Bozambo

Although the title refers to the British commissioner of the N'Gombi district of Nigeria during the Colonial days of the British Empire, Paul Robeson's magnificent rich baritone voice is easily the highlight of this well-made but dated film. Looking at it from the 90's perspective, I was appalled to see the native blacks treated as savages and children at the same time. Paul Robeson expected a different kind of film and unsuccessfully fought its release after it was completed. Leslie Banks plays Commissioner Sanders, called "Lord Sandy" by the natives, and oversees the various competing and sometimes hostile tribes. In the last five years, there has been peace among the tribes due mostly to the respect and fear of him. Robeson is a prison escapee who has been chief of the Ochuri tribe for the last five months, an illegal act without permission from Banks. He goes to Banks to claim that chiefdom, and Banks, knowing who he really is, and sensing he is a good man, proclaims him chief on the basis of those last five months. It pays off when word comes that Chief Mofolaba (Tony Wane) has been raiding other tribes to gather slaves, and Banks has Robeson and his warriors capture him and free those captives. It's a humiliation that Mofolaba swears he will revenge. Among the captives is lovely Nina Mae McKinney, who Robeson takes for his wife, and who bears him two children during the next five peaceful years. When Banks decides to take a year's leave of absence to return to London to get married, two villains spread the word that Banks is dead and there is now no law. They expect to profit by selling guns and gin to the natives. Mofolaba kills Banks' replacement and has his men kidnap McKinney to use as bait to lure Robeson to his land so he can have his revenge. Meanwhile, word gets to Banks, who hasn't yet left for London, about his replacement's death and the general lawlessness that now prevails, and he starts to return to Mofolaba's land. And Robeson takes Mofolaba's bait, but is captured and tied to a post next to the post that McKinney is tied to. Mofolaba promises him a slow death after he witnesses McKinney's death.

Leslie Banks stars as the title character, a British officer who manages to keep the peace between the African tribes loyal to His Majesty and those loyal to the African king. His right-hand man, one of the tribal leaders, played by Paul Robeson, does all he can to help Banks maintain the peace, but when Banks takes a trip away from the region, all heck breaks loose. Robeson tries his best to stem the tide of revolution against the British in Sanders' absence.

Zoltan Korda directed this surprisingly lesser-quality film, but actually wanted to make a more positive film in regards to its portrayal of Africa, but sadly he was dissuaded. Also, it is sad to see Robeson, such a political force for equality in real life, play a stereotypically subservient role to Banks. The film was based on Edgar Wallace's novel at the urging of the film's producer and director's brother, Alexander.

I have mixed feelings about this film. First off, like one reviewer, I was surprised at the topless natives. I would have thought the censors would have cut that out. Paul Robeson played a man who made himself a chief so he could run a tribe. In the movie, only the British could authorize a man to become a Chief. I guess the natives were not authorized to make their own Chief--I thought that was strange! Even stranger, a British authorized Chief had to be given a medal on a chain to wear around his neck--kind of what a rapper would wear today. This medal indicated an authorized Chief. Sandy did try to rule in a fair manner, learned native customs, and learned some native languages. I did dislike how the natives had to call the British Lord and to act like children. The British treated the natives like children. The part that Robeson played was of an extremely smart man. Everything the British told him to do after making him Chief he had already thought of and done on his own. The look on Robeson's face was of a man purposely acting like a child while all the time he was ten jumps ahead of the white man. The look on the British was he knew Robeson was smart and Robeson knew the British knew but each had to play their own part. I thought the movie was worth watching.

Paul Robeson is the star in this Ripping Yarn, with the British keeping the 'picaninnies' under control in Nigeria.

A number of pastoral African scenes of the National Geographic variety (if you know what I mean) are included in this story of the conflict between two tribes in the African heartland.

Don't believe the undergraduate comments here - this is nowhere near as racist as the B grade American films made in the same era ("The Jazz Singer" for instance, and it's ilk), or TV series of the fifties - the Africans are dead glamorous and brave, and the British characters wooden and two-dimensional.

In reviewing films involving African-Americans in chronological order for Black History Month, it's now 1935 when singer/actor Paul Robeson has gone to England for this movie produced by Alexander Korda's London Films with direction by Korda's brother Zoltan. It takes place and is partially filmed in Africa and concerns a British colonialist (Leslie Banks) who places Robeson in charge of keeping peace among various tribes especially when the tribal king (Tony Wane) seems intent on abusing his power. Later on, Robeson meets Nina Mae McKinney and makes her his wife and they have a couple of kids. I'll stop there and just say despite some questionable politics that permeate the film, this was quite a rousing adventure to watch what with many of the wonderful scenery along the countryside with various beautiful animal shots not to mention the wonderful singing voices of Robeson and, in one instance, Ms. McKinney. And the sequences of the tribes, whether chanting or going into battle, bring plenty of excitement to bear. So on that note, Sanders of the River is at the very least, well worth a look.