The Man Who Would Be King

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.

• Director:John Huston
• Genre:Action | Adventure
• Runtime:129 minutes

Cast

Sean Connery : Daniel Dravot
Michael Caine : Peachy Carnehan
Christopher Plummer : Rudyard Kipling
Saeed Jaffrey : Billy Fish
Doghmi Larbi : Ootah

While working as a correspondent at the offices of the Northern Star newspaper, Kipling is approached by a ragged, seemingly crazed derelict, who reveals himself to be his old acquaintance Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine). Peachy tells Kipling the story of how he and his comrade-in-arms Danny Dravot (Sean Connery) traveled to remote Kafiristan (in modern-day Afghanistan), became gods, and ultimately lost everything.

A few years earlier, the pair of rogues had met Kipling at his office. After signing a contract pledging mutual loyalty and forswearing drink and women until they achieved their grandiose aims, Peachy and Danny set off on an epic overland journey north beyond the Khyber Pass, “travelling by night and avoiding villages”, fighting off bandits, blizzards and avalanches, 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 mapping expedition several years before. Billy speaks English as well as the local tongue, and it is he, acting as translator and interpreter of the customs and manners, who smooths the path of Peachy and Danny as they begin their rise, first offering their services as military advisors, trainers, and war leaders to the chief of a much-raided village.

Peachy and Danny muster a force to attack the villagers’ most-hated enemy. In their first battle, the natives decide that Danny must be a god when he is unharmed after being struck in the chest by an arrow. 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, there is no one left to stand in their way, and they are summoned to the holy city of Sikandergul. There, the head holy man sets up a re-enactment of the arrow incident, but when Danny flinches, the elder tears his shirt off to stab him to death. However, this reveals Danny’s Masonic medal (given to him for luck by fellow Mason Kipling). By coincidence, the symbol on the medal matches that of “Sikander” (Alexander the Great), who had passed through many centuries ago and promised to return. The holy men who rule the city are convinced Danny is the reincarnation of Sikander. They hail him as king and lead the two men down to storerooms heaped with treasure that belonged to Sikander, which now belong to Danny. Read more

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