Nor the Moon by Night ( 1958 )

"The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." - Psalm 121:6 

After years of caring for her mother, gentle nurse Alice Lang ( Belinda Lee ) decides to fly out to Kenya to marry gamekeeper Andrew Miller ( Patrick McGoohan ). Alice has never met Andrew but they have been corresponding with each other by mail for years and she feels she knows him inside and out. She picks an inopportune time to come to Kenya, for a vicious game poacher ( Eric Pohlmann ) is stirring up trouble on the reserve and Andrew is out on the job trying to catch the culprit. Since he will not return for several weeks, his younger brother ( Michael Craig ) decides to be host to Andrew's mail-order bride and falls in love with her himself.

After Andrew is attacked by a lion, Alice nurses him back to health and then must decide whether to marry him out of loyalty or choose his brother, whom she now loves.....

Nor the Moon by Night was based upon Joy Parker's novel of the same name which was originally serialized in a woman's magazine in the 1950s. As a pulp fiction romance adventure, it is a witchdoctor's brew of all of the elements one would expect to find in such a story: elephant stampedes, cobra attacks, a romantic quadrangle, jealousy, dangerous villains, jungle fever, bush fires, and, of course, native superstitions. 

Director Ken Annakin, who had a success with the similarly themed The Planter's Wife ( 1952 ), never lets the 90-minute film get dull and follows each exciting event with something new and different. It was sumptuously filmed on location ( by cinematographer Harry Waxman ) in the beautiful Valley of the Thousand Hills in Natal, South Africa and also within Kruger National Park. Unlike many jungle films of the era, Nor the Moon By Night has no stock footage of crocodiles scurrying into the lake or blurry hippopotamuses fording a river. All of the animal scenes was clearly shot with the cast and crew on location.

Behind the camera, events were just as exciting as on-screen with Belinda Lee attempting suicide, Patrick McGoohan incurring a concussion, Michael Craig nearly drowning, Anna Gaylor falling ill with dysentery and the crew being constantly bitten by snakes and spiders. 

"Most people think Africa's a zoo, where you chuck a monkey under the chin and then go off for a martini."

The principal players of Nor the Moon By Night all give very good performances, especially Michael Craig and Belinda Lee, two extremely popular actors of the 1950s who are underrated today. Also in the cast is Anna Gaylor, a lovely French actress, Joan Brickhill, and Lionel Ngakane.

This post is our contribution to the 6th Annual Rule Brittania Blogathon being hosted by Terence Canote on his blog, A Shroud of Thoughts. Click here to read more reviews of classic British films!

From the Archives: Watusi ( 1959 )

What wild beast could be lurking in the African bush? George Montgomery ( the "Great White Hunter" ) is on a safari with Taina Elg and David Farrar and a bevy of native carriers when they encounter a dangerous animal in MGM's Watusi ( 1959 ). This film gave the studio an opportunity to reuse footage - lots of it - from King Solomon's Mines ( 1950 ). 

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store : http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures

Secret of the Incas ( 1954 )

Before Indiana Jones, there was Harry Steele, a rugged, charismatic, and fast-quipping treasure hunter with a thick strain of thievery in him. Charlton Heston stars as this handsome ne'er-do-well in Secret of the Incas ( 1954 ), Paramount's contribution to the jungle bonanza that swept Hollywood in the early 1950s. 

Harry Steele has just one thing on his mind - getting his hands on the golden Sunburst, an Incan treasure. He works part-time as a tour guide in a small village in Peru, biding his time till a plane arrives en route anywhere out of that village. 

That day comes when Elena Antonescu ( Nicole Maurey ) sets foot in town. Elena left Romania illegally and currently has two immigration officials on her tail....they happen to arrive with a small plane. Along with the curvaceous red-head, Harry steals the plane and then sets off for Machu Pichu to search for the legendary Sunburst, a huge golden disc long thought to have been stolen by ancient grave robbers.  

Secret of the Incas was the direct inspiration for George Lucas' Indiana Jones trilogy, and it's no wonder, the film combines all of the elements of an ideal adventure flick : a tough-talking hero, a witty script, and loads of exotic atmosphere....in this case, Incan atmosphere. Lucas even borrowed Harry's signature weathered leather jacket and wrinkled hat. 

