Le Livre de la jungle

Here we have a glorious Technicolour adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling stories, nowadays forgotten after being eclipsed by Disney's cartoon film of 1967. Its status is ill-deserved, however, as this turns out to be a thrilling and eventful movie along the same action-packed lines as THE THIEF OF BAGDAD.

It's hardly surprising, given that the two films share both Zoltan Korda as director and Sabu as star. THE JUNGLE BOOK serves as a loose adaptation of a handful of the original Mowgli stories, featuring all the animal characters that Kipling made famous and integrating them into a storyline that's very much of its era.

Once the Tarzan-like jungle adventures are dispensed with, the plot involves a trio of greedy hunters and their quest for a mythical city of gold. Along the way, there are plenty of animal encounters which utilise some cutting edge technology for their day; those giant snakes still look impressive even now, and I'd for sure take them over lazy, modern-day CGI.

Overall the film has a pleasant and whimsical tone, and the bookend scenes involving an old beggar narrating the tale are very well handled. Sabu is in his element, and doesn't put a foot wrong, and there's enough drama to satisfy both child and adult viewers.

Loosely based on the Rudyard Kipling "Mowgli" stories, the 1942 JUNGLE BOOK offered war-weary audiences brilliant Technicolor, elaborate sets, numerous action sequences, exotic animals, lost treasure, and a climatic firestorm--not to mention charismatic Indian-born star Sabu in a persistently and titillating half-naked state. It was easily one of the most popular films of the year, a two-hour respite from some of the darkest days of World War II, and its style was so admired it easily won two Academy Awards for best color cinematography and best art direction.

Seen today, however, JUNGLE BOOK is considerably less enchanting. Much of the film's original appeal arose from audience interest in seeing "jungle beasts" in full color--and while several of the animal sequences (particularly those relating to tiger Shere Khan) are classics of their kind, most modern audiences have seen many such scenes in many later films. Further undercutting the animal-interest is the film's use of several animal "dummies" that seemed realistic in 1942 but which are now very obvious in their artificiality.

What remains, however, are Sabu and the overall design of the film, both of which are quite remarkable. Sabu (1924-1963) was an extremely unlikely star, plucked from complete obscurity in India by the Korda brothers to star in the 1937 ELEPHANT BOY. Fluent in English, unexpectedly charismatic, and with a handsome face and impressive body that the Kordas displayed to great effect, Sabu's greatest success would come with the 1940 Korda brothers' production of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, and he would remain a popular actor in exotic roles throughout World War II. Although not his best film, JUNGLE BOOK captures Sabu at the very height of his appeal--and that is saying a great deal indeed.

The design of the film is equally notable and provides a perfect backdrop to Sabu's charms. Filmed largely on soundstages where producer Alexander Korda, director Zoltan Korda, and art director Vincent Korda could exercise absolute control over every aspect of the film, JUNGLE BOOK is a study in the art of the Technicolor process and easily ranks among the finest color films of that decade. The sets, particularly the complex jungle and "lost city" scenes, are both remarkably fine and beautifully photographed, and the firestorm that climaxes the film retains considerable power.

Unfortunately, however, there doesn't really seem a single DVD edition of the film that presents the film in its full 1942 glory. JUNGLE BOOK is among a number of famous films that has fallen into public domain--and the result is a host of incredibly dire releases to the home market. I have seen, either in full or in part, at least a half-dozen DVD releases of the film, and in each instance the colors are extremely muddy and the picture very fuzzy, often to a point at which the movie is virtually unwatchable. And sadly, given the obscurity of the film in the wake of the popular Walt Disney animated feature, we are very unlikely to see anything better.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

When the Blitz began taking its toll on London, producer Alexander Korda picked up stakes and headed for Hollywood, with his two brothers, Zoltan and Vincent, in tow. There, they finished "Thief of Bagdad" (1940) and produced "That Hamilton Woman" (1941) before beginning this elaborate Technicolor version of Kipling's Mowgli stories, originally titled "The Jungle Books," (published in 1894 and 1895). The film focuses on three of the volume's stories - "Mowgli's Brothers," "Tiger, Tiger" and "The King's Ankus." It's a fairly interesting screen translation of Kipling's attempt to provide young readers with the stories he was told by his Indian ayah when he was a child growing up in the Far East.

