I remember the charm of this movie as a boy and it hasn't lost it (at least for me). Very nice elephant scenes. Very predictable coming-of-age type plot, but that's not bad! Although this was a more serious role for North as opposed to the "Dennis the Menace" TV programme & "Zebra in the Kitchen", etc., he performed it very well. If you like this movie, you'll also like "A Boy Ten Feet Tall."
20 Reviews
Two Boys, Two Elephants And India
bkoganbing13 June 2009
The best thing about Maya is the exotic location cinematography in India, the film really serves as a great advertisement for tourism to that land. The story here though is kind of weak and at times makes little sense.
Clint Walker is the lead though most of the film concentrates on his son Jay North and Sajid Khan who is trying to get a mother elephant named Maya and her white baby elephant to some pilgrimage location. Sajid Khan was accompanying his dad on that location, the what and why of the pilgrimage is a mystery, but the father dies and Sajid has to carry on.
In the meantime young North has arrived in India where his dad who is a famed animal trapper is suffering a crisis of confidence after a nasty bout with a cheetah. Walker has no time for the kid, he's got a pretty young mistress in the house in the person of Sonia Sahni. She looks as exotic as Jean Simmons did in Black Narcissus.
Jay quarrels with Walker and leaves to go back home and then for no discernible reason jumps the train and takes off into the jungle where he meets up with Sajid and the elephants. The boys have to be real careful as the white elephant unlike in our culture is considered a symbol of good luck. Everybody wants that elephant.
North and Khan have a nice Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn kind of relationship in Maya which carries the film along with the beautiful photography. What is hard to grasp is that North is identified as having grown up in Wyoming. Now granted Wyoming isn't India, but it's pretty woodsy out there with a lot of wild animals. You'd think a kid growing up there would display more sense than Jay does.
The film was a minor success and spawned a short lived television series which became a gay classic. Walker's character was eliminated in that one and the film was about Jay and Sajid searching for North's missing dad with the elephant Maya. When they aged those couple of years as teenagers the relationship was so different. Same kind of dialog and situations, but it came out as gay.
The film is not bad and the story is timeless and a good family film if you can get past some glaring plot weaknesses.
Clint Walker is the lead though most of the film concentrates on his son Jay North and Sajid Khan who is trying to get a mother elephant named Maya and her white baby elephant to some pilgrimage location. Sajid Khan was accompanying his dad on that location, the what and why of the pilgrimage is a mystery, but the father dies and Sajid has to carry on.
In the meantime young North has arrived in India where his dad who is a famed animal trapper is suffering a crisis of confidence after a nasty bout with a cheetah. Walker has no time for the kid, he's got a pretty young mistress in the house in the person of Sonia Sahni. She looks as exotic as Jean Simmons did in Black Narcissus.
Jay quarrels with Walker and leaves to go back home and then for no discernible reason jumps the train and takes off into the jungle where he meets up with Sajid and the elephants. The boys have to be real careful as the white elephant unlike in our culture is considered a symbol of good luck. Everybody wants that elephant.
North and Khan have a nice Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn kind of relationship in Maya which carries the film along with the beautiful photography. What is hard to grasp is that North is identified as having grown up in Wyoming. Now granted Wyoming isn't India, but it's pretty woodsy out there with a lot of wild animals. You'd think a kid growing up there would display more sense than Jay does.
The film was a minor success and spawned a short lived television series which became a gay classic. Walker's character was eliminated in that one and the film was about Jay and Sajid searching for North's missing dad with the elephant Maya. When they aged those couple of years as teenagers the relationship was so different. Same kind of dialog and situations, but it came out as gay.
The film is not bad and the story is timeless and a good family film if you can get past some glaring plot weaknesses.
