Although it's seldom discussed, one of the staple genres that classic Hollywood tackled best was the jungle-set melodrama. It gave studio technicians an opportunity to experiment with oppressive artificial sets, eerie sounds effects and expressionist lighting. Those Venetian-blind shadow patterns so characteristic of film noir were preceded by just as many painterly images lit through louvered windows and bamboo curtains. And the exotic backgrounds allowed jaded screenwriters to attain a delirious level of moral turpitude, betrayal, sadistic violence and erotic obsessiveness, not to mention downright racism. White Woman may not quite rank with the finest wallows in the white man's grave (Red Dust, Tropic Zone, the absolutely jaw-dropping Kongo), but it certainly concocts a heady stew of cruelty, masochism and lasciviousness. This is thanks to a dense script by some old reliables, and by another ingenious portrayal by Laughton (much more subdued than in the similarly-set masterpieces, the Beachcomber and Island of Lost Souls, but wilier and more self-deluding.) Lombard was still stuck in her earnest, victimized stage before she hit her stride as a comedienne, but her brittle blonde presence and flustered pretensions are a fine fit here. Charles Bickford kicks the plot into overdrive as a Gable-like he-man who won't brook Laughton's guff. They're a perfect match for each other playing a doomed hand of poker while their gruesome fate awaits them at the hands of the natives they've crossed. Thankfully, the filmmakers avoid the moralising and let the viewer stoically sink into the morass along with them.
18 Reviews
Paramount does Red Dust
marcslope2 March 2021
It's another steamy, lurid romp through the backlot jungle, this time in Malaysia, where poor Carole Lombard suffers from a one-two punch: Her husband committed suicide under suspect circumstances, and the local Brits despise her for working the only job she's allowed, singing sultry Gordon-Revel ballads in a mixed-race bar. (She's dubbed, I'm sure of it.) There she meets Charles Laughton, expertly playing years above his 34, a rubber plantation magnate who struts and revels in abusing his inferiors. Nevertheless she marries him, it's her only out, and journeys upriver to his sorry domain, which is where the Red Dust ripping off really begins. His overseer is Kent Taylor, and we know there's going to be a triangle, which expands into a quadrangle when new overseer Charles Bickford arrives, oozing testosterone and stirring up trouble. Wildly dated and decadent as it is, it's great pre-Code fun, with uprising, spears, native drums, decapitations, and Laughton looking like he's having a blast. Stuart Walker, a director of little note, ably keeps the pace brisk, and the atmosphere sweltering.
As Usual, Laughton Dominates the Movie
boblipton15 January 2019
Carole Lombard is singing Cole Porter-style songs in a native bar. She's an outcast because she went off with a man and her husband killed himself. In comes "King of the River" Charles Laughton. He marries her and takes her upriver, where all the White men have something in their background that would get them jailed -- at best.
The movie looks like a badly aged mash-up of other, better remembered stories from the era: RAIN, of course, and RED RIVER with Charles Bickford as the he-man, and SANDERS OF THE RIVER. Although Lombard is the protagonist for the most of the movie, and Bickford looks like he's going to take it over when he enters for the third act, it's Laughton, playing one of his grotesques who dominates the film, from his entrance until the very end, when he is the only White standing, shouting defiance. Just like in other movies of the era, he's so good at playing a fascinating villain who despises everyone else... until he throws it all away in an act of mad bravado, to impress Lombard.
The movie looks like a badly aged mash-up of other, better remembered stories from the era: RAIN, of course, and RED RIVER with Charles Bickford as the he-man, and SANDERS OF THE RIVER. Although Lombard is the protagonist for the most of the movie, and Bickford looks like he's going to take it over when he enters for the third act, it's Laughton, playing one of his grotesques who dominates the film, from his entrance until the very end, when he is the only White standing, shouting defiance. Just like in other movies of the era, he's so good at playing a fascinating villain who despises everyone else... until he throws it all away in an act of mad bravado, to impress Lombard.
