Uncivilized (1937)
"Uncivilised" (original title)

A white authoress, looking for a story in the outback, is kidnapped by an Afghan slaver, betrothed to a white jungle-man, and menaced by a jealous half-caste rival, a hostile witch-doctor, ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Chauvel

Writers:

E.V. Timms (in collaboration with), Charles Chauvel (story)

Stars:

Margot Rhys, Dennis Hoey, Ashton Jarry

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Margot Rhys	...	Beatrice Lynn
Dennis Hoey	...	Mara the White Chief
Ashton Jarry	...	The Mounted Policeman - posing as Akbar Jhan the White Slaver
Marcelle Marnay	...	Sondra the Half-Caste
Kenneth Brampton	...	Trask the Opium Smuggler
Victor Fitzherbert	...	John Hemmingway, publisher
E. Gilbert Howell	...	Vitchi the Witch Doctor (as E. G. Howell)
Edward Sylveni	...	Salter
P. Dwyer	...	Bloom, a prospector
Rita Aslim	...	Nardin
John Fernside	...	Captain
Jessica Malone	...	Hemmingway's Secretary
Richard Mazar	...	Tong
Z. Gee	...	Tiki
David McNiven

Storyline

A white authoress, looking for a story in the outback, is kidnapped by an Afghan slaver, betrothed to a white jungle-man, and menaced by a jealous half-caste rival, a hostile witch-doctor, his crazed-killer son, and opium smugglers!

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Plot Keywords:

policeman | king | tribe | opium | witch doctor | 

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Taglines:

Strong women became weak under its influence!

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uncivilized

Filming Locations:

Queensland, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Expeditionary Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shown uncut in Australia, but the Australian censors demanded that scenes showing Margot Rhys swimming nude, and the hero strangling a renegade Aborigine be cut for the export version.

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Goofs

A shot of a koala is seen when Beatrice reaches Mara's camp. However, koalas are not found in the Northern Territory where the film takes place. Koalas are limited to the east coast and south-eastern corner of mainland Australia (where the film was shot).

User Reviews

Not great but not bad - wonderful aboriginal dancing!

This 1930's Australian adventure flick has all the typical clichés found in movies of the period, including some obvious nods to "The Sheik", and the writers had to have seen a Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movie or two... ("Homage" not "Rip Off", right?)

The story is a bit slow at parts, and telegraphs most of its punches well in advance, but there is one nice plot twist, and the slow story advancement isn't overly off-putting in such a short work, especially when some very nicely done travelogue style cinematography fills the gaps. Worth watching at least once, if only for the awesome native dances done by the aboriginal cast!

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