Clint WALKER and the Indian Elephants
ZeddaZogenau26 November 2023
Adventures in India with Clint Walker
One day little Terry (Jay North) arrives at a busy train station somewhere in India. After his mother's untimely death, he is on the way to his father (Clint Walker), who lives in India and is a famous big game hunter. But no one is at the train station to pick Terry up. Alone, the boy is forced to trudge several kilometers through the jungle to his father's farm. The reception there is also cool; Terry's father has changed a lot. After an argument between father and son, Terry runs away and goes alone into the dangerous jungle. There he meets Raji (Sajid Khan), who is the same age and who is on a special mission with the elephant Maya and her white offspring Primo...
In 1966, Hollywood major MGM released a remarkable adventure film for children. Grief, being left alone and arguments between father and son are the central themes, which are told vividly and credibly from the perspective of a child. And all of this against the beautiful backdrop of India with its bright colors and exotic animals.
The German cameraman Günther Senftleben (1925-1982) achieved amazing things here with his beautiful landscapes and astonishing animal photos. Previously, cameraman Senftleben was responsible for such masterpieces as the West German musical "The Dream of Lieschen Müller" (1961) and the Cinecitta adventure film "Captain Sindbad" (1962) with the unforgettable EUROVISION star Heidi Brühl (1942-1991).
"Maya", as the film is called in the American original, was directed by John Berry and the music was by the Italian film composer Riz Ortolani (Mondo Cane (1962) / La piovra (1984)).
The Indian actor and director I. S. Bohar (1920-1984), who can also be seen from "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), the "Kali Yug" (1963) films and "Death on the Nil" (1978).
Casting the lead role with Western star Clint Walker (1927-2018) was very successful. Seeing that even a guy like a closet can suffer from anxiety disorder and exhaustion depression is very impressive. This film impressively explores unusually deep emotional worlds. And there are also great photos of elephants and tigers.
The rediscovery of this somewhat forgotten animal and adventure film classic is definitely recommended!
One day little Terry (Jay North) arrives at a busy train station somewhere in India. After his mother's untimely death, he is on the way to his father (Clint Walker), who lives in India and is a famous big game hunter. But no one is at the train station to pick Terry up. Alone, the boy is forced to trudge several kilometers through the jungle to his father's farm. The reception there is also cool; Terry's father has changed a lot. After an argument between father and son, Terry runs away and goes alone into the dangerous jungle. There he meets Raji (Sajid Khan), who is the same age and who is on a special mission with the elephant Maya and her white offspring Primo...
In 1966, Hollywood major MGM released a remarkable adventure film for children. Grief, being left alone and arguments between father and son are the central themes, which are told vividly and credibly from the perspective of a child. And all of this against the beautiful backdrop of India with its bright colors and exotic animals.
The German cameraman Günther Senftleben (1925-1982) achieved amazing things here with his beautiful landscapes and astonishing animal photos. Previously, cameraman Senftleben was responsible for such masterpieces as the West German musical "The Dream of Lieschen Müller" (1961) and the Cinecitta adventure film "Captain Sindbad" (1962) with the unforgettable EUROVISION star Heidi Brühl (1942-1991).
"Maya", as the film is called in the American original, was directed by John Berry and the music was by the Italian film composer Riz Ortolani (Mondo Cane (1962) / La piovra (1984)).
The Indian actor and director I. S. Bohar (1920-1984), who can also be seen from "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), the "Kali Yug" (1963) films and "Death on the Nil" (1978).
Casting the lead role with Western star Clint Walker (1927-2018) was very successful. Seeing that even a guy like a closet can suffer from anxiety disorder and exhaustion depression is very impressive. This film impressively explores unusually deep emotional worlds. And there are also great photos of elephants and tigers.
The rediscovery of this somewhat forgotten animal and adventure film classic is definitely recommended!
Summary of this movie
jbuck_9195 June 2002
There is no online summary, as opposed to a comment, so I offer the following:
Teenager Terry Bowen arrives in India to live with his father, a famous hunter. When he finds out that his father, who has reluctantly accepted his presence, is a supposed coward after a hunting accident, he runs away. He befriends a local boy who is on a pilgrimage with an elephant (Maya) and its white elephant offspring. They go through many travails as Terry's father searches the countryside for him.
