The Naked Prey (1966)

Director:

Cornel Wilde

Writers:

Clint Johnston (writer)
Don Peters (writer)

Release Date:

14 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

Stripped, turned loose like a wild beast ... a manhunt of indescribable terror and screaming suspense!

Plot:

A group of men are on safari. One of the party refuses to give a gift to a tribe they encounter. The tribe is offended...

Plot Keywords:

Tribe | Safari | Hunter | Lion | Africa

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Cornel Wilde	...	The Man
Gert Van den Bergh	...	Man #2
Ken Gampu	...	Leader of the warriors
Patrick Mynhardt	...	Safari overseer
Bella Randles	...	Little girl
Morrison Gampu	...	Tribe leader
Sandy Nkomo	...	Warrior
Eric Mcanyana	...	Warrior
John Marcus	...	Warrior
Richard Mashiya	...	Warrior
Franklyn Mdhluli	...	Warrior
Fusi Zazayokwe	...	Warrior
Joe Dlamini	...	Warrior
Jose Sithole	...	Warrior
Horace Gilman	...	Warrior

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

South Africa | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Norway:16 (1966) | Finland:(Banned) (1965-1975) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Africa

Company:

Sven Persson Films

Trivia:

Wilde said in interviews at the time that scene in which his character turns and is narrowly missed by a spear was an accident that could have been gruesomely real, but the scene worked and was kept.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Man starts the fire to hinder the warrior pursuers, the scene alternates repeatedly between the Man and the warrior pursuers clearly at the same spot on the same side of the fire.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Damned River (1989)

I dont think this is a racist film

A lot of comments hear say that this movie is obviously racist.

I think this an nervous knee jerk reaction. It definitely dose not put a phony PC spin on colonial Africa but that doesn't mean it is racist.

Certainly the racism of the safari leader who refuses to respect the tribe with a gift is portrayed and is most likely accurate. It should be noted that the rest of the movie is a direct result of this racist white mans ignorant arrogance and that the hero knows better and tries to warn him. It is improbable that one man, out of his element, could over come his pursuers who must know the terrain better and have more experience hunting and fighting with spears, however I think this is not an attempt to portray the white man as superior but a convention of action movies (heroes can always dodge bullets). The idea that this movie portrays all Africans as savages is based on the assumption that the pursuers are representative of ALL Africans which is a bit racist in itself. They are a particular tribe. Africa is a big continent full of many different nations and tribes. There are other Africans present including those in the safari party, who are not shown to be savages. There are also two other tribes depicted towards the end. One is the village that the man comes upon. These people wear dyed clothing and seem to have a more advanced, structured, and less violently primal, society. The white mans life is saved by a child from this more peaceful tribe. They are attacked by another tribe, obviously working for colonial slave traders, who wear more modern clothing and have guns. This really happened. Some Africans at war with other Africans would sell their conquered foes to the white slave traders.

When will people learn that portraying racism in all its ugliness and complexity is not equivalent to being a racist. The man who plays the hero was also the director. he is a white man and the story is told from his perspective but not exclusively. Part of the films context is that of cultures colliding, both European with African, and African with African. Another important point to this movie is that this is an educated, civilized man who is (literally) stripped of all the trappings of his civilization and thrust into the primal, and universal, struggle of shear survival. Im no expert on Africa but from what little I have read about its history, the movie, while a simple tale in itself, did not seem to over simplify its portrayal of Africa. I suspect that, quite far from being racist, the makers of this film probably had a respect for African culture. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Over all I found it to be well acted. Even though the film makers did not have had a big Hollywood budget and may have used some stock wild life footage, it seemed to blend seamlessly. As far as the chicken chasing scene, I liked how comic it was. In reality a starving man, desperately chasing a chicken around with a spear would probably look pitifully comical and I believe the irony is intentional.

I recommend this film. I found it to be very original but if forced to describe it I would say its a mixture of Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout (though not as pretentious) and Conrad's Heart of Darkness.