Nabonga

There are so many things about "Nabonga" that make you assume it's a terrible film...it makes we wonder why I watched it. First, it's a cheap jungle pic...and hundreds of terrible jungle pics were made during the 1930s-50s. Second, it's from PRC, a tiny studio known mostly for making B-movies that were worse than those coming from Monogram and Republic! Third, it features a guy in a gorilla suite. And, finally, after the film was made, they shelved it for a year...a sure sign that the studio had no confidence in the product.

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!

Buster Crabbe, formerly Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, stars in this jungle action adventure. A box of jewels from a robbery was lost in the jungle years ago with the daughter of the thief. Our hero needs to find the box and/or the girl whose only friend in the meantime is a man in a gorilla costume. Sounds like a-dime-a-dozen, but actually "Nabonga" is well scripted and rather amusing. Instead of the same old wild fights against lions, this adventure gives Crabbe plenty of opportunity to be witty, for example I loved the scene when he is so afraid of the mighty gorilla the girl has to calm him down. Barton MacLane plays one his typical baddies, trying to steal the jewels himself. Well, it's a simple B movie within the genre rules of the 1940s, but it's doing well.

Well, I bought this gem for a fiver out of the blue. I thought: "Buster Crabbe is in it, so it can't be all bad!" Then I watched it in the German dubbing, and had to laugh quite a few times, but at spots neither the original movie makers nor the dubbing crew would have intended to be for laughter. The German dubbing sounds like from a bad porn movie. Really. The lines of the native people are just ridiculous, and the voice of the girls sounds like the voice of a 60 year old woman. Its crap! They even attached new music to it. Somekind of psychedelic syntho-pop, but a really bad one. So I switched over to the original soundtrack, and so I could finally enjoy this movie. Buster Crabbe is like usual awesome in action scenes, but his character play too is definitely better than in any Flash Gordon. I recommend this movie (in English!!!!) for anyone who is interested in fantastic movies from before the fifties. But its not King Kong tho! Therefore: 5 out of 10

That's my favorite line, spoken by Buster Crabbe after he's tussled with one, an activity that provides convenient opportunity for him to take his shirt off. This isn't a good movie or a camp classic, but a "B" (or "C") with just enough energy and silliness to be entertaining rather than merely mediocre and tedious.

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.

"Nabonga" marks the debut film of Julie London. It's also the first and only movie of Jackie Newfield, daughter of director Sam Newfield (and niece, of course, of Newfield's brother, Sigmund Neufeld).

By the humble standards of the Neufeld Brothers, this entry is reasonably entertaining. The story is a familiar one (it was later re-used with great effect in "Mr Joseph Young of Africa"), but here it moves with sufficient pace and encompasses enough action to satisfy second-feature fans. True, Buster Crabbe breezes through his part with plenty of charm, but little conviction. As a good guy, his motives towards and treatment of the heroine often seem a little dubious, but such subtleties don't worry Buster at all. Julie London, however, makes quite an impression, while Ray "Crash" Corrigan has a grand time as the gorilla (though he is outclassed in the acting department by young Jackie Newfield). Fifi D'Orsay seems an unnecessary addition to the story, an opinion oddly shared by scriptwriter Myton who gives her little to do and then removes her from the plot with little ceremony. We would have liked to see more of Prince Modupe, however, whose dignified and knowledgeable native guide is far removed from the usual Hollywood stereotypes.

Production values seem adequate enough for Poverty Row and are helped out enormously by Robert Cline's always attractively glossy and often noirishly lit photography.

Available on DVD through Alpha. Quality rating: nine out of ten.