Teenager Terry Bowen arrives in India to live with his father, a famous hunter. When he finds out that his father, who has reluctantly accepted his presence, is a supposed coward after a hunting accident, he runs away. He befriends a local boy who is on a pilgrimage with an elephant (Maya) and its white elephant offspring. They go through many travails as Terry's father searches the countryside for him.
Getting to Know Jay and Sajid
wes-connors16 March 2014
After the death of his mother, adventurous Wyoming teenager Jay North (as Terry Bowen) travels to India. He hopes to live there with his father, intrepid animal trapper Clint Walker (as Hugh Bowen). Noticing the lad's resemblance to his deceased mother, Mr. Walker is initially happy to have his son around. But, Walker quickly reveals a dark, moody personality. Walker becomes violent and young North is sent packing to live with his grandparents. However, North immediately jumps off the train and runs into the jungles of India. He must not like grandparents or Wyoming. After a couple of run-ins with nature, North gets his life saved by Indian teenager Sajid Khan (as Raji). The lads become fast friends. When young Khan's father dies, he and North try to fulfill the older man's dying wish. They must bring the sacred white elephant child of "Maya" to a temple, or die trying...
"Maya" is an uncommon adventure movie for young audiences. The film is full of stunning on-location visuals, beautifully contributed by director John Berry and Gunther Senftleben. The former was blacklisted as a Communist in the US due to the squealing of fellow director Edward Dmytryk (a US Un-American Committee member); the latter worked mainly on television. There is an atypically prolonged violent sequence, considering the intended audience. Walker's tightly-attired "housekeeper" looks like she's handier in the bedroom. The villain I.S. Johar (as One-Eye) makes a girl smoke. And, most startling, is a generous view of North's buttocks, as the former "Dennis the Menace" appears in a nude scene. North and Khan have a high degree of cross-continental cuteness. Their on-screen chemistry continued in a short, but well-remembered "Maya" TV series (1967-1968).
******* Maya (5/26/66) John Berry ~ Jay North, Sajid Khan, Clint Walker, I.S. Johar
"Maya" is an uncommon adventure movie for young audiences. The film is full of stunning on-location visuals, beautifully contributed by director John Berry and Gunther Senftleben. The former was blacklisted as a Communist in the US due to the squealing of fellow director Edward Dmytryk (a US Un-American Committee member); the latter worked mainly on television. There is an atypically prolonged violent sequence, considering the intended audience. Walker's tightly-attired "housekeeper" looks like she's handier in the bedroom. The villain I.S. Johar (as One-Eye) makes a girl smoke. And, most startling, is a generous view of North's buttocks, as the former "Dennis the Menace" appears in a nude scene. North and Khan have a high degree of cross-continental cuteness. Their on-screen chemistry continued in a short, but well-remembered "Maya" TV series (1967-1968).
******* Maya (5/26/66) John Berry ~ Jay North, Sajid Khan, Clint Walker, I.S. Johar
Very bad screenplay and bad directed
danilo16 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The movie could be more good but the number one problem is the bad screenplay. The story and script are terrible. One example: when Terry has to escape from the jaguar right where he needs find a boat. After he has a fight with his father he takes the train to go home but immediately jumps off. Why? A mistery. If he had run off into the jungle after his father killed his friend jaguar would have been more believable. By the way: why did his father kill his jaguar? Another mystery. It is almost a miracle that after this so bad film they managed to produce a series that instead is undoubtedly better. At least this avoidable film has served some purpose.
A tale of love, friendship, greed, hate and loyalty.
Wyne10 April 2005
A 14 year old boy traveling from the US to India to meet his dad for the very first time. The story of MAYA deals with the adventure, family drama and animal love. All in one. Cinematography, story, music and direction contribute to this saga of a Christian boy befriending a Hindu boy. Their friendship and companionship make them able to deliver their promise which they had made to a dying Hindu priest.The promise was about taking MAYA- the mother elephant and her white baby elephant to a far way temple. In the face of utmost greed and hardships, the journey of these two adolescents unravels. India looks beautiful.Following the release of the film ,in 1966-67 NBC made a 26 episode serial of MAYA which ran on prime time. There were comic book series of MAYA printed as well.
