Certainly there are some absurdities in this film, but it is an absolute delight to watch because of its location photography and amusing supporting performances. While the stars are Victor Mature as a big game hunter seeking revenge for his family being brutally murdered by the Mau Mau (a long time real life historical rebellion) and Janet Leigh (as the fiancee of the pompous Roland Culver), the film is stolen by Orlando Martins as the jazzy Jeruselum (a friendly Kenyan native with a love for New Orleans style trumpet playing) and Tanzanian born Juma as Odongo, the adorable 13 year old who latches onto Mature and Leigh for no other reason than he loves adventure and adult attention. They head into the wild with Mature leading the way as the hunter hired by Culver, with Mature searching for Mau Mau leader Earl Cameron who lead the attack on his family after working for them. Culver continues to get crazier with jealousy and possessiveness over Leigh (obviously attracted to the rugged Mature), and several attacks by the Mau Mau creates a lot more danger.
It is ironic to see Cameron as a member of the Mau Mau, having just played a doctor fighting against it in the British political drama "Simba" the previous year. I learned that just weeks before watching both this and "Simba" that the 102 year old Cameron had passed away so this was a nice discovery of his work. This is filled with action and thrills, beautiful shots of the African plains with a shocking result of a rhino chase, Leigh taking a pleasure cruise down the river and ending up in peril, and the charge of the Mau Mau soldiers making a sudden attack. The one weak acting link is John Justin as the weak minded assistant to Culver, open prey for his evil boss. Juma is quite a young little hero with a winning laugh and smile, continuously shouting "Bwana, bwana!" to alert Mature to danger ahead. Certainly lacking in accuracy for some of the Mau Mau details, this is a delight in every other way, a cinematic delight with gorgeous sunsets in addition to the locations and animals which don't take well to human direction and just act natural.
It is ironic to see Cameron as a member of the Mau Mau, having just played a doctor fighting against it in the British political drama "Simba" the previous year. I learned that just weeks before watching both this and "Simba" that the 102 year old Cameron had passed away so this was a nice discovery of his work. This is filled with action and thrills, beautiful shots of the African plains with a shocking result of a rhino chase, Leigh taking a pleasure cruise down the river and ending up in peril, and the charge of the Mau Mau soldiers making a sudden attack. The one weak acting link is John Justin as the weak minded assistant to Culver, open prey for his evil boss. Juma is quite a young little hero with a winning laugh and smile, continuously shouting "Bwana, bwana!" to alert Mature to danger ahead. Certainly lacking in accuracy for some of the Mau Mau details, this is a delight in every other way, a cinematic delight with gorgeous sunsets in addition to the locations and animals which don't take well to human direction and just act natural.