Elephant Boy

A young ELEPHANT BOY dreams of becoming a hunter like his father, grandfather & great-grandfather.

Rudyard Kipling's short story Toomai of the Elephants comes to life in this exciting little movie from Sir Alexander Korda's London Films. The original material has been embroidered upon, but the changes from Kipling, who had died in 1936, actually give the slight tale more punch without destroying its integrity. Location shooting, personally granted by the Maharaja of Mysore on his private lands, gives a veracity to the film which no studio back lot could equal.

In the title role, young Sabu is utterly natural & authentic in his film debut. As equally at home in front of the lens as he is on the back of Kala Nag, the wise old elephant, Sabu is never anything less than completely convincing, whether he's scurrying up trees, bathing his pachyderm, or showing complete confidence in interacting around scores of the great beasts.

Walter Hudd is persuasive as Petersen sahib, the hunter sent to round-up elephants for the Government. Allan Jeayes shows authority as Machua Appa, the elderly head tracker. Genial Wilfred Hyde-White, one of Britain's finest character actors, has a single scene as the local commissioner.

The sequences dealing with the elephant herds, the lives of the mahouts, and the building of the stockade are all fascinating and give an almost documentary quality to the film at times.

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Born Sabu Dastagir in 1924, Sabu was employed in the Maharaja of Mysore's stables when he was discovered by Korda's company and set before the cameras. His first four films (ELEPHANT BOY-1937, THE DRUM-1938, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD-1940, JUNGLE BOOK-1942) were his best and he found himself working out of Hollywood when they were completed. After distinguished military service in World War II he resumed his film career, but he became endlessly confined for years playing ethnic roles in undistinguished minor films, BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) being the one great exception. His final movie, Walt Disney's A TIGER WALKS (1964) was an improvement, but it was too late. Sabu had died of a heart attack in late 1963, only 39 years of age.

If you watch "Elephant Boy", I strongly recommend you use the closed captions along with the movie. This is because it's Sabu's first movie and his command of English isn't great and his accent quite thick. With the captions, this shouldn't be a major problem.

The story is based on a Kipling tale and is set in India. Toomai (Sabu) is the son of a mahoot--an elephant driver. And, Toomai looks to follow in his family's footsteps and become a mahoot just like his many ancestors. When a white hunter arrives, Toomai's father and his elephant join in the expedition...and Toomai, though only about 12, is allowed to come along with them. This film is about the many things that occur during this hunt...things that force Toomai to grow up very quickly.

While this is a decent film, it also is a product of its times. Paternalistic, presenting the British control of India is rather idealized terms as well as a few natives who are just Brits in dark makeup! My attitude is DON'T toss the film in the trash bin but just learn from it and understand its shortcomings. Sure, it's not exactly realistic but also represents Sabu's first film...a film which would end up changing his life radically.

So is this a great film? No. At times, it seems rather plotless and meandering. There also were a few scenes which shocked me, as you could NEVER make scenes like it today...such as the elephant walking around the baby!! Worth seeing and better than a typical jungle picture of the day--with animals from all parts of the globe stuck haphazardly into the film because they films were made on the cheap. "Elephant Boy" is no cheapo jungle flick and only offers a few ill-placed bits of stock film (such as occasionally showing African instead of Asian elephants).

It is quite clear from the beginning that we have to be understanding about Sabu's acting ability in this his first film.He undertakes the opening narration in a very stilted form.It is quite apparent that he is reading off of boards placed behind the camera.The scenes in India are very well photographed in black and white and the music is quite captivating.the dramatic scenes though are often rather awkward.Not just because of Sabu.the scenes of him with the white trappers are very redolent of the Empire,upon whom the sun never set.Korda did rather have an obsession about this.Bearing in mind that he had previously made Sanders of The River and was about to embark upon "The Drum" and of course "The Four Feathers".Sabu would shortly become a much more skilled performer.

While the Elephant Boy is an engaging character. Seeking to become a "great hunter" Of what , it is never made clear. The acting and pronunciation of Sabu in the title role requires a great deal of patience. But this is made up by the excellent documentary footage of Robert Flaherty ( Nanook of the North). Therefore the Elephant Boy is full of fascinating footage of Indian elephants and their Mahouts. Including Sabu clearly scrubbing around an elephants massive eye. The authentic Indian footage makes up for the stodgy direction and acting that accompanies thIs otherwise staggering masterpiece? Sabu would go on to improve his acting chops in the much much much superior : Thief of Bagdad.

Zoltan Korda was the middle of the three great Korda brothers of the cinema, (Alexander the eldest and Vincent the youngest) specializing in outdoor films, like this one (on Kipling's "Toomai of the Elephants") and ten years later the still best film adaptation of "The Jungle Book", both with Sabu as the main character. Robert Flaherty (1884-1951) was an important film documentary pioneer with many classics to his credit, like "Nanook of the North", the first commercially successful film documentary (1922) which he directed and produced. With Zoltan Kodaly, he was co-director of this film, probably the best elephant film ever made, which still impresses by its unequaled elephant scenes, including a great score by John Greenwood.