With so much attention lavished on the production, the characterizations were bound to suffer
moonspinner5522 August 2017
Boys' adventure story has youngster from Wyoming visiting his estranged trapper father in India, who lives on a dilapidated animal compound. The teenager, unhappy at home in the States, announces he plans to stay on permanently (after his cold, detached father fails to even meet the boy's train, I'm not sure why he'd want to remain). Rejected by his parent, he runs away; after going over a waterfall in a basket-raft and nearly drowning, he's befriended by the Hindu boy who saved his life. Adaptation of Jalal Din's novel, handsomely filmed by cinematographer Günther Senftleben in the jungles of India, features an assortment of fascinating and amusing animals, but nothing else of interest in the foreground. Jay North (TV's "Dennis the Menace") and Sajid Khan as North's friend Raji are both disappointing; petulant North's line readings are wooden, and when he panics it looks like he's having convulsions. Both teenagers are very poorly directed by John Berry, who doesn't do much better by the adults in the cast. Both North and Khan reprised their roles for the brief television series which followed the next year. *1/2 from ****
Nostalgia
o_zarkhina10 May 2011
I recently watched toy story 3 with my grandson. And having stumbled across Maya, I remembered watching this as a kid. I loved it. In the 60's when there was no animation and real tigers were used for stunts in the fight between the elephant and the tigers - as a kid I was so fascinated. Technology has progressed and amazing new movies are being made for the children. However, this is what children loved to watch in the 60's. Now, having watched it recently, I was re introduced to its beautiful music track. Good one. This movie was much before Indiana Jones and most other adventure films- MGM took its viewers on a fantasy journey of a continent far away and introduced a whole new culture and cross cultural communication. Worth watching. A classic in the genre of jungle adventure.
Action that tears the screen apart
keirosher10 April 2005
Set in the Indian Land........ the story is about the relationship of a father and his son. Jay North (dennis the Mennace fame) arrives in India on a mission. The mission is to meet his father , a retired hunter(played by Clint walker). After an argument the 14 year old son runs away from home. A teenager full of the spirit of adventure, wants to explore the land . He then meets an Indian Hindu bay, about his age. The Hindu boy is the son of a dying saddu(Indian priest). The Saddhu tells his boy to take MAYA ( Mother elephant) and Her sacred white , baby elephant to the scared temple in a far away valley. In India the white elephants are considered Holy and hence , Invaluable. The story weaves a plot where a friendship develops between two young boys.... a friendship that transcends race, religion and all cultural differences. On the other hand the Hunter father sets off to find his son. The saga takes us through an array of human emotions..... love, hate , greed , honesty and loyalty. Since the movie was shot in 1965, it used real animals and no camera effects. In a scene, the elephant picks up the bus and throws it at the villains to save its baby.The shot is remarkable. The tiger fight of Clint walker , at the end of the movie is breath taking considering there were no camera tricks nor animation. The music of the film is amazing. Maya also won the southern Californian family film award in 1966. This is a complete family movie. The values which we still hold true in todays world. A must see!!!
Movie about family
caseykahn13 May 2011
One of the timeless stories about working through difficult relationships with parents and importance of friend ship. Hugh was a remarkable hunter who had moved to India because of his passion for hunting and the enormous jungles of India and wild life. Then some thing happens and Hugh loses his spark and also his will to hunt. He had been separated from his wife who was living in America with her parents. And movie starts with Hugh's son Terry coming to India and Hugh meeting his son for the very first time . The mother has passed away and the boy arrives in India completely unaware that his dad was no longer the star of hunting . India - a new land and culture. As the movie progresses we see how hard it is for the father and son to bond and eventually the love for his son compels Hugh to pick up hunting again. The boy who has lived a very protected life so far, experiences the adventures of the jungle while befriending a native boy and accompanying him in his mission to take the sacred elephant to a save haven- the temple. Together they fight greed and danger and come out victorious. I liked the story then - when I first saw it and I like it now too. Though I think at times with all the advances technology has made , a remake of Maya would be a wonderful idea.
