The Man Who Would Be King
“Adventure in all its glory!”
Tired of life as soldiers, Peachy Carnehan and Danny Dravot travel to the isolated land of Kafiristan, where they are ultimately embraced by the people and revered as rulers. After a series of misunderstandings, the natives come to believe that Dravot is a god, but he and Carnehan can't keep up their deception forever.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
16 people
Sean Connery
Daniel Dravot
Known for
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The Rock
Michael Caine
Peachy Carnehan
Known for
Interstellar
Batman Begins
Christopher Plummer
Rudyard Kipling
Known for
Up
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Saeed Jaffrey
Billy Fish
Known for
Gandhi
My Beautiful Laundrette
Doghmi Larbi
Ootah
Known for
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
The Black Stallion
Jack May
District Commissioner
Known for
Count Duckula
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
Karroom Ben Bouih
Kafu Selim
No other roles listed
Mohammad Shamsi
Babu
Also in
The Punk Kebab Documentary
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie
Albert Moses
Ghulam
Known for
Mind Your Language
Octopussy
Paul Antrim
Mulvaney
Known for
Evil Under the Sun
Juggernaut
Graham Acres
Officer
No other roles listed
Shakira Caine
Roxanne
Also in
Son of Dracula
John Huston Director · Gladys Hill Screenplay Rudyard Kipling Story
Budget $8M · United States release December 17, 1975 · Produced in United Kingdom, United States
Box office
Budget
$8,000,000
Production
Persky-Bright Productions
Production
Devon/Persky-Bright
Production
Columbia Pictures
Production
Devon
Production
United Kingdom · United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
Arabic · English · Urdu
Release dates
Belgium · December 3, 1975
Theatrical
United States · December 17, 1975
Theatrical
Czechia
May 24, 1999 · Physical
Denmark
March 5, 1976 · Theatrical
Finland
December 3, 1975 · Physical
France
April 21, 1976 · Theatrical
November 5, 2025 · TV · Paramount Network
November 23, 2025 · TV · Paramount Network
Germany
December 17, 1975 · Theatrical
Greece
December 26, 1975 · Theatrical
Ireland
April 9, 1976 · Theatrical
Italy
March 17, 1976 · Theatrical
Japan
June 12, 1976 · Theatrical
Netherlands
April 1, 1976 · Theatrical
October 8, 2002 · Physical · DVD
January 22, 2003 · TV · V8
Spain
April 7, 1986 · Physical
Sweden
December 3, 1975 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
December 3, 1975 · Theatrical
More from John Huston
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked The Man Who Would Be King
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.