The film also boasts a strong cast which includes Robert Young as a compassionate archaeologist, Glenda Farrell as a married hussy, and Yma Sumac, the Amazonian songbird. Sumac toured throughout the world during the 1940s and 1950s but rarely appeared in films. In her debut, she demonstrates her remarkable five-octave vocal range in three native-inspired numbers. Thomas Mitchell is also marvelous ( when is he not? ) as shyster Morgan. 

Like most jungle films of the 1950s, Secret of the Incas has its fair share of corny dialogue and cheap sets, but, nevertheless, it is high in entertainment value. Charlton Heston is especially appealing as the unscrupulous fortune hunter, a role that only he could play so well. It's a pity that another Harry Steele adventure did not follow. 

Jungle Classics of the 1950s

"Land of the Hunter...and the Hunted!"

Jungle thrillers had long been a staple at every Hollywood studio. As far back as 1921 literary classics such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ "Adventures of Tarzan" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" were adapted for the silent screen.  

In 1929 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios decided to produce a grand African adventure epic to top all - Trader Horn. A camera expedition was sent into the depths of Africa to capture the raw primeval excitement of dangerous untamed beasts ravaging on each other. As they touted in the press releases for the film, "Fate and Nature could never again be so kind to another expedition such as that of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer troupe which braved death again and again to bring the world sensations new to civilization. Strange tribes, strange places, the frontier of a primitive world are the background for the drama of 'Trader Horn'".

The actors and crew had suffered through seven months of dysentery and other tropical diseases to film the story based on Alfred Aloysius Horn's best-selling book about his tales as a young hunter in the great vast jungle of the enormous continent. Director W.S Van Dyke went gung-ho on filming and brought back over 200,000 feet of film… most of it stock footage. Trader Horn became a great success when it was released in 1931 and, with all the extra footage on hand, the great powers-that-be at MGM decided to follow it up with other films featuring African locales. Smart fellows. Kongo and Tarzan the Ape Man were two such films. ( The footage would last them through nearly twenty years of jungle flicks ). 

RKO was readying King Kong at this time and other studios were joining in on the congo-bongo bonanza. The 1930s ushered in new film adaptions of Stanley and Livingstone ( starring Spencer Tracey ) and King Solomon's Mines. 

During the 1940s serials capitalized on the wonderful plot flexibility African themed films offered, creating such wild concoctions as Nyoka the Jungle Girl, Tim Tyler’s Luck and The Phantom, as well as the short films of the true-life adventures of "Bring 'Em Back Alive" Frank Buck. Even the Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello fumbled their way into Africa.

It was in the 1950s however that jungle themed films really became box-office gold. The world-wide success of MGM's third adaption of King Solomon's Mines in 1950 started a wave of drum-beating-man-fighting-wildebeest flicks. The story plots were simple, often featuring shapely damsels in distress donning their pith helmets to follow a hired guide into the wild to rescue their husband. Of course, those hot steamy African nights would turn on their mating instincts and, before the rescue party would reach the lonesome hubby, the wife would be in the arms of the great white hunter. 

Every star in Hollywood had to appear in at least one jungle film in their career, but certain actors and actresses were better suited to this setting than others. Rough and rugged Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, and John Payne especially excelled in the native environment while prim and proper ladies such as Deborah Kerr, Grace Kelly or Rhonda Fleming provided stark contrast to these hairy muscled men.

In addition to the major feature players, secondary B actors such as Lex Barker, MacDonald Carey, and Jon Hall joined in on the jungle bandwagon and starred in tribal series. Aside from the ever popular Tarzan series, there were 12 films featuring Bomba the Jungle Boy ( starring Johnny Sheffield ) and 16 Jungle Jim films made ( with a post-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller ). 

But let's turn the spotlight back onto the African adventure films of the 1950s. Highlighted below are some of the most memorable jungle movies made during this time ( among them some very forgettable films too ):


King Solomon's Mines ( 1950 )

Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Richard Carlson, Hugo Haas. 