When a big-spending movie producer like Korda acquires the rights to a classic, there are inevitable changes. Someone hit upon the cute idea of giving Mowgli (played by Sabu) a "love interest." She appears here in the person of Mahala (Patricia O'Rourke), but after she passively lends impetus to an ill-fated search for lost treasure, her character becomes inconsequential to the rest of the picture.

The film begins as Mowgli's mother, Messua (Rosemary de Camp) is widowed one morning when her husband becomes breakfast for a hungry tiger. We later learn that the tiger is the vicious Shere Khan, who during Mowgli's childhood has become his arch-enemy. Unfortunately, when Mowgli and Shere Khan square off for a climactic battle to the end, the dated special-effects are a disappointment. Perhaps Kipling's original version of Khan's death (in the book, he is trampled lifeless by Mowgli's animal/allies) would have better suited the film.

Three of the village's leading citizens have been thrown together as a sort of Hindu vaudeville act: Buldeo, the blowhard hunter (the good, underrated Joseph Calleia); the greedy barber (John Qualen); and the "pundit" (Frank Puglia). Their lust for a dead king's treasure is given appropriate levity. The predatory Buldeo, Shere Khan's human counterpart, represents the single most dangerous threat to the jungle and the sense of community held sacred by the animals who live there. Ideologically, therefore, the fire that purges the jungle of all human sins seems an appropriate climax.

In the end, we see Buldeo, now aged and wiser, confessing his past sins to all who will pay a rupee to listen to his story of Mowgli and the jungle. As we see, he ultimately earns his money and reputation honestly as not only a story-teller, but as the narrator of this charming spectacle.

When the Second World War began three brilliant Hungarians Jews who had made a name for themselves in London –-the impresario/director Alexander and his two brothers Zoltan, also a director, and Vincent, artist and art director-- escaped to Hollywood and started making movies. After the international success of their superb London Film Productions, among them "The Thief of Bagdad" (1940), "Rembrandt" (1936) and "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), the three began all over again in distant Hollywood. With its Indian themes and actors, few viewers today have recognized that most of this production was shot in 1941-1942 on Hollywood sound stages, primarily the low-budget Hollywood Center Studios on No. Las Palmas, not far from the more luxurious Paramount Studios. Producer Korda with his brother Zoltan as director were brave enough to mix a native-born Indian actor, Sabu ("Elephant Boy") with two Hollywood star character actors, Spanish-born Joseph Calleia ("Touch of Evil") and Sicilian-born Franco Puglia, both heavily made up. Eternally loyal as the Kordas were to their native countrymen, they never forgot to hire their fellow expatriates: the astonishing music is by Budapest-born Milklos Rozsa ("Spellbound") and orchestrated by Eugene Zador; the second-unit work, the animal sequences and those probably shot on location in India, were directed by Andre de Toth, born in Mako in old Austria-Hungary. American born Bill Hornbeck who edited the Korda's "Scarlet Pimpernel" in London did the cutting and Lee Garmes ("Night of the Hunter') and the Technicolor pioneer, W. Howard Greene, did the cinematography. The excellent sound effects are not credited.

This is probably the first movie I have seen. That is the reason why I want to write about it. Every time I watch this movie I remember when I was just a child. I loved this movie and I still do.

The Jungle Book is one of the first color movies ever made and you can see that... but that doesn`t matter because the level of entertainment is so high. Actors in this movie are great but so is the staging.. and matter a fact so is everything else. It is not hard to believe that this picture got a few oscar nomination.

After all, excellent movie and lot of nostalgia... at least for me.

*****