The Man Who Would Be King (1975) on Netflix
Two ex-sergeants, Danny Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, run out of prospects in British India. They carry twenty rifles past the Khyber Pass into Kafiristan, meaning to rule a country of their own.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.7/1055,998 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes97%
Trailer
Plot summary
In British India, a ragged stranger is shown into the office of the journalist Rudyard Kipling. He gives his name as Peachy Carnehan, an old acquaintance, and tells what happened to him and Danny Dravot, both former sergeants in the British Army. Sick of an India where little is left to steal, bound to each other by a signed contract, and sworn off women and drink, the two had gone beyond the Khyber Pass with twenty rifles for Kafiristan, a country Europeans had barely seen since Alexander the Great. Their plan was to serve a local ruler, then take his place and the riches of the land. Bandits, blizzards and avalanches met them on the way, and they gained a translator in Billy Fish, a Gurkha soldier. They trained a village's men and led them against neighboring foes.
Cast
- Karroom Ben Bouihas Kafu Selim
- Mohammad Shamsias Babu
- Paul Antrimas Mulvaney
- Graham Acresas Officer
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Huston had planned the film since the 1950s, originally with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart in the roles of Daniel and Peachy, but he was unable to get the project off the ground before Bogart died in 1957, with Gable following in 1960.
- Caine said Connery did not like heights and was not fond of the final scene on the rope bridge; he recalled Sean asking John whether the bridge looked safe, and John lowering his eyes to reply that the bridge looked the way it always had, the only difference being that today Sean would be standing in the middle of it.
SPOILER
Stuntman Joe Powell doubled for Sean Connery and performed the fall from the rope bridge at the film's climax, a potentially fatal drop of 80 feet onto a pile of cardboard boxes and mattresses; Huston said it was "the darndest stunt I've ever seen!"- In the 1970s Huston approached Robert Redford and Paul Newman for the roles, but Newman advised him that British actors should play the parts, and it was Newman who recommended Connery and Caine.
- The role of Roxanne was originally slated for Tessa Dahl, daughter of Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal, who prepared by losing weight and capping her teeth; at the last minute Huston decided to cast someone whose appearance was more in keeping with natives of Kafiristan.
- While on location, Caine strongly objected to an assistant director's racist treatment of Saeed Jaffrey, who played the Gurkha guide Billy Fish.