The film that started them all. Allan Quartermain is hired by Mrs. Curtis to search for her lost husband, who went off on a trek into the deepest, darkest, unchartered territory of Africa in quest of King Solomon's legendary diamond mines. 

The African Queen ( 1951 ) 

Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley. 

A boozy boatman is coerced into taking a prim English missionary lady upstream through crocodile infested rivers out of German Eastern Africa when Germany declares war in 1914. 

The Snows of Kilimanjaro ( 1952 )

Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, Hildegard Neff. 

Based on the best-selling novel by Ernest Hemingway, Snows tells the story of writer Harry Street who reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Bwana Devil ( 1953 )

Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, Nigel Bruce.

The first feature film to be released in 3-D, Bwana Devil was advertised as placing a "lion in your lap, a lover in your arms". The head engineer of a railway company becomes obsessed with tracking down two lions after they attack several of his workers.

"Flaming love found in the savage heart of the jungle!"

Mogambo ( 1953 ) 

Clark Gable, Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Donald Sinden. 

A riverboat drops off several passengers at a game hunter’s lodging in Kenya, one of whom is a floozy the other a young anthropologist with a restless wife.

White Witch Doctor ( 1953 )

Robert Mitchum, Susan Hayward, Walter Slezak, Timothy Carey.

A guide takes a pretty nurse upriver to a remote village so she can help bring medicine to the natives... but first she must quench the superstitious beliefs of the natives.

Duel in the Jungle ( 1954 )

Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, David Farrar.

An American insurance investigator travels to Rhodesia to investigate the death of a diamond broker who supposedly died while diving. With $1 million dollars at stake, the American suspects an insurance fraud.

Africa Adventure ( 1954 ) 

Robert C. Ruark, Harry Selby, John Sutton. 

World-wide newspaper columnist and novelist Robert C. Ruark takes his viewers on an expedition through the wilds of Africa in this thrilling film/documentary.

Tanganyika ( 1954 ) 

Van Heflin, Howard Duff, Ruth Roman, Jeff Morrow. 

In the early 1900s, a tough settler leads a safari to bring an escaped criminal to justice. Along the way four survivors of Nukumbi raids join his expedition. 

Simba ( 1955 ) 

Dirk Bogarde, Donald Sinden, Virginia McKenna, Basil Sydney. 

A European family of farmers must contend with hostile natives when the Mau-Mau tribe rebels against their white Colonial masters. 

Congo Crossing ( 1956 ) 

George Nader, Virginia Mayo, Peter Lorre, Rex Ingram.

Assorted fugitives from justice gathered in Congotanga find themselves on a hunter’s expedition in the jungle. 

Odango ( 1956 )

MacDonald Carey, Rhonda Fleming, Juma.

A hunter and veterinary who run a hospital for the wild animals find they must hunt down all their patients when a former employee sets them loose in revenge for being fired. 

Safari ( 1956 )

Victor Mature, Janet Leigh, Roland Culver.

A wealthy eccentric and his young fiancée hire a rugged guide to lead them into jungle territory in search of his son's murderer.

Beyond Mombasa ( 1957 )

Cornel Wilde, Donna Reed, Leo Genn, Christopher Lee.

Cornel Wilde travels to Mombasa to claim his share of a copper mine and instead finds his brother supposedly murdered by Leopard tribesmen with no copper mine to claim. 

Tarzan and the Lost Safari ( 1957 )

Gordon Scott, Robert Beatty, Yolande Donlan.

Tarzan rescues the survivors of a plane that has crashed and leads them out of the jungle only to find that a white hunter is after him to put him on exhibition. This film is notable as being the first Tarzan movie to be filmed on location. 

Harry Black and the Tiger ( 1958 )

Stewart Granger, Anthony Steel, Barbara Rush.

A famous hunter is on the quest for a man-eating tiger but lets his best friend, a coward, prove his courage instead. Meanwhile Harry snitches his gal.

Killers of Kilimanjaro ( 1959 ) 

Robert Taylor, Anne Aubrey, Anthony Newley, Gregoire Aslan.

An engineer plans to forge through the wilds of Africa to lay tracks for his railroad company but must first contend with hostile tribes, stampeding elephants and angry crocodiles. Anne Aubrey tags along in quest of her fiancée, ready to brave any beast that comes her way...Taylor not included.