Laughton as a cockney river trader in Malaya
kerrison-philips4 October 2008
It's probably worth mentioning that this jungle islands "farrago", as Simon Callow calls it in his biography of Laughton, is set in Malaya, not Africa. In those days it was still part of the British Empire, which accounts for Laughton's cockney accent. In addition, at the dinner party on Laughton's river-boat (about 20 minutes into the film), his new wife (Carole Lombard) says she'd like to learn Malay.
This was the last of the handful of films which Laughton made for Paramount during 1932-33 under a short-term contract (the others being Devil and the Deep, Sign of the Cross, If I Had a Million, and Island of Lost Souls). Callow thinks Laughton's acting is both original and preposterous: "giggling and teasing and play-acting, screwing up his eyes, scratching his head, pulling at his moustache and using a whole battery of tics."
It's certainly preposterous that the Carole Lombard character would ever have considered marrying such an unpleasant person as Laughton makes him, so this fatally weakens the story. On the other hand, she has little choice, having been ostracised by the British community who would like to see the back of her. The mysterious suicide of her husband has forced her to earn a living singing in shady bars, so Laughton's proposal of marriage, coupled with his claim that he owns a great deal of land up river, offers a way out of her predicament. It's only when she arrives at his house-boat that she realises what she's got herself into, and seeks solace with some other, rather more pleasant, male members of the cast.
Laughton's Horace Prin has never been considered in the same breath as his Henry VIII, Captain Bligh, or Quasimodo. Even so, it is still probably worth seeing, if only as an example of his early Hollywood work.
This was the last of the handful of films which Laughton made for Paramount during 1932-33 under a short-term contract (the others being Devil and the Deep, Sign of the Cross, If I Had a Million, and Island of Lost Souls). Callow thinks Laughton's acting is both original and preposterous: "giggling and teasing and play-acting, screwing up his eyes, scratching his head, pulling at his moustache and using a whole battery of tics."
It's certainly preposterous that the Carole Lombard character would ever have considered marrying such an unpleasant person as Laughton makes him, so this fatally weakens the story. On the other hand, she has little choice, having been ostracised by the British community who would like to see the back of her. The mysterious suicide of her husband has forced her to earn a living singing in shady bars, so Laughton's proposal of marriage, coupled with his claim that he owns a great deal of land up river, offers a way out of her predicament. It's only when she arrives at his house-boat that she realises what she's got herself into, and seeks solace with some other, rather more pleasant, male members of the cast.
Laughton's Horace Prin has never been considered in the same breath as his Henry VIII, Captain Bligh, or Quasimodo. Even so, it is still probably worth seeing, if only as an example of his early Hollywood work.
Lurid, sometimes grisly melodrama ...
AlsExGal6 July 2023
...from Paramount Pictures and director Stuart Walker. Carole Lombard stars as Judith Denning, a nightclub singer with a sordid past stuck in a Third World country where the white governors don't want her around. She reluctantly agrees to marry Horace Prin (Charles Laughton), a rich but repellent owner of a Malaysian rubber plantation. Known as the "King of the River" , Prin runs things with an iron fist and a maniacal twinkle in his eye. It doesn't take long for Judith to regret her decision, what with the horrid weather and seething natives. She's also being chased by a pair of her husband's employees: handsome Army deserter David (Kent Taylor) and swaggering new overseer Ballister (Charles Bickford).
This plays like a mash-up of A Lady to Love and Island of Lost Souls. The filmmakers re-used the sets from the latter film, and Laughton gets to ham it up in a delightful way, with an exaggerated accent, peculiar manners, and silly haircut and mustache. Lombard looks terrific, but she doesn't have much to do other than excite the guys in the cast while looking sad. Bickford doesn't show up until later in the movie, but he's worth it with his macho, no BS characterization clashing wonderfully with Laughton's sadistic weirdo. Like most exotic locale movies of the era, this one is more than a little racist, and the bungled depiction of the natives adds to the movie's bizarre "charm".
