Comparison To The Short Story
The film is largely faithful to the original story except for the ending, which has the half-insane Carnehan leaving Dravot's head on Kipling's desk. In the original story, Carnehan takes Dravot's head with him; two days later, the unnamed narrator has Carnehan taken to an insane asylum, where he dies of sunstroke. No belongings are found with Carnehan. In the film, the character named "Billy Fish" is a Gurkha soldier, while in the story he is a Kafir chief whose name is approximated as "Billy Fish" by Dravot and Carnehan.
Read more about this topic: The Man Who Would Be King (film)
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