Watusi ( 1959 ) 

George Montgomery, Taina Elg, David Farrar, Rex Ingram. 

Harry Quartermain retraces his father Allen Quartermain’s footsteps in quest of King Solomon’s Mines. 

So to conclude, if you ever feel the urge to stalk prey, swat tsitsi flies, or have your heart go pitter-pat to the beat of tribal drums, instead of booking that flight to Africa, fluff up your pillows and sit back and watch a good jungle film. Even Tarzan endorses this method upon occasion. Ungawa!! 

The Ferocious Kitty

 Poor Lou, wait till he sees the lions and gorillas he will be up against in the jungle when he and Abbott take a trek to the dark continent in "Africa Screams"! ( 1949 ).

Nugget Reviews - 4

It's Nugget time again! We have some golden nuggets thrown in this batch as well as an adventure/jungle theme going here ( to tie in with our Jungle Classics post coming soon ). Enjoy!

Sahara ( 1943 ) 24k

A U.S tank commander and his group of  misfit desert hitchhikers band together at a deserted old water-hole to fight off a battalion of German soldiers in Libya. Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, Dan Duryea, J. Carrol Naish. Columbia Pictures. Directed by Zoltan Korda. 

Sahara is one of the best war time films depicting the grueling conditions of the North African campaigns of WWII. It also boasts excellent cinematography and one of Bogart's finest performances as Sergeant Joe Gunn. Whenever you see a film with Philip MacDonald listed on the writing credits you know you are in for a gem and this is a golden nugget for sure! 

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Father Goose ( 1964 ) 18k

A boozie boat bum gets recruited by the British Navy to help with plane-spotting on a secluded Pacific island. While there he - reluctantly - rescues a group of schoolgirls along with their attractive teacher. Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Trevor Howard, a group of little girls. Universal. Directed by Ralph Nelson.

This is one entertaining film! No matter how many times you see it, it will always put a smile on your face. Cary Grant is excellent as "Mother Goose", the rum-hunting recluse who tries his best to stay out of the war, as is Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard. A fun and adventurous comedy.

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Congo Maisie ( 1940 ) 14k

Maisie gets herself into alot of jams but this time she finds herself stranded in an African village with a sarcastic doctor and a group of hostile natives being rattled up by a wild witch-doctor. A Maisie-fied interpretation of the old Red Dust plot...with MGM's Clark Gable war-time replacement - John Carroll. Ann Sothern, Sheppard Strudwick, Rita Johnson. MGM. Directed by H.C Potter. 

Maisie is always a darling to watch. This time she slinks and smartalecks her way through the jungle in robust fashion, dispensing little gems of wisdom to the comely wife of the resident hospital on staying clear of "wanderers" in life and falling in love in the process herself. Her showgirl/magic performance used to drive away the witch-doctor is the highlight of the film. 

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The Spiral Road ( 1962 ) Elctr.

An ambitious doctor heads to the jungles of the East Indies to study under a great tribal doctor, but along the way he finds that there is more to life than worldly ambitions. Rock Hudson, Burl Ives, Gena Rowlands, Geoffrey Keen. Universal. Directed by Robert Mulligan.

This film is a doozy! Rock Hudson as an atheist Norwegian I can buy, but his conversion to "seeing the light" at the end is another matter entirely! Hudson was woefully miscast. Although seeing him grope around the island as a bushy-bearded "wild man" and Burl Ives excellent performance were worth sitting through the 2 1/2 hour film. I guess....

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An Elephant Called Slowly ( 1969 ) 14k

The Travers are off to Africa to house-sit for a friend and find a group of orphan elephants who have "adopted" them as their parents during their stay. Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, George Adamson. Morningstar Prod. Directed by James Hill.

After the success of "Born Free", Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers teamed up again for another African adventure, this time with elephants ( in case you didn't read the title ). Unlike "Born Free" however, it lacked a great John Barry score, and the film dragged in spots. Still, if you want something to watch with your cats on a rainy day it's worth a peek-see. The film also features a great beat-up Land Rover named Mister Mopagee.