Namu, the predatory whale
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Namu, the predatory whale |
| Original title | Namu, the Killer Whale |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1966 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | László Benedek |
| script | Arthur Weiss |
| production | László Benedek Lamar Boren Ivan Tors |
| music | Samuel Matlovsky |
| camera | Lamar Boren |
| cut | Erwin Dumbrille |
| occupation | |
| |
Namu, the predatory whale (Original title: Namu, the Killer Whale ) is an American animal film directed by László Benedek for Ivan Tors Productions from 1966 with Robert Lansing , John Anderson , Robin Mattson , Richard Erdman and Lee Meriwether in the leading roles. Alternative titles are Namu, the killer whale and Namu, her best friend .
action
The marine biologist Hank Donner and his friend, the fisherman Deke, witness how other angry fishermen , above all their leader Joe Clausen, chase a group of killer whales across the water with their boat and fatally injure an animal from the herd with a bullet. The dying whale swims into the bay where the researcher set up camp before it dies there. Donner registered this behavior of the frightened local residents with great displeasure and concern, as he wanted to research the marine mammals and not kill them. Hank Donner then also takes care of the male whale, who followed his partner into the bay and is obviously mourning the loss of his partner. Donner is fascinated by the killer whale and decides to keep it with him as he makes no move to leave the dead body of the female animal that was stranded in the shallow bay . Even when the carcass of the female animal is taken away the next morning, the male animal remains in the bay and starts lamenting. Donner decides to help the animal and to protect it from the angry attacks of the concerned residents and fishermen.
The marine biologist takes a boat into town to buy a 180-meter-long fishing net from Kate Rand, who runs a local department store, to close off the bay he has leased for the rest of the fishermen. As soon as he arrived at the settlement, he was met by the open rejection of the local people. His friendly and open manner is only acknowledged there with mute suspicion. Joe Clausen with his colleague Burt and an elderly fisherman is already waiting for him in Kate's shop. They try to dissuade Hank from his idea of protecting the orca, strengthened by prejudice, because the salmon season is imminent and the first schools of salmon have already been sighted, which they do not succeed with Hank Donner. When Joe Clausen threatens Kate with a purchase boycott, she is able to neutralize the mood again with her engaging, binding but determined manner. She does not allow herself to be blackmailed. The fact that Kate and Hank like each other is obvious to those present too. Kate's daughter Lisa, who overheard the conversation, becomes aware when the language turns to the dangerous call of the killer whales. Lisa suffers from the fact that her father was killed on a diving expedition, but his body was never recovered. The children in the village, especially cocky Nick, try to tease Lisa and he torments her with the made-up story that her father was probably devoured by an orca during his dive.
Hank, who immediately spans the long net back in the bay and thus keeps the fishermen at a distance, sees his chance to explore the killer whale's emotional behavior. In order to study the animal up close, Hank Donner, much to Deke's initial displeasure, ventures further and further into his studies. A powerful directional microphone is dropped into the water to study the whale's songs. However, all attempts to feed the whale fail because it simply refuses to eat. Only when Lisa, Kate Rand's daughter, comes to the bay one day to take a closer look at the marine mammal, does Hank manage to win the animal's trust by scratching its body and dorsal fin with a mop. The young Lisa supports him in his endeavors. And together with the girl, Hank manages to hand-feed the killer whale, thereby documenting that the intelligent animal is by no means the much-sung beast that is vilified as a man-eater in books and in people's stories. After Hank tells the girl the Indian saga of the animal Namu in order to relieve her last fears, the two decide to baptize the whale Namu.
Lisa, who happily tells her mother about the new events at home, quickly fell in love with her new animal friend and Kate is more than grateful to Hank for his well-meaning, caring manner towards her daughter. When Lisa comes back the next day to feed Namu, the curious children from the village reappear. After initial restraint and shyness, the children soon realize that the orca is more like a playful dolphin than an aggressive predator. Nick, who regards this observation with displeasure, hatches an evil plan when he discovers a bait with dangerous barbs on the jetty. After feeding, he throws it into the water as a disguised fish bite, pretending to do the same as the other children. The orca, who first swallows the bite, goes wild with the indigestible suspicious bite and instantly panics the children, who flee the bay.
After the children have reported the incident to their worried parents, it is of course grist to the mill of the local residents and they are forced to act. Half of the place is on its feet because of the story and finds itself in the bay of the marine biologist, who can only with difficulty prevent the angry armed crowd of parents and their children from short-circuiting reactions. The mood is irritable and tense, and lynching is in the air. Hank, who in the past few days has gained the confidence of the animal through joint playful actions in the water, doesn't know what else to do than to demonstrate the trustworthiness of the good-natured marine animal to the residents on site by going into the water with the orca in a diving suit goes up to play with him. The residents, initially full of worry, fear and mistrust, follow the unusual spectacle between humans and animals with increasing fascination and amazement. With Burt, Joe Clausen's right-hand man, last doubts remain and he is inclined to use the rifle time and again, only when Kate, who anticipates the dangerous situation and therefore bravely walks into the bay in a diving suit in a diving suit, meets Hank and Namu , can prevent an escalation and soothe the heated mood. The situation seems to have been saved, Kate and Hank have climbed back onto the jetty and the residents are in a mild mood when Joe Clausen suddenly approaches from the sea with his fishing boat and a rifle in hand and starts shooting at Namu, but without him from a great distance. Hank reacts in no time and cuts the large net on one side so that Namu can escape into the open sea. Clausen pursues the marine mammal with fierce fury and continues shooting without hitting Namu. This in turn reacts and capsizes the fisherman's small boat in self-defense. Hank and Deke, who followed the two in the boat, arrive in time to see how Namu saves the fisherman who has fallen into the water from drowning and who can cling to him. The two of them pull Joe Clausen into the boat, who is shocked but has to acknowledge that the so-called killer whale not only did not eat him, but on the contrary protected him and on top of that saved his life.
Namu, who has meanwhile identified a companion in the open sea, joins him without further ado and leaves the bay. The marine biologist is happy and relieved about this development and can comfort Lisa because it is not possible to predict with certainty for the future whether Namu will one day return to them.
synchronization
The German synchronization was created in 1972.
| role | actor | Dubbing voice |
|---|---|---|
| Hank Donner | Robert Lansing | Rainer Brandt |
| Joe Clausen | John Anderson | Horst Keitel |
| Lisa Rand | Robin Mattson | Janina Richter |
| Deke | Richard Erdman | Franz Nicklisch |
| Kate Rand | Lee Meriwether | Lieselotte Rau |
| Burt | Joe Higgins | Herbert Knippenberg |
| Nick | Michael Shea | Ilya Richter |
| Carrie | Clara tart | Lilli Schoenborn |
| Charlie | Edwin Rochelle | Peter Elsholtz |
| German 'Teller' | Heinz Giese |
Reviews
“The story of the whale Namu, who is held captive by a naturalist and accustomed to people until he is given freedom again after many adventures. Impressive animal film, the framework of which, however, falls sharply. The fascinating animal photos are really worth seeing. "
Production notes
The production designer was Eddie Imazu . The special effects are from Earl McCoy , Franklin Milton and Al Strasser were responsible for the sound. The production manager was Herman E. Webber. The film was set in San Juan Islands , Washington , USA.
A DVD edition was released in 2005.
literature
Web links
- Namu, the Killer Whale in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Namu, the predatory whale in: Cinema
- Namu, the predatory whale in: Kino
- Namu, the predatory whale in: Moviepilot
Individual evidence
- ↑ Namu, the predatory whale in synchronous database ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Namu, the predatory whale. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
