Congo

This is a talkie remake of WEST OF ZANZIBAR (1928) which, alas, is one of the few of the legendary Tod Browning/Lon Chaney collaborations which has eluded me thus far. To begin with, I was shocked to learn that William Cowen (who only directed 6 films during his brief career, this being his most substantial effort) made the lackluster OLIVER TWIST (1933; which I watched only a few weeks ago) soon after! Anyway, KONGO is not really a horror film – but, with the accent being on sadism and degradation, it certainly makes the most of the liberal Pre-Code attitude of the time. Besides, you can almost feel the humid jungle atmosphere: actually, apart from a few of the Chaney films and this one, MGM did several other African-set adventures during this time including TRADER HORN (1931), RED DUST (1932) and the Johnny Weissmuller/Maureen O'Sullivan "Tarzan" films (1932-42). Walter Huston is as commanding as ever in Chaney's old role (though he had originated it himself on stage!) – even if he wasn't quite his equal, I think, particularly where pathos is concerned. Interestingly, the film's plot is also quite similar to that of THE SHANGHAI GESTURE (1941) – which also stars Huston but where his role is more or less reversed! The entire cast is excellent (C. Henry Gordon' role, replacing Lionel Barrymore from the original, is brief but pivotal) including, surprisingly, the 'romantic' leads (Virginia Bruce and Conrad Nagel) – though that's because their roles are complex rather than insipid, as was the norm during this time. As for Lupe Velez – who had been Chaney's daughter in WHERE EAST IS EAST (1929) – the passage of just 3 years has seen her relegated to 'other woman' types and, despite receiving second billing, her role is basically a supporting one (especially since Velez practically disappears during the latter stages of the film).

The film drags in spots and is perhaps overlong for its purpose; however, there's an abrupt passage of time – in which we never get to see Bruce's descent to the skids at Huston's hands – which confused me at first into thinking that she was actually her own mother! Huston exerts his grip on the fearsome, gullible natives by the use of magic tricks (including, ironically, the decapitation routine I had seen only a couple of days earlier in Browning's THE SHOW [1927]!; could this have been used in WEST OF ZANZIBAR, too?) and a lot of rather silly chanting of mumbo-jumbo. While I knew of the plot revelation, it's still very effectively handled; indeed, given Cowen's non-reputation, I have to wonder how this film compares scene by scene with the original, i.e. whether the director here consciously copied Browning and that's why KONGO is so powerful! Curiously, Huston's comeuppance at the hands of the natives he had exploited for so long is strikingly similar to that of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1933) – though it's considerably less graphic (also because here we're not told what really happened to him {is it the same with WEST OF ZANZIBAR?}, whereas we know what Dr. Moreau's fate is going to be without having to actually witness it).

I doubt that the film's reputation is solid enough to justify a stand-alone (and most probably bare-bones) DVD release from Warners – and, despite the obvious connection, I would think it'd be out of place on an eventual second set of Lon Chaney vehicles; still, I would very much like to have an official DVD edition of this one, also because my copy froze for an instant during a crucial scene

Walter Huston steps into Lon Chaney's wheelchair to play the evil crippled magician commanding a "juju" cult of natives who burn women alive. Lupe Velez is on hand [and narrowly escapes getting her tongue twisted out with a wire]. Enter blonde Virginia Bruce, a convent girl forced into prostitution in Zanzibar, but now a hopeless alcoholic. Enter Conrad Nagel, a doctor who is now a hopeless drug addict [his cure involves being covered with leeches and buried up to his neck in a swamp]. Don't worry: there's still MORE plot! Everyone sweats a lot, on leftover sets from RED DUST, but the direction is rudimentary and lacks the courage of the plot's kinkiness. Still, it's some kind of must-see since they sure don't make them like this anymore!

Walter Huston plays Flint, a paraplegic living in a self-made ivory empire in deepest, darkest Africa. Flint is cruel, brutal, and autocratic. Using simple stage magic and sleight of hand to make the superstitious natives believe he is semi-divine, he also employs a handful of Europeans to help him run his trade. He is a vengeful man and his vengeance when it comes to an old rival and his daughter is horrifying. Some of the implications are far darker and more grim than would be permitted to be openly portrayed in a film of the 1930s.

