Mamba (1930)

August Bolte, the richest man in a settlement in German East Africa in the period before World War I, is called "Mamba" by the locals, which is the name of a deadly snake. Despised by the ... See full summary »

Director:

Albert S. Rogell

Writers:

Winifred Dunn, Tom Miranda (dialogue),

Stars:

Jean Hersholt, Eleanor Boardman, Ralph Forbes

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean Hersholt	...	August Bolte (Mamba)
Eleanor Boardman	...	Helen von Linden
Ralph Forbes	...	Karl von Reiden
Claude Fleming	...	Major Cromwell
Will Stanton	...	Cockney servant
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Major von Shultz (as William von Brincken)
Hazel Jones	...	Hassim's daughter
Arthur Stone	...	British soldier
Torben Meyer	...	German soldier
Andrés de Segurola	...	Guido (as André De Segurola)
Edward Martindel	...	Fullerton
Noble Johnson	...	Hassim
Josef Swickard	...	Count von Linden (scenes deleted)

Storyline

August Bolte, the richest man in a settlement in German East Africa in the period before World War I, is called "Mamba" by the locals, which is the name of a deadly snake. Despised by the locals and the European settlers alike for his greed and arrogance, Bolte forces the beautiful daughter of a destitute nobleman to marry him in exchange for saving her father from ruin. Upon her arrival in Africa, she falls in love with an officer in the local German garrison. When World War I breaks out, Bolte, unable to avoid being conscripted, foments a rebellion among the local natives.

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Plot Keywords:

africa | world war one | partially lost film | two strip technicolor | melodrama

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Taglines:

A GRIPPING JUNGLE DRAMA ALL IN COLOR AND SOUND! (original poster - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il serpente bianco

Company Credits

Production Co:

Color Art Productions, Tiffany Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the sixth feature-length talkie to be produced in color, after On with the Show! and Gold Diggers of Broadway. Three other all-color talkies were in production at the same time, all of them musicals. It was the first such project that was not a musical, and the first not to be produced by Warner Bros.

User Reviews

Mamba (1930)

I have just had the opportunity of viewing the complete 1930's Tiffany Production of "Mamba", starring Jean Hersholt, Eleanor Boardman and Ralph Forbes. Unfortunately, this was seen without the accompanying Vitaphone disc soundtrack, but due to having a copy of your Plot Summary this made it easy to follow the storyline. The early two-colour Technicolor was amazingly bright and made this screening a surprisingly pleasant experience.

I note in your Trivia notes that, according to the authors of Forgotten Horrors, "only about 12 minutes of silent footage remain." I can refute this information as there exists in Australia a complete 35mm version of this film, in good condition.