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 | 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

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)
M. James Arnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Simmons	....	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) (cut) | 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: You are going to become soldiers. A soldier does not think. He only obeys. Do you really think that if a soldier thought twice he'd give his life for queen and country? Not bloody likely.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Streets of Fire (1984)

Not the recognition it deserves

For some reason, every time they decide to show this movie on a Swedish TV channel, they do so in the middle of the night, when everyone's asleep. I'm getting angry everytime I see that: because this is a great movie that hasn't really got much recognition (maybe it's like this only here in Sweden). You shouldn't have to miss out a movie this good just because you haven't heard of it.

That said, I will concentrate more on the movie. It's based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling, but this is one of the few occurances where I find the film better. It's an amazing story set in India from when it was under British rule. As the main characters we see Sean Connery and Michael Caine, and they do great roles. I'd always known Sean Connery was a great actor, but I hadn't seen Caine's potential until I saw this movie. Their characters' friendship makes this a warming movie, but at moments it's also quite sad. Besides Connery and Caine, it has many memorable characters, like Christopher Plumming as Kipling.

Stan Huston directs, and I think it shows. The environments for example, really are outstanding; the icy mountains, the crowded market and the Pakistan deserts. When I had finished watching I was overwhelmed, it felt like one of the greatest stories ever told, much like the feeling I had after watching Lawrence of Arabia and Dersu Uzala. There's really nothing that goes against this movie, and needless to say I gave it 10/10.