This plays like a mash-up of A Lady to Love and Island of Lost Souls. The filmmakers re-used the sets from the latter film, and Laughton gets to ham it up in a delightful way, with an exaggerated accent, peculiar manners, and silly haircut and mustache. Lombard looks terrific, but she doesn't have much to do other than excite the guys in the cast while looking sad. Bickford doesn't show up until later in the movie, but he's worth it with his macho, no BS characterization clashing wonderfully with Laughton's sadistic weirdo. Like most exotic locale movies of the era, this one is more than a little racist, and the bungled depiction of the natives adds to the movie's bizarre "charm".
Solid strengths and value, diminished by dubious details...
I_Ailurophile15 March 2022
Given the title and the basic premise one unfortunately expects it, but there is nonetheless definite racism that pervades 'White woman,' with further colonialist overtones on top. True, for the most part these constitute an element of the setting, and background for the plot, more than an active part of the story - and at that, to an extent it's written into the nature of the antagonist. Still, like the exposition's treatment of Judith that is borne equally from sexism and a classist sense of propriety - a catalyst for the plot - and an instance of animal cruelty, it's a harsh touch that one must recognize before getting to the heart of the feature. Moreover, in the last act, the racial and cultural prejudice woven into the writing becomes still more prominent, enhancing the distasteful flavors of the whole. Though in a different way, I'm reminded of the 1934 Faye Wray horror vehicle 'Black Moon' - a title that had strong potential, and carried much value, but was substantially weighed down by the abject bigotries on display in the very fabric of the plot. There's a lot to like here, to be sure, but the counterbalance is deeply regrettable.
That's the bad news, and to some degree it distracts from the facets to be praised. The good news is that the core is otherwise very strong. The screenplay is wonderfully engaging in relating the story of desperate individuals struggling in one way or another against the manipulative figure that lords over all around him. The broad strokes of the narrative are compelling and satisfying, as is the scene writing that comes across as ably dynamic and charged. Characters show depth and complexity, and the dialogue is alternatingly rich and biting. Moreover, looking to those details that round out the picture, I appreciate the attention to costume design, hair and makeup, and set design and decoration. I think Stuart Walker demonstrates a capable hand as director in arranging shots and scenes, and there's some fine use of lighting here, as well.
Very importantly, the cast rather impresses. Even as they're given fairly high billing, Kent Taylor and Charles Bickford find themselves in supporting roles as David and Ballister only slightly larger than that of Percy Kilbride as Jakey - yet all illustrate a certain poise and strength of personality in their comportment that works wonders to help build the whole. Carole Lombard, comedic genius that she was, takes a turn in a purely dramatic part in 'White woman' as Judith. It seems clear that she was best suited to comedy - but also that she was not to be counted out in straight roles, as she exhibits a refined subtlety to her acting, and measured forcefulness befitting the put-upon lead character.
As much as I love Lombard, however, it's Charles Laughton who most catches my eye in this picture, admittedly at least in part just because Horace H. Prin is so distinct from the other figures in the story. Prin is boastful and grandstanding as he wields power and holds secrets over those in his circle, but is at heart both cowardly with a wide ranging nervous energy. Laughton is an absolute joy to watch as he navigates the intricacies of Prin's huge personality with gratifying range, physicality, and otherwise traits exceeding those even of Lombard and the other costars. Solidly made as 'White woman' is in its craft, so much of the feature's strength lies in the broad strokes of the writing and in the acting, and Laughton is the linchpin of it all.
This film walks a very, very fine line between what is appropriate for the story on hand, and what is shameful (and all too typical of early cinema especially, but also Hollywood in general). The way that native people are depicted and spoken of in the screenplay is sufficiently dubious to detract from the overall worth. At the same time, though, the unnamed tribes in the surrounding jungle are presented not as villains, but as victims likewise subject to Prin's dealings, and who in the end contribute to the provision of a very satisfying ending. This aspect by no means absolves the feature of the prejudice it dallies with, but is an improvement relative to other titles. Case in point - I had mentioned 'Black Moon' only as a point of comparison in noting the racism prevalent in 'White woman,' and it's worthwhile to draw upon that comparison once more. In 'Black Moon' the current of racism is emphatically just as strong as any of the flick's advantages; in 'White woman' the place of similar bias in the story shifts the balance toward a slightly more even-handed approach. It's far from perfect, and frankly a content warning should be appended in this instance, but I understand the tack 'White woman' was ideally taking - only, the writers lacked the tact to complete the image as it should have been.
