Trivia

Kafiristan is part of modern-day Afghanistan (Nuristan Province) and Pakistan (the city of Chitral).

Karroom Ben Bouih (High Priest Kafu Selim) was the night watchman of an olive orchard near the filming location. He was hired after writer and director John Huston accidentally met him, and told to come to the set the following day. After he fell asleep a few times during filming, it was discovered that he had still kept his night watchman job. Huston had to explain to him that he didn't need that job any more. The movie company would pay him enough that he could sleep at night.

Sir Michael Caine and Sir Sean Connery were disgusted by the treatment of Saeed Jaffrey during filming. He didn't even have a chair to sit on between takes on-location. Finally, Caine had enough and shouted to the crew "Get this man a fucking chair!"

When he appeared on Inside the Actors Studio (1994) and was asked about working with John Huston, Sir Michael Caine recalled that, a few weeks into shooting, both he and Sir Sean Connery were worried and concerned at the lack of direction and feedback they were getting from Huston. Caine approached Huston and asked if anything was wrong, and if he was happy with their performances. Huston replied: " You're getting paid a lot of money to do this, Michael, I think you should do it by yourself."

John Huston tried to launch the movie version of "The Man Who Would Be King" many times before completing it. It was originally conceived as a vehicle for Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart in the fifties. Bogart died before the movie could be made, and while Huston was considering who could replace Bogart, Gable also passed away. (Source: Stephen H. Bogart, Humphrey's son.) He later re-imagined it as a vehicle for Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, and later for Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. When it was considered as a vehicle for Robert Redford and Paul Newman, Newman suggested Sir Sean Connery and Sir Michael Caine.