some of the most strident, forceful personalities in the film industries, threw them together and came up with a film about humility.
Plummer is good in a minor role but this is the Connery/Caine show all the way.Overall this is a great story that is well told by director Huston.
In the film, two ex-soldiers of the Royal English Army are in India, Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine).
They both tell the impressed if a little doubtful Rudyard Kipling himself, merely a journalist at the time (Christopher Plummer by the way), that they, being pretty much without any real place to go or things to do as disgraced soldiers (lots of crimes such as theft and blackmail), have a plan: to go to Kafiristan, which is a country few know exists and hasn't been inhabited by any kind of real ruler since Alexander the Great.
It's remarkable how astute the commentary is in the film, while at the same time not detracting from the action or the power of the performances.The Man Who Would be King is elegant and harsh, with a beautiful and harrowing Maurice Jarre score (if not as iconic still as fantastic as Lawrence of Arabia for him), and memorable for its star power and how its story is really about something.
The flick tells the tale of Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery's favorite film character , though John Huston also considered Richard Burton) and Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine , though also was deemed Peter O'Toole) , two ex-soldiers in India when it was under British rule.
There Daniel becomes a king and attempts to marry a princess (Shakira Caine, this is the only feature film to co-star Michael Caine and wife) under High Priest Kafu Selim (Karroom Ben Bouih 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.Long live and spectacular adventure with an extraordinary duo , Connery and Caine , they form the best pair of all time .
Using the old Irish folk tune, the Minstrel Boy for background, John Huston made himself one old fashioned movie of adventure and romance like we rarely see today.Of course this film rises and falls on the charm and chemistry of its two leads, Sean Connery and Michael Caine.
You would certainly never find a woman like that in The Man Who Would Be King--it is the TRUE essence of a film about MEN in a MAN'S era.Michael Caine and Sean Connery are, for lack of a better word, geniuses in the art of filmmaking.
Who could forget Michael Caine's attempts to instil weapons drill in to a group of uneducated tribesmen or his tuneless singing of the line "Who followed in his trail " as Connery falls to his death from the rope bridge.Performances from both leads are a delight,both seem to have their tongues firmly in their cheeks,which makes for a most enjoyable watch.Huston's direction is for my money spot on and it would have been interesting to see his first choice actors (Gable and Bogart)taking the leads .
A sarcastic comment on European colonialism, but most of all: an absolutely magnificent adventure about the two adventurers Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), with ambitions of becoming kings of whatever country that may want them.
His final scene is a memorable close-up after Caine has told him the truth about the harrowing end of their adventure.Although highly entertaining at times, it's easy to see why this story of two con men is not considered to be one of John Huston's greatest.
Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling, The Man Who Would Be King tells the story of two friends; Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) and Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) that go to Kafiristan in order to rule the country as kings and become rich in the process.
The film switches between the two sides of it's story with great ease, and the smaller, more intimate side of the story is actually complimented by the epic battle sequences that run alongside it.This movie is headed by two of the very finest actors of all time - Sean Connery and Michael Caine (both British too, I might add).
This is a first rate historical adventure film, which also succeeds as a grim morality tale with the addition of a clever framing story.Top British stars Sean Connery and Michael Caine team up as a pair of vagabond soldiers in India, who are out to scheme their way to fame and fortune.
Fortunately help is on hand from Christopher Plummer and Saeed Jaffrey, who take the acting honours in supporting roles.The reliance on action means the script plays a minor role and it's a shame there isn't more interplay between the characters - the storyline is very strong and would have accommodated more scenes with an emphasis on dialogue.These are minor quibbles though, and 'The Man Who Would be King' is still a very good film - potentially it could have been a classic though.Michael Caine's stunning wife Shakira plays Roxanne, the modern incarnation of the wife of Alexander the Great, and makes an impression despite having no dialogue..
John Huston had long cherished the ambition of making a film of Rudyard Kipling's novella "The Man Who Would Be King".
Later suggestions were to use approached Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, or Robert Redford and Paul Newman, but Huston was eventually persuaded to use British actors and Michael Caine and Sean Connery were cast.The film is set in the India of the 1880s.
Director John Huston, actors Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer, the supporting cast, the story, everything.The story is that Peachy (Caine) has returned to India to tell Rudyard Kipling (Plummer) about his adventure with Danny (Connery).
Naturally, most movies with Michael Caine and Sean Connery (who were probably perfect for the job) would be good just for the acting, and add to that Christopher Plummer.
The Man Who Would be King, which came together with an ideal cast and script based on a Rudyard Kipling story is perhaps John Huston's best film.
Some would argue in defense of African Queen, or the visually eloquent Moulin Rouge, which is my second favorite Huston product, but give me a rousing, escapist tale, well conceived, written and produced with a shining cast, and I am there.Huston was not a William Wyler, nor a Billy Wilder or Frank Capra, whose films soar, but here, with the conjunction of Kipling, Michael Caine and Sean Connery as two British sergeants in the Victorian days of old India and British empire he fired off a keeper.
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.
