Nabonga
- 1944
- Tous publics
- 1h 15min
Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueWhen a treasure hunter seeks a downed airplane in the jungles of Africa, he encounters one of the passenger's young daughter, now fully grown, and with a gorilla protector.When a treasure hunter seeks a downed airplane in the jungles of Africa, he encounters one of the passenger's young daughter, now fully grown, and with a gorilla protector.When a treasure hunter seeks a downed airplane in the jungles of Africa, he encounters one of the passenger's young daughter, now fully grown, and with a gorilla protector.
- Gorilla
- (as Nabongo)
- Pilot
- (non crédité)
- Gorilla Fighting Samson the Gorilla
- (non crédité)
- Policeman
- (non crédité)
- Trader
- (non crédité)
- Native Attacking Tobo
- (non crédité)
Avis à la une
It's a jungle pic, from PRC, features a guy in a gorilla suit AND sat for a year...need I say more?!
The story begins with a man disappearing with his young daughter before the police could arrest him for embezzlement. Their plane crashes in the jungle and you see that the pair survived.
Years have passed. Ray Gorman (Buster Crabbe) is in Africa and he overhears natives talking about a 'white witch' living in the mountains and he decides to investigate this for himself. Eventually he meets the now grown girl and her companion, a gorilla who is her protector. Unfortunately for them, the evil Carl Hurst (Barton MacLane) has been following him at a distance and, naturally, he's up to no good.
It's funny that Barton MacLane is the baddie in this one, as he's nearly always the baddie in the films he did. I am sure when audiences saw him, they collectively KNEW he was the villain before he even opened his mouth! And here, he's definitely true to form.
It certainly could have been much worse as they filmmakers chose to insert less random and unnecessary wildlife footage into the story...though they still do this to a somewhat lesser extent, but at least they were mostly African animals (apart from an American Alligator)! Too many cheapo jungle films of the era show nearly ANY animal in the supposed jungle...African, Asian, South American and even Australian all mixed together. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see one with penguins!! Oh well, at least the African guide, Tobo, really was an African!
So is it any good? Well, there are certainly worse jungle films....not that this is saying much! Apart from SOME of the Tarzan films, nearly all the other jungle epics are cheap messes...and this one is, at times, a bit of a mess. The guy in the gorilla suit alone (in one scene there were TWO men in gorilla suits) make it a cheesy film. I also love that Marie, the witch, has permed hair and make-up...in the middle of the jungle!! On balance, it's a bad film but not a terrible one. Worth seeing if you like this sort of thing...though I assume few would!
** (out of 4)
A thief steals some priceless jewels and heads off in an airplane with his young daughter. The plane ends up crashing and the little girl befriends an injured gorilla in the jungle. Flash forward several years and explorer Ray Gorman (Buster Crabbe) hears about a "white witch" from the jungle that "fell from a big bird" and heads there to search for the jewels. He finds the now woman (Julie London) being protected by a large gorilla but must find a way to get her to lead him to the jewels.
NABONGA, meaning gorilla, is a rather silly and low-budget jungle adventure that manages to be slightly entertaining as long as you don't take it too serious. if you're looking to find a meaning for life or some sort of great art then it's best you avoid this film at all costs and I'd also recommend not even looking at the posters for it. However, if you like cheap entertainment and just want 71 minutes to kill then there's certainly much worse out there.
I think the best thing about the film are the leads. While neither Crabbe or London give excellent performances, they at least have a nice chemistry together and I thought they were good enough to carry the picture. There's a scene where Crabbe is trying to act afraid of her pet gorilla that is quite funny and especially some of the flirtation going on between them.
The biggest problem with the movie is the fact that the budget was probably a tad bit higher than a pack of gum. There's a ton of stock footage in the movie that makes it look even cheaper and there's no doubt that the majority of the "real" footage was probably shot on one set with very limited range. More times than not the characters just stay in one spot and talk.
NABONGA was meant to be cheap entertainment, which is what it pretty much is.
Julie London, a comely 18 years old in her film debut, plays the young woman who's grown up from childhood in the jungle after a plane crash, protected by a giant ape (Ray Corrigan wears the suit). Buster is the intrepid explorer determined (for virtuous reasons) to find the stolen treasure she doesn't know she's hoarding. Somehow after a decade-plus with no one to talk to she speaks perfect English. She also wears a nice little print cocktail dress she presumably got on sale at the jungle Bloomingdale's.
Buster looks great in his pith helmet and has some funny moments in his initial nervous interactions with London's Doreenand the ape she calls "Samson"--he might have been a good light comedian if anybody had given him the chance. When she amorously caresses Buster's face, his obliviousness is conveyed by another good line: "What's the matter? I need a shave?" This in a brief moment between the usual stock footage animal attacks involving exotic critters from around the globe.
As others have noted, the relationship between "Bwana" Buster and his native guide Tobo (the rather stiff Prince Madupe, who seemingly never made another movie) is less condescending than the norm in such movies--Buster treats him more as partner and friend than servant. Too bad Tobo gets handed an early exit.
This jungle adventure is directed by Sam Newfield who is famous for having directed more films than anyone else. Nabonga is very similar in plot line to another of Newfield's films, White Pongo. Both films feature large apes who covet young white women. And both also have striking titles that are never actually used in the film at any point! This picture is a pretty campy affair with a white jungle queen who acts more like a petulant city girl. It's overall entertaining enough to an extent but at the same time it has a lot of overly familiar adventure flick elements that aren't too interesting, such as a villainous, greedy explorer on the good guy's trail. The scenes with the girl and the ape were quite good fun though and, despite being nothing too great, this one is reasonably diverting as these types of movies go.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesTo play the role of Doreen as a child, director Sam Newfield used his own daughter, Jackie Newfield.
- GaffesWhen Fifi D'Orsay and Barton MacLane leave the natives behind, they both have packs on. In the next scene her pack is missing. Then when he falls and twists his ankle, she takes her pack off to help him.
- Citations
Marie: Oh, wait! I'm afraid of that gorilla!
Ray Gorman: He won't hurt you - not after she's told him not to.
Marie: And suppose she tells him different... what then?
Ray Gorman: He'd tear you to pieces.
- ConnexionsEdited into Dark Jungle Theater: Nabonga (2015)
Meilleurs choix
- How long is Nabonga?Alimenté par Alexa
Détails
- Durée1 heure 15 minutes
- Couleur
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 1.37 : 1