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 (as Albert Rogell)

Writers:

John Reinhardt (story), Ferdinand Schumann-Heink (story) (as F. Schumann-Heink)

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
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Major von Schultz (as William von Brincken)
Will Stanton	...	Cockney Servant (as William Staunton)

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:

deception | german | rebellion | nobleman | arrogance | 

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Taglines:

ALL TALKING - ALL TECHNICOLOR - SUPER SPECTACLE! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Palace Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - November 6, 1930 - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Its successful opening broke all records at the Gaiety for the first two weeks of its run.

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Alternate Versions

Originally released in both silent and sound versions.

User Reviews

Back on the big screen!

From a time when smoking was still good for you and political correctness was unheard of, comes Mamba. The simple but perfectly engaging plot cracks along at a reasonable pace even by modern standards, and the cast make a fine show of their transition from silent film to one of the first ever 'talkies'. The richness of the colouring is staggering given the technical limitations of the studio in its year of production, 1929.

In the screening I saw there was one deleted scene, which was apparently removed by censors in 1930 (the year of Mamba's release) – the sound for this section remained however, and was played over a number of 'stills' taken from elsewhere in the film. This had the effect of emphasising that the films dialogue was somewhat stilted, which is perhaps understandable given this was one of the earliest efforts of talking films. From the sound in this section it was evident that the cut scene might have been considered a bit too intimate for the day.

Shown in its entirety in Melbourne at The Astor in November 2011 – presumed to be the first screening of this film on the big screen for almost 80 years. Years ahead of its time – a must see for all film fans now that it is finally available for viewing again.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1931 (Argentina)

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) (sound-on-disc)

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1