Good movie
Sorof19 June 2001
Relatively good movie, starring the former "Dennis the Menace" star, Jay North. Surprising that North, who was a teenager at the time, had a scene showing his bare backside in a 1960's-era movie. While it isn't unusual to see this in any European movie from any era, it is with a US movie.
I had a crush on Sajid Khan when i watched this movie
namitaashwand10 May 2011
I am so happy to come across this movie. I remember I was in my early teens when this movie came out and it was an American / Hollywood movie with Brown skinned actors . Wow! That was so amazing and we could get over it. It was all so new- the concept of a co production in 60's. We loved watching it. I watched it on a TV channel few years back and I remembered how I had this massive infatuation with this Sajid Khan ( the guy who be friends Terry- Jay North).I just loved it. I so want to put up the you tube video of Sajid Khan reminiscing about his mother in the movie and the sad sad scene where he describes Terry how he lost all his family in the flood. And I remember how when he narrates himself being an orphan, he becomes over whelmed with anger- that he throws a stone at the lake water in front of them. He blames the water for flooding and taking away his family. SIGH... I still remember being so sad and angry at the same time as a young viewer.
Brilliant story of friendship, purpose, greed and family
koskimaclea30 April 2021
I just loved watching this movie. The movie was made when there were no high tech special effects. The movie relies on the story. Shooting a movie in the 60's, working with anaimals such as the elephant and the tiger, must have required brilliant animal trainers! The fight between Maya and the tiger, I wonder how they shot it back in the 60s? Just brilliant, if you like Indiana Jones type of movies, you must watch. Totally loved the story of a single father trying to mend his relationship with son. The challenges of that relationship. The friendship between two kids is beautifully depicted. A common purpose, loyalty and friendship helps overcome any difficulty in life. Loved the story. We need such stories in todays world.
Maya oh Maya...What has Dennis gotten himself into now?
Poseidon-318 October 2004
North was a wondrous "Dennis the Menace" on TV in the late 50's and early 60's, providing just the right mix of charm and annoyance to bring the ever-aggravating character to life. However, what worked on TV for a character based on a cartoon doesn't necessarily work for a family-geared adventure film. He plays a young boy who is traveling to India to live with his estranged father (Walker) after the death of his mother. To say that he isn't welcomed with open arms is an understatement. Walker barely bothers with him at all as North seems to have upset the balance he had achieved with a curvy live-in housekeeper who wears more jewels to the dinner table than Joan Collins! Another household staff member is downright hostile to North from the start. He gets into various minor scrapes and continues to annoy his father. When they finally send him packing back home to his grandparents, he hops off the train and tries to rough it on his own. He hooks up with an Indian boy (Khan) and the pair attempts to transport two elephants across the country at the behest of Khan's dying father. Meanwhile, Walker and his aide comb half of India trying to find North. Unfortunately, one of the elephants is white and many of the Indians want to seize it for it's good luck qualities. The film has some truly beautiful shots of the authentic Indian landscapes and locales. It's a great benefit that the film was shot on location. Praise for the film just about stops there. North's distinctive and unrealistic sounding voice mixed with his overly clumsy and fidgety body language do a lot to create more unintentional humor than identification with him. Any American plopped into the jungles of India would have trouble, but he seems to be particularly accident-prone. One sequence in a raft over whitewater rapids is screamingly funny! His gee-whiz presentation blended with his "look at me really acting" dramatic stuff is uneasy at best. Walker (perhaps the only man who could actually upstage breathtaking scenery with his own monumental physique and glorious face punctuated by two sky blue eyes) has almost nothing to say or do in the film. His ice cold character makes virtually no sense and his (and others') loyalties and motivations change on a dime with no discernible reason in sight! Either the script is horrible or massive cuts were made somewhere. Hilariously, every other character in the film except 2 or 3 is dubbed by the SAME voice-over actor who thinks he's fooling everyone by adjusting his