"The Man Who Would Be King" is a classic short story by Rudyard Kipling that was first published in 1888. Escape's version makes a few changes for radio, but for the most part, it stays true to the original. If you want to read Kipling's short story, it is available online at Project Gutenberg. In 1975, "The Man Who Would Be King" was made into a film starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer.
The episode begins inside a newspaper office on a stifling June night in Delhi. The narrator, Kipling, describes being visited by two men, Peachey Carnehan and Daniel Dravot. At first he doesn't know them, but then they remind him that they had met before. They had been posing as newspaper reporters and he had threatened to expose them to the authorities as frauds.
Now, Peachey and Daniel announce that they have decided to become kings by traveling to Kafiristan in Afghanistan. Although the narrator doesn't believe their story, he agrees to meet them in the marketplace the next morning. There, Peachey and Daniel show him two camels loaded with weapons. Their plan is to travel to Kafiristan and establish themselves as rulers.
Three years pass, and the narrator suddenly receives another late night visit, but this time Peachey is alone. Slowly, he recounts the story of how he and Daniel followed their plan to became kings of Kafiristan...
"The Man Who Would Be King," Escape's second episode, was adapted for radio by Les Crutchfield. William N. Robson produced and directed. Raymond Lawrence played Peachey, Eric Snowden played Daniel, and Herbert Rawlinson played Kipling.
. Download Escape_1947.07.07_Man Who Would Be King
Escape presented this story again on August 1, 1948. Ben Wright and Wilms Herbert played Peachy and Daniel. Also appearing were John Dehner, Peggy Webber, and Jack Kruschen.
. Download Escape_1948.08.01_Man_Who_Would_be_King
(Image of Echo Library edition)
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