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Mamba

  • 19301930
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 18m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
78
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
87,622
23,337
Mamba (1930)
Drama
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 lo... Read allAugust 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 beautif... Read allAugust 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 ru... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
78
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
87,622
23,337
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Albert S. Rogell
    • Writers
      • John Reinhardt(story)
      • Ferdinand Schumann-Heink(story)
      • Tom Miranda(dialogue)
    • Stars
      • Jean Hersholt
      • Eleanor Boardman
      • Ralph Forbes
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Albert S. Rogell
    • Writers
      • John Reinhardt(story)
      • Ferdinand Schumann-Heink(story)
      • Tom Miranda(dialogue)
    • Stars
      • Jean Hersholt
      • Eleanor Boardman
      • Ralph Forbes
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 11User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos11

    Eleanor Boardman and Jean Hersholt in Mamba (1930)
    Eleanor Boardman and Ralph Forbes in Mamba (1930)
    Eleanor Boardman in Mamba (1930)
    Mamba (1930)
    Eleanor Boardman and Jean Hersholt in Mamba (1930)
    Jean Hersholt and Hazel Jones in Mamba (1930)
    Mamba (1930)
    Eleanor Boardman, Ralph Forbes, Jean Hersholt, and Albert S. Rogell in Mamba (1930)
    Ralph Forbes and Jean Hersholt in Mamba (1930)
    Hazel Jones in Mamba (1930)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jean Hersholt
    Jean Hersholt
    • August Bolte (Mamba)
    Eleanor Boardman
    Eleanor Boardman
    • Helen von Linden
    Ralph Forbes
    Ralph Forbes
    • Karl von Reiden
    Claude Fleming
    • Major Cromwell
    Wilhelm von Brincken
    Wilhelm von Brincken
    • Major von Schultz
    • (as William von Brincken)
    Will Stanton
    Will Stanton
    • Cockney Servant
    • (as William Staunton)
    Matthew 'Stymie' Beard
    Matthew 'Stymie' Beard
    • Native Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Andrés de Segurola
    Andrés de Segurola
    • Guido
    • (uncredited)
    Noble Johnson
    Noble Johnson
    • Hassim
    • (uncredited)
    Hazel Jones
    • Hassim's Daughter
    • (uncredited)
    Edward Martindel
    Edward Martindel
    • Fullerton
    • (uncredited)
    Torben Meyer
    Torben Meyer
    • German Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Stone
    Arthur Stone
    • British Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    Josef Swickard
    Josef Swickard
    • Count von Linden
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Albert S. Rogell
    • Writers
      • John Reinhardt(story)
      • Ferdinand Schumann-Heink(story)
      • Tom Miranda(dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film screened in the United States for the first time since its theatrical run in March 2012 at Cinefest in Syracuse, New York. This version was made by combining a print from Australia (with no soundtrack) and surviving Vitaphone soundtrack discs that had been preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
    • Alternate versions
      Originally released in both silent and sound versions.

    User reviews11

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    The first All-colour, All-talking movie ever made.
    This movie was the first all-talking all-colour movie ever made. Murray Matthews, a projectionist who is dedicated to the preservation of movies, projection equipment and cinema memorabilia, and his wife Pat own a complete print of 'Mamba' in remarkably good condition. In 2001, Pat discovered that the film was listed as lost except for fragments and notified the Vitaphone Project that they had a complete copy of the film and an incomplete set of sound disks, but almost no interest was shown by anyone in the USA.

    In 2008, Sydney film historian Paul Brennan came to Adelaide especially to view the film. Realising its importance, he put in train restoration efforts which included enlisting the aid of another film historian, Swedish Jonas Nordin. He owned a complete set of the sound disks and undertook the complicated task of synchronizing them with the film, and making a digital version which was shown at a gala premiere on 21st November, 2011, in the Astor Theatre, Melbourne, when Murray, Pat and Paul were introduced to the acclamation of a delighted audience

    The American Film Institute and the Australian National Film Archive have shown little interest in making the film widely available despite its historic importance and strong production values. It is a good and entertaining movie, with the great actor Jean Hersholt playing an African colonial villain despised alike by his German compatriots, British neighbours and the native population.

    As was common in the early sound era, the film was released in both sound-on-film and sound-on-disk versions.

    At the very least, 'Mamba' should be restored for BlueRay and added to the libraries of those world-wide enthusiasts for quality films and those like me who consider Technicolor to be the finest colour process of all. This two colour step in the path to the full three strip masterpieces shows how very pleasing it can be.

    It is to the legion of film enthusiasts who preserved films destined for destruction while never misusing them for commercial purposes that we owe the existence today of many great movies of that golden era from the silents to the wide screen films of the mid twentieth century. We should all be grateful for their efforts.
    helpful•7
    1
    • brianpearson-1
    • Oct 21, 2016

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 6, 1930 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • German
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Jungle
    • Production companies
      • Color Art Productions
      • Tiffany Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 18 minutes

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