Is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar based on a true story?
The new Wes Anderson short was recently added to Netflix.
Wes Anderson previously adapted the work of Roald Dahl with his delightful animated version of Fantastic Mr Fox, and now the eccentric auteur has returned to the author's oeuvre with a series of shorts for Netflix.
Starring a rotating cast of British actors including Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes and Dev Patel, the four individual films are each adapted from lesser-known short stories by the iconic children's author.
The longest of the four is titled The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and tells of an immensely privileged man who becomes determined to cheat at cards by mastering the ability to see without using his eyes – inspired by a story of a man named Imdad Khan.
In case you're wondering if there is any real-life inspiration for the tale – read on to find out if The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is based on a true story.
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Is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar based on a true story?
The simple answer is no, the story is the work of Roald Dahl's extensive imagination – and the claims that Henry Sugar's name has been changed to protect his anonymity are all just part of the playful tone of the film.
As the card at the end of the film reads: "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar was written by Roald Dahl in his writing hut at Gipsy House in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, between February and December of 1976."
That said, there was a real person who served as Dahl's inspiration for the character of Imdad Khan – specifically a Pakistani magician named Kuda Bux.
Bux clearly didn't actually have the power to see without using his eyes, but he did gain popularity by touring the world and performing seemingly impossible feats with his eyes taped shut.
Although hardly a documentarian, Dahl often found inspiration for his whimsical stories in true events – as is illustrated elsewhere in the collection of shorts that was recently added to Netflix alongside Henry Sugar.
For example, at the end of The Swan, it is revealed that the story "was inspired by a newspaper account of an actual event Dahl kept in his 'Ideas Book' for 30 years before writing the story".
Likewise, it is stated that The Ratcather was part of a collection of short stories inspired by locals Dahl encountered while living in Amersham, while a character in Poison was named after a pilot Dahl flew with during his time in the RAF.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is available to watch on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Film coverage, or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
