Na Vastidão da África

Snake-oil salesman and diamond smuggler Robert Mitchum runs into trouble with irate African villagers; he's cared for by the daughter of a missionary reverend who is engaged to the district commissioner, who in turn has ordered the natives off the land due to an impending flood despite their refusal to vacate without their animals. Sloppy second-biller certainly doesn't provide much in the way of an acting showcase, though Mitchum and Carroll Baker manage a comfortable repartee. Adaptation of Max Catto's book waffles uncertainly between comedy, romance and adventure, this due to Ronald Neame's surprisingly lax direction. Film is benign enough, though that's hardly complimentary. *1/2 from ****

In Mister Moses, Robert Mitchum shows audiences that he could have easily played the title role in Elmer Gantry. He's already proved he should have been Skye Masterson in Guys and Dolls and Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire; so the next step is to show off his con-man skills. He's a snake oil salesman in Kenya, and after he gets tossed out of one village, he washes ashore by another. This particular village is about to be evacuated by the government because of an impending flood, and their missionary, Alexander Knox, has been trying to teach them the story of Noah's Ark to get them to leave their town. They get their stories a little mixed up, though, and they believe Robert Mitchum, because his name is Moses and he washed up by the river, is a holy prophet there to save them.

In case this sounds stupid to you, keep reading. This movie is adorable! Robert Mitchum shines in a rare comedic role, and even though Carroll Baker isn't the most believable missionary's daughter in the world, it's cute to see her in the middle of a love triangle between Bob and her fiancé, Ian Bannen. The reason this movie is guaranteed to put a smile on your face is because of the elephant. Bob makes friends with a local elephant and he rides atop her in several scenes-how adorable is that? Extremely adorable, so you should check this movie out whenever you need a laugh. It's like Born Free meets The Sundowners meets Elmer Gantry, but with an elephant.

The one quality missing from many films I claim, especially those made since 1972/3, has been genuine imagination. Call the quality honesty, surprise, wisdom, edge-of-the-seat interest, real difference--I claim it has been omitted from many otherwise worthwhile projects; death, half an hour into thousands of films, by script illogic is not pretty to watch. "Mister Moses", another situational thriller or adventure from Max Catto I claim is always fun to watch. Consider the story-line's premise. An entire village of African folk has to be relocated from one place to another; the excuse is a dam being built that will flood their land. Whatever. The point is they do not wish to leave their ancestors, the bones of their people, their gods. The authorities find a man to lead them out of the wilderness to the promised land; he is a genial con man played by Robert Mitchum, but they think he is Moses, not Joe Moses--never mind why. And he takes his job seriously, and they follow him. But that does not mean the trek will be an easy one. Especially not with a disgruntled, educated power-seeking type going after him with a flame-thrower. Yes, the villain traps himself in his own fire, but the other difficulties along the journey are also quite real. Enough so to make the adventure quite moving in its own understated and very realistic way. And did I mention the elephant the hero rides? And Carroll Baker as a pretty nurse who believes in Joe Moses? The credit for the good script, which is very faithful to the original novel by the way, was written by sci fi author Charles Beaumont and Monja Danischewsky. Director Ronald Neame achieved a quite dusty and atmospheric look that is kept remarkably consistent throughout the film's length. Other is the small cast include Ian Bannen, Raymond St. Jacques as the villain, fine veteran Alexander Knox, Reginald Beckwith and Orlando Martins as the village's chief. Cinematography was by Oswald Morris and art direction by Syd Cain. The music was quite good, and provided by John Barry of "007" films' fame. There is not much more to say about this intelligent and delightfully convincing film except to say that it could have been a great deal worse, and could hardly have been improved over what its caring creators gave it. Mitchum is very good as the reluctant savior on elephantback, Baker properly sympathetic; and everyone else consistently good. I find it a fascinating "B" film, helped by its color and made memorable by its straightforward story-line and fundamentally-sound premise. Of course like the earlier Moses, this one could not go to the Promised Land either. See the film for the ending. It's a fine entertainment by anyone's standards, and by mine it never drags, and never preaches either. Which is even better.

"Mister Moses" is an amiable, lightweight movie that is heavily dependant upon the charisma of its leading players. Luckily for the movie and the audience, one of the stars is Robert Mitchum who had been carrying lightweight movies since his RKO days. It was only during the last phase of his career that Mitchum's merit became recognised. Before then, his skillful underplaying had been misinterpreted as laziness and inability by the unimaginative morons who formed the critical establishment between 1945 and 1960.

Mitchum plays Joe Moses, a carnival trader in Africa and an easy-going cynic, who is chased out of one village at the beginning of the movie. Injured and unconscious, he floats downstream and winds up at another settlement which is due to be moved en bloc because of a new dam scheme. Moses is finagled into leading the reluctant villagers across country to their new settlement.

Because nothing very exciting happens, the star quality of Mitchum and Carroll Baker is what holds the audience's attention. The mid-1960s was the period when Carroll Baker was making her abortive attempt to become the new sex goddess of Hollywood in a series of salacious melodramas for producer Joseph E. Levine. She was ill-suited for that material, but in "Mister Moses" she is liberated from the shackles of aggressive sexiness. Here, deglamorised and natural, she reminds us of how good she was - and how attractive - in her first few movies before she tried to be a replacement for Marilyn Monroe. Baker and Mitchum make a good screen combination.

"Mister Moses" has all but disappeared in recent years, and has yet to make its debut on DVD. This is surprising because it was originally released by United Artists, since taken over by MGM. Movies released by MGM and United Artists have flooded the DVD market in the past two years, but there is still no sign of "Mister Moses".

Handled with a bit more humor than in the Elia Kazan classic The Wild River, Mister Moses is the story of a Masai village in Kenya which is about to be drowned out with the construction of a new dam. But the tribe clings to the land despite Reverend Alexander Knox's best efforts to persuade them to settle somewhere else with government aid. The government in the person of Ian Bannen is prepared to use more forceful methods. He's got a problem though Bannen is also courting Carroll Baker who is Knox's daughter and the village nurse.

Along comes into everyone's lives comes Joe Moses as played by Robert Mitchum. His entrance is unusual so I won't reveal it. But the tribe who has absorbed the literal biblical truth of the Holy Scripture has decided that he is their Moses and they'll follow Mitchum and only Mitchum to their promised land.

Villain of the piece is Raymond St.Jacques, son of the former witch doctor and one exposed to western ways wants to take over real bad from the old chief Orlando Martins and kick out Baker and Knox. He's got the most interesting part in Mister Moses and really scores in his performance.

As for Mitchum this is his third film with a jungle setting, the first two were White Witch Doctor and Rampage and they were both a great deal more serious in theme. Mitchum looked like he was enjoying himself giving a rollicking performance as only Mitchum can. According to Lee Server's masterly biography on old rumple eyes he and Carroll Baker enjoyed each other's company a lot until Shirley MacLaine arrived for a visit.

And also Mitchum spent a lot of time with an elephant named Emily in the film and Emily almost got fired until they discovered she was a lesbian elephant. Until they sent for her partner Susie, Emily was a most temperamental elephant. This attested to by director Ronald Neame.

Mister Moses is not in the list of great Robert Mitchum parts, but it's one that suited him perfectly and will still be enjoyed by his still legion of fans.