timbre and inflection slightly. The man is good, but come on! The title refers to one of the elephants (though, oddly, the video box suggests that the story will revolve around a cheetah!) even though the story is really one of self-discovery and relationships with one another. The script is so poorly fleshed out that there is no reason for the happy ending to have occurred. It just exists that way. The seemingly innocuous film is likely to upset several groups of people. For one, the Indians are mostly portrayed as greedy, selfish and stupid. Also, the animals don't appear to have been treated very well during the course of the filming. Then there's the section where North smears mud on himself and passes himself off as Indian with no eyebrows raised by the indigenous people. (As an aside, an elephant is painted white by the filmmakers to pass as a white elephant, then washed off, but purportedly painted grey to pass as a grey elephant for part of the film......Oh forget it!) Finally, if anyone is nervous about nude kids, 15 year old North spends a little while naked from behind. If all these things aren't enough to get some sniffy PC viewers agitated, they must have fallen asleep while viewing which is entirely possible! Recommended only for those who'd like a look at the unspoiled beauties of India and the underrated beauties of Walker.
great movie memories
danahsutton3 August 2017
My Dad took us the drive in to see this movie. I was very young but I never forgot it. It brings back nice memories of when we had no worries and we were all together. Most are gone from my life now buy the memories still live on. YouTube let's us relive those moments so I can tolerate the ads.
Bad script = bad film.
hughman5516 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Well, here is a perfect example of how a good film can't come from a bad script. There is some gorgeous cinematography here, elephants (everybody loves elephants), tigers, Jay North, and the entire film was shot on location in India! On paper that's a slam dunk. But it's the "paper", the script, that blows it up. Holy cow what a mess. The friend gets stabbed near the end of the film but by the final scene of the film, three minutes later, he is un- stabbed. And that's just one of many plot holes in this nearly two hour joy ride through the Indian landscape.
I watched "Dennis the Menace" growing up. My recollection was that Jay North was pretty amazing as "Dennis". Hadn't thought about him though until this came up on TCM recently. So I watched it, wondering what happened to the talented child actor who brought "Dennis" to life on my childhood b&w TV. The failings of the film don't lie with it's star. Jay North can act. He's great in this film. As good or better than any his age during the same time period. I've done a little research and discovered some of his story post "Menace". It's kind of sad that he wasn't managed better as an actor, or as a child, during this period. He is very talented and could have gone on to do much more. All of my 8 stars are for Jay North's performance, and the elephants.
I watched "Dennis the Menace" growing up. My recollection was that Jay North was pretty amazing as "Dennis". Hadn't thought about him though until this came up on TCM recently. So I watched it, wondering what happened to the talented child actor who brought "Dennis" to life on my childhood b&w TV. The failings of the film don't lie with it's star. Jay North can act. He's great in this film. As good or better than any his age during the same time period. I've done a little research and discovered some of his story post "Menace". It's kind of sad that he wasn't managed better as an actor, or as a child, during this period. He is very talented and could have gone on to do much more. All of my 8 stars are for Jay North's performance, and the elephants.
Dennis the Menace Does India
Ripshin16 October 2004
This film has great location photography, but the script and acting leave quite a bit to be desired. Jay North, frankly, is difficult to watch, without conjuring up images of his TV character, Dennis the Menace. Every time he says "gee" in this film, I have an immediate flashback to the phrase "Gee, Mr. Wilson."
Clint Walker, while impressive in appearance, is as animated as a tree. His character is not fleshed out sufficiently. People continually commit illogical acts in this script, for the sake of merely moving the action along.
Apparently, everyone in India speaks English. In reality, an American boy would have a much more difficult time making it alone. I realize that this choice was made for the sake of the film, but it simply makes no sense.
And that One-Eyed character pops up more times than Freddy or Jason. Enough already!!
