Kongo (1932)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

William J. Cowen

Writers:

Chester De Vonde (play) &
Kilbourn Gordon (play) ...

Release Date:

1 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Plot:

This remake of West of Zanzibar (1928) made four years later tries to outdo the Lon Chaney original in morbidity...

Plot Keywords:

Magic | Africa | Melodrama | Trader | Ivory

Cast

Walter Huston	...	King 'Deadlegs' Flint, aka Rutledge
Lupe Velez	...	Tula
Conrad Nagel	...	Dr. Kingsland
Virginia Bruce	...	Ann Whitehall
C. Henry Gordon	...	Gregg, aka Whitehall
Mitchell Lewis	...	Hogan
Forrester Harvey	...	Cookie Harris
Curtis Nero	...	Fuzzy

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:M

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Virginia Bruce married John Gilbert during the production.

Movie Connections:

Version of West of Zanzibar (1928)

Delirious jungle melodrama for pre-code fans

Walter Huston steps into Lon Chaney's wheelchair to play the evil crippled magician commanding a "juju" cult of natives who burn women alive. Lupe Velez is on hand [and narrowly escapes getting her tongue twisted out with a wire]. Enter blonde Virginia Bruce, a convent girl forced into prostitution in Zanzibar, but now a hopeless alcoholic. Enter Conrad Nagel, a doctor who is now a hopeless drug addict [his cure involves being covered with leeches and buried up to his neck in a swamp]. Don't worry: there's still MORE plot! Everyone sweats a lot, on leftover sets from RED DUST, but the direction is rudimentary and lacks the courage of the plot's kinkiness. Still, it's some kind of must-see since they sure don't make them like this anymore!