Until it aired recently on a cable television movie channel, I was totally unaware of this film. It is impressive. It is set in the tropics and just watching it makes you want to sweat. Walter Huston's chilling performance as Flint is excellent. The supporting cast is solid and the romance that blossoms between two characters seems far more genuine than many such relationships that are portrayed in other films of the early 1930s. This is a film that is not to be missed by anyone who enjoys classic suspense or adventure.

You're immediately plunged into a nightmare world similar to that psychotic, psychedelic half-world which Colonel Kurtz presided over in APOCALYPSE NOW. It's so unreal, it's like a never-ending bad acid trip which you can't believe it's actually happening but can't escape from. This is not a normal picture. If you've seen SAFE IN HELL or RAIN made around the same time and think this will have a similar feel, you're wrong. This is unique; it's strange, disturbing cruel sick and nasty but like the drug you feel you must have taken to experience this, it's totally addictive.

Walter Huston plays a crazed character who has devoted his life to hatred. The theme of this picture is hatred and everything you see is of a result of his insane dedication to vengeance. He rules an isolated tribe of savage cannibals like people from prehistory but it's he who is the least uncivilised and is virtually a base savage beast. His 'Flint' might be the least likeable character ever put onto celluloid. Although he is beyond evil, by the genius of Walter Huston's manic (over)acting, it is he and not the innocent girl he captures, degrades and tortures whom we empathise with. It's exceptionally clever filmmaking.

The direction and stunning, claustrophobic photography (by the same guy who filmed THE WIZARD OF OZ!) create an absurdly over the top sense of menace, dirt and utter unpleasantness. The expressionistic lighting makes Flint glow with evil whilst allowing darkness to hide the edges of the frames - the fuzziness enhances its dreamlike quality. You can't see everything which is happening, you can't see Flint's henchman raping the girl, you just get to see Flint's manic grin outside the door. You don't see the people being burned alive on Flint's pyre but you hear the screams, you hear the pain. The sound makes the nightmare real. There's constant noise, constant drums, the constant sound of eternal despair.

Sound is massively important to this film. It's a remake of the silent WEST OF ZANZIBAR made just a few years earlier but without sound, that is a million times inferior to this. In the original, there's an explanation of why Flint became this monster but in this version he's just thrown at us - the shock value works so much better. We don't need to see that he was a third rate music hall magician. We don't need to see how his rival (Lionel Barrymore!) ruined his life. We don't need to see the humanity he once had. If he is to be our antihero-hero, we have to accept him for who is is now.

A lot of symbolism can be seen in this; there's good versus evil, there's redemption, there's humanity versus savagery and of course love versus hate. Unlike in the original there's even an allegory of Adam and Eve. Lupe Velez is inexplicably attractive and sensual amongst the filth, grime and squalor representing temptation. She's doesn't need to seem real, she is simply Flint's manifestation of unrestrained sexual desire, tempting and offering forbidden fruit.

Irving Thalberg at MGM loved to (and indeed could afford to) take risks, to do something a bit more edgy than normal and nothing in 1932 was more edgy than this. It's not a happy film, it's actually genuinely disturbing but it's also pretty amazing and will be something you will always remember.

It won't be shown during "family" hours, so stay up or set your VCR. This pre-Code tale of revenge, sex, brutality, and, ultimately, redemption was one of Walter Huston's best performances (not that he was capable of a bad one). It's like a train wreck--you don't want to watch, but you can't turn away. Virginia Bruce is excellent as the innocent convent-educated girl who becomes a pawn in Huston's diabolical revenge scheme. Drug addiction and abuse of women run rampant, along with racism and superstition. Sweaty, dirty, and disheveled characters, sex, violence, drugs, and great performances. It doesn't get any better than this. Even though you'll guess the ending early on, you'll still want to watch it, and you'll want to see more of Walter Huston's films.