La Proie Nue

I saw this movie when I was 16 (1966) and it has remained with me since. Upon viewing it in later life, it is still as good as it was then. This film has very little speaking in it, but the action will keep the viewer sitting on the edge of his seat until the climatic end. In short, this is a GREAT movie. It is about man's struggle against man and man's struggle against nature. It is about the fragility of man, whose arrogance and brutality lead him to believe he is superior to other men and nature. Enough philosophizing. Watch this on as large a screen as possible. By the way, Cornel Wilde was reportedly an expert swordsman.

What a rare and glorious film. The Africans, the Whites, the Arabs -- all thrashing about a primitive world blindly lurching for profit, vengeance, pride, and redemption. The animal scenes are bit canned, but the hardy authenticity of tribal southern Africa is marvellous. You can tell these are not extras from Culver City. It's a movie not afraid of blood and savagery. You root for the cunning and feel the fear on both sides. And the ending does make sense to those who know that men appreciate even an enemy who has fought bravely.

Way back in 1932---around the same time that Director Ernest B. Schoedsack was involved in production of the original classic "King Kong"----he also made another classic film entitled "The Most Dangerous Game (MDG)." Based on a famous story by Richard Connell, MDG tells the tale of a megalomaniac hunter who lives on a remote island. Ships would regularly end up wrecked on reefs near the island. Their passengers and crew would be rescued by our hunter----enjoy his sophisticated hospitality for a time---and then end up as prey as our crazy hunter indulges in his very perverse "sport." MDG starred a very young Joel McCrea and two members of the original "King Kong" cast----Fay (I never met a scream that I didn't like!) Wray and Robert Armstrong. At 63 minutes in length, MDG is the model of an exciting and compact thriller film.

Since the basic idea of someone being forced into the totally unexpected role of an innocent victim hunted down with the intention of becoming another's trophy kill is pretty powerful-----it has been remade into numerous films ("Game of Death," "Run for the Sun," etc.).

The plot device is essentially the same one that Cornel Wilde employed in his variation on MDG entitled "The Naked Prey" released some 34 years after the original film. Wilde makes his movie interesting by having a big game hunter becoming the hunted, and changing the megalomaniac hunter into a band of African tribesmen determined to chase down the Wilde character and do him in.

Wilde also indulges his film with numerous symbolic devices and sub-plot lines---but remains true to the basic premise of MDG. Survival is a battle of wits between the hunter(s) and the hunted, and only the most resourceful of preys can make it alive to the end of the tale.

Viewers who like "The Naked Prey" ought to seek out MDG to recognize yet again the practice often used by Warner Brothers in the 1930s: if the original film tells a good story, it is worth remaking----and remaking----and remaking......

It's an enjoyable adventure movie because of it contains action , sensational outdoors and outlandish exciting situations abound . It deals with a group of men are on safari , one of the party refuses to give a gift to a tribe they encounter . The tribe is offended and it takes a disastrous turn and our starring (Cornel Wilde who was ill through much of the shooting and evacuated to a hospital for treatment but he followed) winds up unarmed and nude . As African natives (Ken Gampu as Leader of the warriors) give prisoner headstart before they close in on him for pursue . Stripped, turned loose like a wild beast , being relentlessly chased by a violent group who keeps on his heels . There takes place a deadly hunt of man versus nature and man versus man .

A tour-de-force adventure drama that brought Cornel Wilde real acclaim as a filmmaker . This is a moving manhunt of indescribable terror and screaming suspense . It is remarkable as well as competently made and it packs strong fights , spectacular sequences and remarkable brutal images ; creating a large impact on Italian sub-genre : ¨Mondo Cannibale¨. Good acting by Cornel Wilde as safari leader pursued by a large bunch of native warriors determined to finish him off . Cornel Wilde was careful to try to avoid harm to animals appearing in the film where possible. In the scene where the python and the monitor lizard battle, it became clear that the python was winning and the monitor was in danger ; Wilde personally intervened to save the monitor lizard; the lizard bit him on the leg, refusing to let go. We are seeing several African animals though some of them turn out to be taken from prior stock-shots . The script was originally a true historical incident about a trapper named John Colter being pursued by Blackfoot Indians in Wyoming, but lower shooting costs, tax breaks and material and logistical assistance offered by South Africa convinced Cornel Wilde and the other producers to shoot the film there . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography in Panavisión by R. Thomson . Appropriate musical score by means of drummers and African sounds .

This harrowing motion picture was compellingly starred , written , produced and directed by Cornel Wilde . Wilde does a competent job both as actor and filmmaker . I's amazingly well done movie , being Cornel Wilde's best film . He is especially credited as a good actor but also known for directing some acceptable flicks . His later films were of varying quality, and he ended his career in near-cameos in minor adventure films . As he directed adventures as ¨Maracaibo¨ ,¨Lancelot and Guinevere¨, ¨Sharks' Treasure¨ but also Noir Cinema as ¨The Devil's Hairpin¨, ¨Storm Fear¨ and Sci Fi : ¨Blade of Grass¨. ¨The naked prey¨ rating : Notable , well worth watching . Essential and indispensable seeing for adventure/action fans . It's a good stuff for young people and exotic adventures lovers who enjoy enormously with the extraordinary danger in the lush jungle.

Boy, this is about a simple an action story as you're going to find, but it works, and has its interesting moments. Almost the entire film is devoted to a safari guide/hunter being chased (for the kill) by members of a angry tribe. Those tribe members had been insulted by an obnoxious member of the safari group and this good-guy guide (Cornell Wilde) has to run for his life.

Along his escape for survival, we, the viewers, are treated almost to a National Geographic-type tour of the African jungle with many wild animals, crocodiles, poisonous insects, snakes and - the most species of them all: naked women!

The film looks dated here and there but it's now over 40 years old. There is not much English dialog in here, but it's not needed.