King of the Wild (1931) User Reviews

Good early serial is an odd mix of locations and situations. Interesting for no other reason then Boris Karloff is a villain

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 5 July 2008]

Robert Grant is an American in the east who bears an uncanny resemblance to a Raja. When the Raja is killed by a tiger he was hunting Grant is forced to take his place so that the Raja's cousin won't seize the throne before the rightful heir can ascend. Unfortunately for Grant his friend Harris sells him out to the evil cousin because Grant refused to hold onto the throne and rape the country of all its wealth. What follows is a long chase as Grant tries to prove his innocence while disguised as an Arab (he's jailed for murder but escapes) and help the only one who knows who he really is find her brother who is being held captive until he relays the location of a diamond mine.

Its a complex story that has more chapter breaks then cliffhangers. Shot partially silent this is a good looking serial that is an odd mix of locations that are nowhere near each other (Africa, India, the desert...). Despite not having a music score the film moves along reasonably well, even if the plot does tend to fold back on itself. The cast is pretty good with Boris Karloff one of the baddies looking for the diamond mine. Not the best, nor the worst but worth a look if you're in a forgiving mode, besides where else can you see an ape-man as a henchmen? It should be pointed out that the serial is what many would call racially insensitive. The portrayal of Arabs is mostly as villains and the black natives is of savages with bones through their noses.If you are offended by such portrayals, which were very much of the time this was made, look elsewhere.

A must-see serial, despite some let-downs!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 18 August 2017]

The longest chapter of course is the first at 32½ minutes. But there is still a considerable variance in the two-reel chapters which range all the way from 21 minutes (6) to 16 minutes (10). Total running time: 248 minutes. U.S. release: March 1931. U.K. release: June 1931.

Cut-down feature version (not released in the U.S.): BIMI.

SYNOPSIS: The complex story-line involves a lot of folderol about a letter written by a dying Rajah (Miller) which exonerates a young American (also Miller) of his murder and accuses his plotting half- brother (Auer) and his accomplice (Santschi) instead. Matters are complicated by a young man's (Nye) discovery of a diamond mine which an Arab sheik (Karloff) covets. The sheik is joined by the free-booting accomplice (who brings along his obedient ape-man, McLaglen), a vamp (Christie), an animal trader (Potel), and a secret service agent (Lalande).

NOTES: Locations outside Yuma, Arizona (desert scenes) and Bronson Canyon, North Hollywood. Interiors shot at Tec-Art Studios, Los Angeles. This was Mascot's third of 23 all-talking serials and was originally to star Harry Carey and Edwina Booth who both became unavailable when called back to M-G-M for re-takes on "Trader Horn".

COMMENT: Although it's obvious right from the start that Martha Lalande is no old lady, we know she couldn't possibly be the man in dark glasses because both characters are on screen at the same time in at least two chapters. It does strain credulity a bit when it finally turns out...

Never mind! Realism was never a Mascot virtue. Not that it matters when just about each episode — particularly numbers one through five — is so chock-a-block full of high-budget excitement. Six is the economy chapter. And there is a noticeable lessening of both pictorial splendors and thrills thereafter. But still plenty of derring-do, nonetheless.

Miller makes an agile hero, but lacks the confidence he was later to assume as a serial heavy. His impersonations are little short of ridiculous, but we like him. Nora Lane, of course, makes a splendid heroine; whilst Santschi plays the villainous Harris to a "T". The big disappointment is Karloff, who acts his Mustapha as a try-out for the duplicitous rajah in some Amateur presentation of "The Green Goddess".

Another letdown — though for the opposite reason — is provided by Dorothy Christie, that glorious vamp who is killed off at the end of Chapter Two. Let's hope she received an urgent call from M-G-M. Much as we like Miss Lane, the serial is the sorrier for Christie's absence.

Direction is smooth, photography atmospheric.

Solid Serial with Problematic Aspect

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 6/10 · 14 April 2021]

This is another movie that I had never heard of until I was going through Letterboxd and it appeared on a list of horror films from 1931. Looking through this a bit, I was curious if it was going to be another one of those that is light on these elements or not. The other thing that struck me was the runtime. This is a serial that was shown in parts so binging it through like I did can make it problematic. To get into this synopsis, American adventurer Robert Grant (Walter Miller) is falsely accused of murdering an Indian noble and escapes to Africa in search of a diamond field and the real culprit.

Much like the synopsis state, we're starting this in India where Robert is meeting with the just and kind ruler of Rajah (Miller). Robert is actually on a business trip it seems and he's trying to sell a machine to him. Rajah is more intrigued how close they look like each other despite being from different parts of the world. Robert is made an honored guest and joins them on a hunt. Things take a turn when a tiger attacks Rajah, fatally wounding him. Rajah wants Robert to pose as him until his brother can arrive. The reason being to convince Prince Dakka (Mischa Auer) nothing has happened and he doesn't usurp the throne.

Robert confides in a hunter of Harris (Tom Santschi). He asks him to keep the secret and take the letter. Harris sees a chance to make money. He reveals to Prince Dakka the truth of Rajah in exchange for when Dakka is king, he will pay him a large sum of money. Rajah's brother shows up though before he takes the throne with soldiers. To prevent them from looking guilty, Robert is blamed for Rajah's death and he is taken to prison. What is keeping him going is him knowing the letter is out there that could clear his name. Harris wrote his contract with Dakka on the back of it and it was signed.