This is one of those movies about which they say, "they just don't make them like that anymore." Director John Huston, a legendary master who had had this film in his head for over 20 years when he finally made it, delivers a multi-layered masterpiece- it is a brilliant character study, a social commentary, a political allegory, a tragic comedy (or a comic tragedy, depending on your perspective), an exploration of the ironies of fate, and a thrilling adventure story.
The scene I just described isn't even the highlight of "The Man Who Would be King", John Huston's glorious adventure movie, but it serves to make my point, the film is fun and politically incorrect, so old-fashioned it is actually ahead of our time.
And the two con-men are put in a place where a series of misunderstandings will allow them to be seen as Gods or kings, and just when you think you've seen all, the movie provides a completely new story in Kafiristan.And this is where lies my only "problem" with the film, if problem is the word, I am Moroccan, so I can't be fooled by the shooting locations, the locals look nothing Indian or Afghans but pure Moroccan natives, but it's in the language that my suspension of disbelief was challenged, the people don't speak in Arabic but in Moroccan dialect, so I was pleasantly surprised to realize I could understand the people of Kafiristan.
These are two of the finest actors based on their own credentials, but here they put all that aside and give us two characters that have been through a lot together and are willing to put it on the line in order to find their dream: head for the mountains of Kafiristan and make themselves kings of the country.As the adventure starts out, we see the two friends meeting up with the famous British writer Rudyard Kipling (Christoper Plummer) who seems to have some important words for these two.
Here the mountain dwellers believe the rouge white fellows to be Gods, and thus things are about to get very interesting indeed.Written by master writer Rudyard Kipling, directed by behemoth John Huston, and starring British legends Sean Connery & Michael Caine, there really isn't any way this film could have failed, sure enough the picture exudes a classy structure that is coupled with deftly smart writing.
And of course, it stars can't-fail actors Michael Caine and Sean Connery, who do a fine job of balancing comedy with a social commentary on the "white man's burden" that made the British Empire great but awful too.Who should see this film:-- action movie buffs: this one's safe for you-- drama / art buffs: a must-seeI'll give "The Man Who Would be King" a stands-the-test-of-time 9 out of 10..
Four things combine to ensure this movie's greatness - the literary craftsmanship of Rudyard Kipling, the directorial stature of John Huston, and the incandescent chemistry of acting greats Sean Connery and Michael Caine.
Since then I have re-watched it several times, and never failed to get something new from each viewing.The camera-work, directing, script and story are all fantastic, as is the ensemble acting from all involved, but without doubt the thing that makes me vote 10 on this movie is the relationship between Daniel (Sean Connery) and Peachy (Michael Caine).
" Using Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) as the capstone of this tale, he relates how Two English ex-soldiers, (Sean Connery and Michael Caine and a guide, named Billy Fish (Saeed Jaffrey) journey to far off Kafiristan, to establish their own kingdom.
Rudyard Kipling is a correspondent at the offices of the Northern Star newspaper.Then unrecognizable Peachy Carnehan enters and tells his story.Kipling has met Peachy and his friend, Daniel Dravot in the past.He tells how they traveled to remote Kafiristan, how Danny became a god and how they lost everything.The Man Who Would Be King (1975) is a John Huston classic.It's based on Rudyard Kipling's short story.Sean Connery and Michael Caine are perfect as Danny and Peachy.They both represent the British gentleman type, and they both have an enormous amount of charisma.Christopher Plummer does great work as Kipling.Saeed Jaffrey is terrific as Billy Fish.Moroccan actor Doghmi Larbi is great as Ootah.Michael's wife Shakira Caine is amazing as Roxanne, the woman Danny wants.I saw the film two days ago on Tuesday.I had seen it once before.It's a great adventure movie, that has got some drama and some comedy as well.A great scene is where they're about to be robbed but they're wiser than them, and get their three mules.And their survival story in the cold mountains is amazing to watch.And the battle scenes look amazing.If you're looking for a perfect adventure movie, this is your pick..
Well told fairy tale, starring the best two British actors Michael Caine and Sean Connery.
Now it has three.The Man Who Would Be King benefits greatly from the chemistry between Michael Caine and Sean Connery.They play two scoundrels, British soldiers in 19th century India who go looking for adventure and riches.The film is framed by Peachy (Caine) narrating his story to Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer.)Peachy and his friend Daniel (Sean Connery) make a treacherous journey to the mountainous region of Kafristan that is located near Afghanistan.
Directed by venerable and acclaimed director John Huston, the film starts from a series of exotic South-Asia vistas, then bumps into a rapid hustling with Christopher Plummer as the avatar of the renowned writer himself intermingling with Sean Connery and Michael Caine's Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, two British solider resigned from the army and going to try their luck in Kafiristan.
It`s not often a 70s flick starring either Sean Connery or Michael Caine can be described as good , never mind great but THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING  is a great film .
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)Plot In A Paragraph: Daniel Dravot (Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) are two British soldiers in India.
Director John Huston had long been a fan of the original short story by Kipling and had wanted to make a movie of it for some time.