Trader's horn
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Trader's horn |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1931 |
| length | 122 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | WS Van Dyke |
| script |
Richard Schayer Cyril Hume Dale Van Every John T. Neville |
| production | Irving Thalberg |
| music |
William Ax Sol Levy |
| camera | Clyde De Vinna |
| cut | Ben Lewis |
| occupation | |
| |
Trader Horn is an American adventure film directed by WS Van Dyke from 1931. It tells the story of the hunter Alfred Aloysius Horn, whose book Trader Horn was adapted for the film by Dale Van Every and Ethelreda Lewis.
action
Aloysius Horn lives in deep Africa and works as a hunter there. He is also known as Trader Horn because of his trading relationships. He goes on a sailing trip on a river with the son of his best friend, Peru. He tells Peru that he was the first white man to see this river. They dock at a lively native village. The residents welcome them, Trader is brought to the chief.
Peru has been educated about the customs of the natives by traders, but he is shocked at the sight of a human skeleton. Soon distant drums sound. Traders and the natives know that an attack by the brutal Masai warriors is imminent. Trader explains to Peru that the Maasai and Kukua are at war and decides to move on.
They set up camp with their African leader Renchero. The night's sleep is disturbed by the unexpected appearance of the missionary Edith Trent, an old friend of Trader's. Edith explains that she is looking for her missing daughter Nina. She wanted to get to the Isorgi area where Nina was suspected. Trader offers to accompany her, but Edith turns down the offer. A white armed man would only provoke the Isorgi warriors to attack. Edith, however, allows traders and his people to follow her from a distance.
Shortly after the expedition began, Trader and Pero find Edith's body. They cover the corpse with stones to bring it back to civilization later. You continue the search for Nina and meet many African animals. You can actually find Nina, who turns out to be the sadistic white goddess of a village. Nina plans to sacrifice the newcomers. They are to be crucified and burned. Only at the last minute does Nina reflect and release the prisoners. She wants to flee with them from the now angry natives. On their way back, the group defends itself against all dangers, such as a lion attack. Peru and Nina fall in love with each other. The sounds of the approaching drums cause traders to split up the group. Peru is to continue traveling with Nina, while Trader and Renchero stay together.
The next morning, Trader discovers that Renchero has sacrificed himself to protect him. Peru and Nina get to safety with a pygmy tribe . Soon thereafter, traders also join them. Peru wants to bring Nina back to civilization and have her trained. As the two sail away, Trader thinks he sees an image of Renchero in the clouds in the sky.
background
The premiere of the first feature film to be set in Africa took place on February 3, 1931 in New York . The film has not yet been shown in Germany.
The MGM production budget was $ 1.3 million. The film grossed almost $ 3.4 million worldwide. The film was shot in what is now Kenya , Tanzania , Sudan , Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The animal fighting scenes were filmed in Tecate , Mexico .
In real life, Harry Carey and Olive Carey were a married couple.
The shooting was overshadowed by illnesses (malaria and sleeping sickness) and two accidents. A local film crew member fell into a river and was killed by a crocodile. Another employee was killed by an attacking rhino . This scene was captured on film and also used in the feature film. Furthermore, the employees suffered from the weather conditions as well as incursions from ants and mosquitoes. It took Edwina Booth six years to recover from the hardships and malaria. She ended her career with this film.
Although the sound film had been developed for some time, the dialogues were later dubbed in the MGM studio in Culver City. The African actors were also brought to Hollywood for this purpose. These activities and subsequent filming in the studios suggested that the film was not shot in Africa at all. MGM scrapped most of the new scenes, including scenes with Marjorie Rambeau who replaced Olive Carey as Edith Trent.
In 1973 Reza Badiyi directed a remake with the same title. Rod Taylor played the title role .
Reviews
Variety saw "a good looking animal film" in the film. The story is irrelevant, it only serves to compose the animal scenes.
Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times praised the poignant realism, skillfully blended with robust fiction.
Awards
In 1931 , the film was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Picture category.
Literature template
- Alfred Aloysius Horn: Trader Horn. Kessinger Pub, 2005, ISBN 1-4179-1370-3 (English edition).
Web links
- Trader Horn in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. imdb.com
- ↑ Edwina Booth, 86; Actress Who Won Fame Due to Illness . In: The New York Times , May 24, 1991.
- ↑ See review: 'Trader Horn' ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Variety , 1931.
- ^ Mordaunt Hall : Trader Horn (1931) . In: The New York Times , February 4, 1931.
