6. "Not gods Englishmen. The next best thing. " (The Man Who Would Be King)
Though Caine and Sean Connery both appeared in A Bridge Too Far, the two had limited interaction because the movie had a large ensemble cast. Those who seek a full dose of two of the most imitated accents in film history ought to seek out The Man Who Would Be King, which was released two years earlier. Caine and Connery play a pair of fortune-seeking British soldiers who present themselves as deities to natives of Kafiristan because the natives have never seen a white man. The natives ask the pair (through their interpreter) if they are gods. Caine's character cheekily responds with this answer. It's a funny line, but it also epitomizes the era of British imperialism that their characters represent and highlights the hubris that the characters have. This pride eventually leads to their fall from the natives' favor. The phrase has recently reentered popular culture and has been put on everything from t-shirts to iPhone cases. It seems to me that London souvenir shops could potentially make a bundle on that merchandise, which says a lot about the enduring popularity of a single line from a nearly forty year-old movie.
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
