Don, considered on its merits as a film, there is no way, IMHO, that "The Man Who Would Be King" compares remotely with "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", which (again, IMHO ) represents the pinnacle of the film-maker's art. Maybe TMWWBK could have been great, as you say with different treatment. But let's face it, Sean Connery isn't Humphrey Bogart, and Michael Caine isn't Walter Brennan.Anyway, we don't need no steenking badges .........
Murray