Stanley and Livingstone (1939)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Spencer Tracy plays Henry M. Stanley, an American explorer and newsman who is given the job of traveling to Africa so that he can see whether or not the missionary Dr. Livingstone (Cedric Hardwicke) is dead. When Stanley shows up in Africa, after a year's journey, he finally finds Livingstone alive and sees that he's trying to bring religion to Africa as well as trying to educate the people. Since Africa is still seen as a mystery to the outside world, both men must convince the rest of the world that Africa isn't the "dark country" but a place that should be explored. I was extremely caught off guard with how well made and entertaining this movie was. I hadn't heard too much about it over the years but it was certainly a delight to finally watch it and discover it to be a real gem. I've heard that a lot of the story was made up or changed to make it seem better, which is fine with me since this is a movie and not a documentary. As a movie the film contains a very big heart towards the people in Africa, who at the time, were still being sold as slaves and looked at as cannibals. There's also a lot of nice footage of the jungles of Africa, although it's clear that neither Tracy or Hardwicke are ever there since they are never in the scenes. The production value of the fake Africa look very good and the direction is very strong throughout. It should go without saying but Tracy delivers another great performance and his final speech at the end is really heartfelt. You can really see the pride, passion and anger floating out of Tracy to the point where you'd think he was the real Stanley delivering his message. Hardwicke actually steals the film in his few scenes in the movie. The love and compassion he gives off is a great joy to watch. Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene, Henry Hull, Walter Brennan and Henry Travers all deliver nice supporting work.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Spencer Tracy plays Henry M. Stanley, an American explorer and newsman who is given the job of traveling to Africa so that he can see whether or not the missionary Dr. Livingstone (Cedric Hardwicke) is dead. When Stanley shows up in Africa, after a year's journey, he finally finds Livingstone alive and sees that he's trying to bring religion to Africa as well as trying to educate the people. Since Africa is still seen as a mystery to the outside world, both men must convince the rest of the world that Africa isn't the "dark country" but a place that should be explored. I was extremely caught off guard with how well made and entertaining this movie was. I hadn't heard too much about it over the years but it was certainly a delight to finally watch it and discover it to be a real gem. I've heard that a lot of the story was made up or changed to make it seem better, which is fine with me since this is a movie and not a documentary. As a movie the film contains a very big heart towards the people in Africa, who at the time, were still being sold as slaves and looked at as cannibals. There's also a lot of nice footage of the jungles of Africa, although it's clear that neither Tracy or Hardwicke are ever there since they are never in the scenes. The production value of the fake Africa look very good and the direction is very strong throughout. It should go without saying but Tracy delivers another great performance and his final speech at the end is really heartfelt. You can really see the pride, passion and anger floating out of Tracy to the point where you'd think he was the real Stanley delivering his message. Hardwicke actually steals the film in his few scenes in the movie. The love and compassion he gives off is a great joy to watch. Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene, Henry Hull, Walter Brennan and Henry Travers all deliver nice supporting work.