The King of the Kongo

LIONS AND TIGERS AND...ELEPHANTS... AND A GORILLA... SEVERAL OTHER KINDS OF EXOTIC CATS... AND...AND...AND... A DINOSAUR!

I just kept thinking (or was I singing?), as I watched this mad, mad, mad, mad world, of the song in "The Wizard of Oz". How many places in the African continent do you know of where this assortment of fauna exist? Well, in the darkest part of Kongo these all exist together, along with an assortment of ivory poachers, general thieves, gangs who go after anything and everything (including a cache of jewels in a huge, dirty sack), lost fathers who may not be exactly "lost", a secret service agent who is looking for another secret service agent who's the first mentioned secret service agent's brother who is looking for an international ivory smuggling gang's leader, and, finally, a woman who's looking for her long "lost" father who lives in the area, raised by a priest nearly since she was born, and who has spent most of her time living around a native tribe called the Wahili and knows their leader and their ways extremely well. Oh, and all this is near the ancient place called Nuhalla, a gigantic palace of yore that is fallen into ruin, but is extensive enough to have miles of tunnels and thousands of rooms, and secrets and secrets and secret passageways, dungeons, and whatnots!

Well, this is what is contained in "King of the Kongo" (1929), a ten part serial newly restored by Eric Grayson from 9 different film sources in several millimeters and at least 4 different sound sources, with some voice overlay in places that are missing the sound discs done by modern voice over actors. I must admit that after the first chapter I didn't know what had hit me!! Was this for real? It was so far out, so off the charts, so biologically impossible, so not quite altogether past silent film, so part-sound, so when are they going to learn how to act in this new medium?, so, so, so... It was, for a modern viewer, so bad that's it's not good, but...GREAT! Well, I couldn't wait for chapter 2...and chapter 3. I watched over a period of 4 nights. I couldn't wait to get to the last chapter - - - also to see if things that weren't logical would turn out to be logical in the end. But, nope! There were coincidences and a few parts or incidences that weren't and aren't. So what! This has to be one of the most fun films I've ever watched!

Starring Jacqueline Logan and the King of Serials, Walter Miller, the baddies (and, oh, are they bad) Boris Karloff and Larry Steers, and their gang of crooks (one of the aforementioned baddies is worse than the others, and he may not be exactly the person you think he is). Along for the ride, and they may not be exactly what they appear at first to be, are Lafe McKee, Richard Tucker, Harry Todd, Richard Neill, and J. Gordon Russell. A very tall black actor named Robert Frazier (not to be confused with Robert Frazer) plays the native chief of the tribe.

I wasn't familiar with Larry Steers...or so I thought. He's a good looking actor and he dressed nattily throughout (up to a point). However, the IMDb has him in 616 films during a very long career, mostly uncredited parts much like Bess Flowers, an actress who appeared in well over 1000 films! I've seen Lafe McKee for years and years in hundreds of "B" Westerns and the like. Here he actually has a substantial part. Harry Todd played baddies and the like for decades, too. He plays a character here that appears to be "simple", but by today's classifications is more like an autistic character. He has the most ambiguous, if not ambivalent part, and plays it quite well. Richard Tucker is only in the first chapter, and is the chief of the Secret Service, or one of its main chiefs, anyway.

Don't be put off by the first few minutes. They're awful acting-wise by today's standard. But, trust me, the show doesn't just grow on you, it sucks you up and doesn't spit you out. As for logic, well, one of the first things you learn is that if you find the gorilla you find the King of the Kongo. What does that mean? Well, I'll not give spoilers, but...if you're a logical sort you'll wonder when it's all over just how did the Secret Service learn this point. It's an impossibility if you think about it. I'll not tell why. Anyway, don't worry about logic and don't worry about some continuity that's, well...

Oh, did I mention the dinosaurus? Yes, that's what one character calls it. And how many dinosaurs have you seen roaming around sites lately? None, you say. Well, in the deepest, darkest part of Kongo you might find one around Nuhalla. For the record, Nuhalla uses travelogue scenes from Angkor Wat in Cambodia. They are actual scenes of the ruined palace, though there are scenes with characters in the film shown there. Obviously, even that was a trick of the camera in 1929. Though scenes were filmed there at some time, the actors weren't there. The chapter beginnings all mention that the scenes of the palace were filmed in Cambodia.

Eric, you outdid yourself. Putting all this together had to be monumental! Excellent job. To all fans of the serial genre, to all those interested in the part-talkies, to all interested in the transition from silent to sound, to all fans of a really fun time at the movies, this is your ticket. Highly recommended!

One last thing, Boris Karloff makes this serial tick! Catch that sport coat he wears, torn and shredded and filthy dirty. The mise-en-scene he makes happen. He's also the only one who can act. Indeed, he's wonderful to watch. Now, notice I mention the torn coat. In a couple of scenes it's NOT torn. Hummmmm... Where was the person in charge of continuity. Who cares!!

If you've read the 'Trivia' section about this film, you'll know that it's a real curio – a serial shot as a partial silent and a partial talkie. The dialogue track is not currently available and so the version I've seen is with musical soundtrack only. Unfortunately, there are plenty of lengthy 'talkie' scenes that leave vital plot points fairly obscure and turn the viewing experience into somewhat of an endurance test.

Larry Trent (Walter Miller) is sent to Africa to arrest a gang of ivory poachers by the British Secret Service. He's also trying to find the last agent sent there, who also happens to be his brother. There, he hooks up with Diana Martin (Jacqueline Logan) who is looking for her father. Together they become involved in the search for a cache of gems hidden in the ruined city of Nuhalla. The jewels are also a target of the poachers, led by Scarface Macklin (Boris Karloff), Jack Drake (Larry Steers) and an intelligent gorilla!

It's easy to point out the factual inaccuracies in this; after all, the title itself is a fine example of accurate spelling being sacrificed in the name of commerce. Additionally, our hero is a positive magnet for big cats in search of a free lunch and these include a rather frisky tiger. A similar refugee from India would seem to be the heroine's elephant (perhaps the two animals escaped from some travelling circus together?) To add to this strange menagerie, a dinosaur guards the treasure! This is actually not a bad trick shot for the time, with a real lizard blown up and put in the same frame as the actors. However, it is just the one shot endlessly repeated and it disappears completely in the later chapters.

The plot probably wouldn't stand up to close scrutiny even if the dialogue were available and soon degenerates into lots of running around a ruined temple, captures and escapes, etc. There is also a surprising (but completely ludicrous) twist toward the end which does nothing for its' credibility. The acting is perfunctory at best, although at least the cast avoid the most exaggerated mannerisms of the silent era. Karloff is, of course, the pick of the bunch but a completely static camera does little to enhance his performance. Director Richard Thorpe actually went on to have a long career in movies that included some of the Weismuller Tarzans and Jailhouse Rock with Elvis Presley.

In all fairness, obviously this was pretty small budget stuff at the time and the absence of the dialogue probably renders a harsher verdict than might otherwise be given. Enjoyable moments are few and far between but an early sequence is a highlight. On hearing that Diana has left for the ruined city, our hero wastes no time in pursuing her into the jungle. Alone, with only a pistol, no map, no guide and no food or water!

One last thought though. This obscure serial may have had a lasting effect on cinema, after all. I can't help but wonder if a certain couple of movie producers might have seen it in the late twenties and got some inspiration from it. I mean, there is an ape in it and it doesn't take a genius to rearrange the words of this title and come up with something a lot snappier and quite a bit more famous!