In "The Man Who Would Be King" (1975), co-written and directed by John Huston, two rogues, Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) and Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery), desert their British army post in India in the 1880s to go adventuring. In a retrospective voice-over, Peachy fondly remembers their encounters with native tribesmen: "At night, we told them stories of our own devising, and they loved them, because we showed them that their dreams could come true."

In the years immediately preceding his death in 1987, John Huston's critical reputation as one of America's leading directors was reestablished