Some years later, Robert breaks out of prison and is in the deserts of Algeria. He makes his way to Lobanga where he seeks out the aid of Mustapha (Boris Karloff). It is there he also meets the other important people to this story. Robert seeks the help of Mustapha to track down Harris and it turns out they're friends. Mustapha isn't to be trusted. Through Peterson (Victor Potel), they learn Tom Armitage (Carroll Nye) has discovered a diamond mine. They want to avoid government interference to get rich. Robert meets Tom's sister of Muriel (Nora Lane) and wants to keep them safe. Complicating it more are Mrs. LaSalle (Dorothy Christy) who Tom takes a liking to, Mrs. Colby (Otto Hoffman) who is a secret agent and even this mysterious man in black glasses. Harris also has trained an ape man by the name of Bimi (Arthur McLaglen) as a henchman.

It becomes a dangerous game of cat and mouse with many twists and turns as Robert tries to clear his name, help out Muriel and her brother along with keeping Harris and Mustapha from getting this field of diamonds.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap for this. To echo what I said in the start, this is a serial. It was broken up into shorts and there are 12 chapters for these. This is probably better suited to watch it with some gaps as it does get a bit repetitive to watch straight through like I did, especially when you have the recap at the beginning of each. I'm going to try to not hold this against it too much, but I wanted to point that out.

Next I want to go into what I find interesting. This movie is listed as horror, but it is quite light on those elements. With the time this came out, I can see why it fell into the genre. What is pretty scary here is that there are a lot of instances where animals are attacking people. This is interesting to show how wild the area these events are happening. I also believe this is stock footage that is edited in and works well. Having man-eating animals is pretty horrific. There is also a tribe of Africans that hold our character hostages and hunt them as well. This includes some racist things that I will delve into a bit later, but it is scary if you are in that situation. I do think this is less horror than some movies that we question today, but it is a different time.

Another genre that should be considered here is crime. Robert is accused of something that he didn't commit. He's spending most of this movie proving the truth. I like that for early scene, we are seeing him do some nefarious things to prove that. I'm assuming this is pre-code in order to show it. He is willing to go back to prison though, so that could also be their out. Much like him, Muriel and Tom are also our heroes here. I find it interesting that they are all white as well. Robert for most of this movie though is posing as an Arab to keep a low profile.

The reason I brought up the last point though, Mustapha is presented as a character we can't trust. He is also an Arab here. I will say though Harris is white. Peterson, Mrs. Colby and the man in the black glasses are all white as well. I bring this up as we don't know if they are good or not throughout. I don't want to make this film out to be more racist than it is. It has it moments for sure, especially when dealing with the African tribe. Mustapha finds them to primitive and easily controlled. He's not wrong to an extent. They have a simpler lifestyle so some things they've not seen before sways them. I just don't like some of the language or how they are presented at times. The ape man of Bimi is another problem I have here. The movie doesn't explain his origins so I'm a bit more forgiving.

Since I've taken such a look at the characters themselves, I will go next to the acting. I think that Miller is solid in both Robert and Rajah. I would have liked to see an actual Indian actor for the latter, but for the story it needs to be the same person. Lane is good as our female lead. I like how outgoing and strong she is. It is interesting that Tom takes a backseat to her as a character. Santschi is good as this sneaky hunter of Harris. Another problematic role is Mustapha. I really like Karloff. I think he's a great actor and he fits the role fine. It is a different time, but I still would have liked to see someone of Middle-Eastern roots playing the character. Potel, Auer, Hoffman, Nye and the rest are solid in their supporting roles. McLaglen as Bimi is also problematic, but I again am not going to hold it against the movie due to the minor back-story given.

Next I want to go to the effects. For this movie, we really don't get a lot and being the era it is from they were done either practical in front of the camera or edited in. The stock animal footage is fine. I did find it funny that for some attack scenes with a lion, they actually used a lion rug to simulate it. I could tell it wasn't real or at least alive anymore, but it is creative in my opinion. The camera is pretty static, but I do feel they had some outdoor filming here which worked.

In conclusion here, what I will say is that this is a solid serial. I personally don't know if it is made to be binged straight through like I did. Normally I'm not a fan to start negative, but this is a bit repetitive and that made it boring for me. There is still an interesting story and concept here, especially for early cinema. I think the acting is solid across the board. There are some problematic casting and things that are portrayed or said for me though. I would say that this is still an above average movie despite my issues with it.

Four hours of boring silliness. Flying to these locations would find you more entertainment.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 7 January 2018]

With everybody talking ever so slowly and in monotone speech, this is creakier than the soil above an open volcano. Cheaply made and rushed for the weekend matinee crowd, this has not stood the test of time well. Getting past stereotypes of Arabs and African natives, and even taking into account that the film is of the fantasy/adventure genre, this is difficult to get into and stay interested in. Even with some intentional stupid elements (Otto Hoffman in drag looking like a combination of Old Mother Riley and Whistler's Grandmother; a silly looking ape man mumbling everything but "Ooga Booga!"), this is nearly sleep inducing, not only to its idiotic plotting, but a tinny soundtrack practically music-less.

American explorer Walter Miller is accused of murder and escapes from Ranjapur to the wilds of Africa where in 20 something chapters, he faces various challenges while trying to find the real killer and locate secret diamond fields among the blue clay, fighting wild animals, eluding his enemies and protecting Nora Lane, a young lady searching for her missing brother. How the outlandish old lady becomes involved in hiking across jungle and desert terrain is better left unexplained. This only had interest for me for the presence of Boris Karloff as the main villain, a stereotypical Arab, whose slow drawl and deep voice influences Miller when he disguises himself as an Arab. Badly read narration at the beginning of each episode doesn't even help recap how the previous chapter ended, since they each end jarringly and don't give really good cliffhangers in the first place. I'd like to find the edited feature length version which would get rid of all the fat and trim it down to a respectable length.