The Man Who Would Be King

If Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan had starred in Casablanca and Francis Coppola had made Unforgiven in 1982, then Huston would have found studio backing for The Man Who Would Be King in the 50s with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. 68 years old when he realised his dream project Huston is in his prime.

Danny Dravot and Peachey Carnehan (Sean Connery and Michael Caine, appearing together unbelievably for the first and last time) are two soldiers of fortune in colonial India who give up their life of booze and women in order to play god in the Afghanistan mountains. Ostensibly a parody of English imperialism and a treatise on the unalterable differences between East and West, the subject matter draws directly on Huston's repertoire of themes and obsessions, blending the cynicism and amusement that would have been lacking in the 50s version.

Both Kipling and Huston share a fascination with the wayward ways of men in action, as Dravot (the man of the title) and Carnehan pursue their goal with reckless high spirits and practical jokes. One of the innovations of the script is to have Carnehan relating the story to Kipling himself (Christopher Plummer), though in the end the after-the-fact narration doesn't quite work.

This is one of Huston's most bracing films, an action-adventure buddy movie along the lines of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. It's quite simply flatout entertainment

Review by Stephen Cox
Taken from EUFS Programme 1994-95