Sanders of the River

Leslie Banks stars as the title character, a British officer who manages to keep the peace between the African tribes loyal to His Majesty and those loyal to the African king. His right-hand man, one of the tribal leaders, played by Paul Robeson, does all he can to help Banks maintain the peace, but when Banks takes a trip away from the region, all heck breaks loose. Robeson tries his best to stem the tide of revolution against the British in Sanders' absence.

Zoltan Korda directed this surprisingly lesser-quality film, but actually wanted to make a more positive film in regards to its portrayal of Africa, but sadly he was dissuaded. Also, it is sad to see Robeson, such a political force for equality in real life, play a stereotypically subservient role to Banks. The film was based on Edgar Wallace's novel at the urging of the film's producer and director's brother, Alexander.

Paul Robeson does a very nice job as Bosambo. Racists from the time period called him Little Black Sambo (even though he was 6"4") or Mr. Bojangles. (because he did so much dancing in the film), but now one would have to find fault with British Colonial Rule of Nigeria to be politically correct.

However, the realities are that Nigeria is much worse off under black rule than it ever was under British rule. The average income of a Nigerian in 1935 was about three to four times what the income of the average Nigerian makes today with adjustments for inflation. Aside from the political considerations, the film is interesting and better than your average film about Africa.

The Noble Black Savage has great comparisons to the American Indian as the Noble Red Savage. There might be a case for tying the demise of the Nigerian populations to British Colonialism, just like the American Indian succumbed to the White expansion of Europeans. However, it is more likely that tribal infighting and selling each other's captives into slavery were the more likely culprits of the demise of the Nigerians after British colonial rule. An interesting conumdrum; is it better to be under white rule and be relatively safe and prosperous, or better to be under black rule and be in charge, but be less safe and less prosperous?

Paul Robeson is the star in this Ripping Yarn, with the British keeping the 'picaninnies' under control in Nigeria.

A number of pastoral African scenes of the National Geographic variety (if you know what I mean) are included in this story of the conflict between two tribes in the African heartland.

Don't believe the undergraduate comments here - this is nowhere near as racist as the B grade American films made in the same era ("The Jazz Singer" for instance, and it's ilk), or TV series of the fifties - the Africans are dead glamorous and brave, and the British characters wooden and two-dimensional.

Viewed today, 74 years after the film came out Sanders Of The River is a paradoxical film with the good and bad of British colonial attitudes of the 19th century. It's based on the first novel by Edgar Wallace, prolific British author who spent much time in Africa during the latter 19th and early 20th century.

Sanders played by Leslie Banks is the local administrator of an area of what is now Nigeria and a man who is confidently shouldering the white man's burden as he saw it. Nevertheless he's probably the best representative of his type in the area, someone the British see as the best in themselves.

He's taken the trouble to study the languages and cultures of the various tribes in his area and mixes in the local politics judiciously and fairly. When one of the tribal kings, Tony Wane, starts resorting to the slave trade which the British fought vigorously to suppress, Banks comes up with his own instrument of enforcement.

His instrument is rival king, Paul Robeson of a different tribe and on that the plot of Sanders Of The River turns.

Robeson was over in the United Kingdom at the time because he could not get the kind of film roles he wanted in the USA with America hung up on stereotypical blacks. Though the film is a salute to the judiciousness and fairness of British colonial role, Robeson took the part because I believe it gave him a chance to show the real Africa. There is no way America was ever going to make this kind of film. After MGM's near disaster with Trader Horn, American companies shied from location shooting until there until The African Queen and King Solomon's Mines.

Though taking place in the Nigeria area, the film was shot on location in the Kenya colony and we learned that the first Kenyan president, Jomo Kenyatta actually was an extra in this film. Robeson gets a chance to sing a couple of songs written by Mischa Spoliansky and Arthur Winder, but are as good in the black idiom as Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. No way Paul Robeson would have sung them if they weren't.

Robeson is joined in the vocal department by Nina Mae McKinney who scored big in King Vidor's Hallelujah, but was then unable to find decent roles for a beautiful black singer. That would wait until Lena Horne came on the scene and not altogether satisfactorily done there. She plays Robeson's wife and mother of his child and her capture by the rival king sets off a potentially nasty blood bath.

Sanders Of The River though incredibly dated should be seen quite frankly because of that. Robeson's singing voice is at its best here and this is a picture of Africa you won't get in Tarzan films.

The lines are often unintentionally funny ("My king -of England - is the greatest king on Earth!" "I'm sending you to Sandi" ) and the movie is Tarzanesque,with its evil chief rubbing his hands before killing a good guy .The natives are big irresponsible children who desperately need the help of the white men and above all Lord -Sandi-Sanders.When he's away (they say he's dead),there's no law anymore;but when he's back,so is the law.It speaks volumes about the paternalistic side of this obsolete work:English colonizers are here to bring justice,peace,love and understanding,their intentions are so pure their black protégés (the good ones that is) cannot make up their minds without Father Sandi's piece of advice.

The good chief's songs are closer to Negro spirituals than to African folklore .And the lullaby his wife sings to her little black dove would fit nicely in a Disney cartoon,such as "the Lion King" .