It is fairly obvious that the following TV series was always intended, although it only lasted a year. It progressed before the film was actually released, and would explain the expense by MGM, on a relatively "B" movie. I'm puzzled as to why the series was also entitled "Maya," as viewers of the film will understand. I haven't seen the series, and perhaps it is a reworking of the film, as opposed to a sequel.
All in all, not a very good film.
Clint Walker, while impressive in appearance, is as animated as a tree. His character is not fleshed out sufficiently. People continually commit illogical acts in this script, for the sake of merely moving the action along.
Apparently, everyone in India speaks English. In reality, an American boy would have a much more difficult time making it alone. I realize that this choice was made for the sake of the film, but it simply makes no sense.
And that One-Eyed character pops up more times than Freddy or Jason. Enough already!!
It is fairly obvious that the following TV series was always intended, although it only lasted a year. It progressed before the film was actually released, and would explain the expense by MGM, on a relatively "B" movie. I'm puzzled as to why the series was also entitled "Maya," as viewers of the film will understand. I haven't seen the series, and perhaps it is a reworking of the film, as opposed to a sequel.
All in all, not a very good film.
An excellent family movie that should come with a warning about its violence.
mark.waltz12 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
It's not just the justified violence against the men who violate the young elephant by the older one, but the violence between elephants and attacking tigers, with the tigers tossed up in the air and trampled on. Not sure how this was filmed, but it's pretty realistic and scary. It's also a great story, a friendship between two boys of different cultures, an American white boy and Hindu Indian boy, meeting by chance and becoming brothers by the time their adventure is over. It's a great role for Dennis the Menace Jay North, obviously sharing his love of animals after having done "Zebra in the Kitchen", and later doing a TV series of this movie. He plays a young boy going to live with his father, Clint Walker in India, and after an argument over the death of a tiger that North has befriended, North runs away. He nearly drowns and is rescued by the sweet Sajid Khan whom he accompanies on a journey with a sacred white elephant where several obstacles get in the way.
While the movie does come to a conclusion, there is enough left open to indicate the need for a follow-up, and a TV series was a great way to do that. This is beautifully filmed on location, and one of the best wild animal films of the 60's, a genre in a class by itself. The violence that occurs between the older elephant and the man constantly trying to steal the infant white elephant occurs after the older elephant has stepped in to protect the younger one several times, as if she knows that this particular person is no good. The scene where the elephant defends the younger one by dealing with this particular character is very shocking and may be disturbing to some viewers. That leads into an even more vicious fight between two tigers and the bigger elephant, and there's no way that that could have been easily faked. The beautiful location footage with breathtaking color photography really adds to the impact of the story. Both North and Khan do very good jobs. And have great charisma together.
While the movie does come to a conclusion, there is enough left open to indicate the need for a follow-up, and a TV series was a great way to do that. This is beautifully filmed on location, and one of the best wild animal films of the 60's, a genre in a class by itself. The violence that occurs between the older elephant and the man constantly trying to steal the infant white elephant occurs after the older elephant has stepped in to protect the younger one several times, as if she knows that this particular person is no good. The scene where the elephant defends the younger one by dealing with this particular character is very shocking and may be disturbing to some viewers. That leads into an even more vicious fight between two tigers and the bigger elephant, and there's no way that that could have been easily faked. The beautiful location footage with breathtaking color photography really adds to the impact of the story. Both North and Khan do very good jobs. And have great charisma together.
Hasn't Aged Well
ronzo-329 February 2004
While I'm sure this was an okay film way back when, nowadays it comes across as stilted, talky, and frankly, inadvertently racist. Jay North isn't a bad actor, but the character he's playing is quite unconvincing and the entire thing comes across as Kipling Meets Spin And Marty. Most bizarre moment comes when blond, blue-eyed Jay disguises himself as a black native by donning native garb, putting on a turban, and smearing mud on his face. It works; none of the other natives suspect a thing. The young man who plays Jay's friend --Can't remember his name right now-- became a kind of teen idol for a time. Unfortunately, he never really did much else and eventually disappeared.
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