You almost lose track of the story whenever Gene Tierney's on screen in this picture, absolutely gorgeous with an air of exotic mystery to boot. It's curious to me how many reviewers for the film on this site take it for granted that the Nazis were behind the treachery and gun smuggling going on in the story. However, there's no mention of Nazis, no German characters, and if you didn't know any world history, you'd be hard pressed to place the action during World War II. That's a reasonably good guess however, given Pallini's (Joseph Calleia) competent dissertation on a global power's strategy to take over the world with Africa as a linchpin. The emphasis on Africa doesn't take on much significance in hindsight, but still makes for a good story.
It's interesting how the writers worked a native curse into the story with that 'one man of six' will die before it's over. Then white hunter Dewey (Harry Carey) arrives and things get moving. I had to control a chuckle when Marc Lawrence first showed up here as the Arab gun runner Hammud. He's played so many villains in his career that it wasn't unusual to cast him as a foreigner, but he looked a bit out of place here. Was that supposed to be an Afro?
So Gene Tierney's top billed here, but it seems to me Bruce Cabot did the heavy lifting as Commissioner Crawford, aka Bwana Mkubwa. George Sanders manages to earn respect as Major Coombes after arriving on scene with a hell-bent for leather military style before realizing he'd better switch tactics to get the most out of his people. Too bad Pallini couldn't hang around to the end of the story, he was an interesting character.
I didn't think I would like this one as it first started but it had a way of working it's mystery. The finale seemed to have a contrived heroic feel to it, but after all, the good guys had to come out on top, and the Cabot/Tierney romance didn't get in the way of the story. The closing scene with Sir Cedric Hardwicke extolling the virtues of freedom loving Brits was inspiring even if a bit forced. Still, I'd rather have the Allies win the day than those pesky, invisible Nazis.
It's interesting how the writers worked a native curse into the story with that 'one man of six' will die before it's over. Then white hunter Dewey (Harry Carey) arrives and things get moving. I had to control a chuckle when Marc Lawrence first showed up here as the Arab gun runner Hammud. He's played so many villains in his career that it wasn't unusual to cast him as a foreigner, but he looked a bit out of place here. Was that supposed to be an Afro?
So Gene Tierney's top billed here, but it seems to me Bruce Cabot did the heavy lifting as Commissioner Crawford, aka Bwana Mkubwa. George Sanders manages to earn respect as Major Coombes after arriving on scene with a hell-bent for leather military style before realizing he'd better switch tactics to get the most out of his people. Too bad Pallini couldn't hang around to the end of the story, he was an interesting character.
I didn't think I would like this one as it first started but it had a way of working it's mystery. The finale seemed to have a contrived heroic feel to it, but after all, the good guys had to come out on top, and the Cabot/Tierney romance didn't get in the way of the story. The closing scene with Sir Cedric Hardwicke extolling the virtues of freedom loving Brits was inspiring even if a bit forced. Still, I'd rather have the Allies win the day than those pesky, invisible Nazis.