Review: Killers of Kilimanjaro

Set in the 1880s, Robert Taylor is an engineer assigned the task of finishing the first railroad across Africa. An earlier crew have apparently disappeared, with only milquetoast ‘Hooky’ (Anthony Newley) left behind to assist Taylor. On the voyage over to Africa (a ship captained by bearded Donald Pleasence) Taylor also befriends young Pasha (John Dimech), whose father it turns out is a local slave trader (Gregoire Aslan), who wants Taylor to strike a deal with him. Taylor refuses, and after recruiting helpers from the local prison (!) he sets about going on safari, in order to search for the lost men and finishing the railroad. Anne Aubrey is a woman Taylor also meets aboard the ship, whose father and husband (the latter played by Allan Cuthbertson) are the missing men in question.

Not very popular with critics then or now, I actually rather enjoyed this 1959 safari adventure film from the reliable Richard Thorpe (“Ivanhoe”, “The Prisoner of Zenda”, “Knights of the Round Table”, “Quentin Durward”, “Jailhouse Rock”). Thorpe’s leading man of choice Taylor has an older, harder edge to his performance here which I like more than some of his romantic swashbuckler parts (his best performance was a psychotic buffalo hunter in “The Last Hunt”). He’s ably backed by a solid B-cast (including a small, early role for Pleasence, who ought to have been in the film more) who get the job done, especially the bumbling comic relief of Newley. Most affecting is a vivid cameo by an emaciated, exhausted Cuthbertson (a most underrated Australian-born character actor). Aubrey’s a bit limp as the female lead, though.


The film benefits from lots of shots of various members of the animal kingdom thanks to colour cinematographer Ted Moore. It’s just a B-movie, and it belongs to a genre I’m not keen on, but I actually think this is one of the better ones. I have no idea what everyone else’s problem is. Screenplay by Earl Felton (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, “The Narrow Margin”), Cyril Hume (“Tarzan Escapes”, “Forbidden Planet”, the original “Ransom”), John Gilling (writer-director of the Burke and Hare flick “The Flesh and the Fiends” aka “Mania”), and Richard Maibaum (just about every James Bond film from “Dr. No” to “Licence to Kill”), from a book by Dan P. Mannix and the appropriately named J.A. Hunter.


Rating: B-

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2014 at 6:14 PM

    Not very popular with critics then or now, I actually rather enjoyed this 1959 safari adventure film from the reliable Richard Thorpe...

    Watch your grammar, otherwise bang on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ryan McDonaldJanuary 7, 2014 at 9:20 AM

    Thanks for reading, though unless you're referring to my addiction to parentheses (it's kinda become my thing, though, so why stop now?), I can't see any grammatical errors at all. I've gone through it with a fine-tooth comb! And you're right, Richard Thorpe was pretty reliable, I must say.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Russ QueenFebruary 26, 2014 at 6:49 AM

    Saw this at the Cinematheque in Paris a few years back. It was great to watch, but rather unintentionally funny, and I recall getting some very stern looks from one of the over-serious denizens when I laughed where I wasn't supposed to.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ryan McDonaldFebruary 26, 2014 at 9:15 AM

    Hmmm, depending on what the film is, I might've been one of those over-serious types, but not for a film like this. I wouldn't judge your for laughing at something as minor (and that's not a criticism of the film) as this.

    ReplyDelete

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