I would not for one moment begrudge anyone who watches this movie and adopts a harsher, more critical stance than I have. For all that it does well, there's no getting around handling of cultural and racial prejudice that is shaky at best. I'm inclined to think, though, that there's just enough nuance in the role that the indigenous people play in the plot to place a higher cap on one's assessment than we may for another movie with similar issues. With one big caveat in mind, in its entirety I think 'White woman' rises above the worst of its unseemliness to be an enjoyable, noteworthy drama - just perhaps not as essential a viewing experience as it could have been.
That's the bad news, and to some degree it distracts from the facets to be praised. The good news is that the core is otherwise very strong. The screenplay is wonderfully engaging in relating the story of desperate individuals struggling in one way or another against the manipulative figure that lords over all around him. The broad strokes of the narrative are compelling and satisfying, as is the scene writing that comes across as ably dynamic and charged. Characters show depth and complexity, and the dialogue is alternatingly rich and biting. Moreover, looking to those details that round out the picture, I appreciate the attention to costume design, hair and makeup, and set design and decoration. I think Stuart Walker demonstrates a capable hand as director in arranging shots and scenes, and there's some fine use of lighting here, as well.
Very importantly, the cast rather impresses. Even as they're given fairly high billing, Kent Taylor and Charles Bickford find themselves in supporting roles as David and Ballister only slightly larger than that of Percy Kilbride as Jakey - yet all illustrate a certain poise and strength of personality in their comportment that works wonders to help build the whole. Carole Lombard, comedic genius that she was, takes a turn in a purely dramatic part in 'White woman' as Judith. It seems clear that she was best suited to comedy - but also that she was not to be counted out in straight roles, as she exhibits a refined subtlety to her acting, and measured forcefulness befitting the put-upon lead character.
As much as I love Lombard, however, it's Charles Laughton who most catches my eye in this picture, admittedly at least in part just because Horace H. Prin is so distinct from the other figures in the story. Prin is boastful and grandstanding as he wields power and holds secrets over those in his circle, but is at heart both cowardly with a wide ranging nervous energy. Laughton is an absolute joy to watch as he navigates the intricacies of Prin's huge personality with gratifying range, physicality, and otherwise traits exceeding those even of Lombard and the other costars. Solidly made as 'White woman' is in its craft, so much of the feature's strength lies in the broad strokes of the writing and in the acting, and Laughton is the linchpin of it all.
This film walks a very, very fine line between what is appropriate for the story on hand, and what is shameful (and all too typical of early cinema especially, but also Hollywood in general). The way that native people are depicted and spoken of in the screenplay is sufficiently dubious to detract from the overall worth. At the same time, though, the unnamed tribes in the surrounding jungle are presented not as villains, but as victims likewise subject to Prin's dealings, and who in the end contribute to the provision of a very satisfying ending. This aspect by no means absolves the feature of the prejudice it dallies with, but is an improvement relative to other titles. Case in point - I had mentioned 'Black Moon' only as a point of comparison in noting the racism prevalent in 'White woman,' and it's worthwhile to draw upon that comparison once more. In 'Black Moon' the current of racism is emphatically just as strong as any of the flick's advantages; in 'White woman' the place of similar bias in the story shifts the balance toward a slightly more even-handed approach. It's far from perfect, and frankly a content warning should be appended in this instance, but I understand the tack 'White woman' was ideally taking - only, the writers lacked the tact to complete the image as it should have been.
I would not for one moment begrudge anyone who watches this movie and adopts a harsher, more critical stance than I have. For all that it does well, there's no getting around handling of cultural and racial prejudice that is shaky at best. I'm inclined to think, though, that there's just enough nuance in the role that the indigenous people play in the plot to place a higher cap on one's assessment than we may for another movie with similar issues. With one big caveat in mind, in its entirety I think 'White woman' rises above the worst of its unseemliness to be an enjoyable, noteworthy drama - just perhaps not as essential a viewing experience as it could have been.
My kingdom for a boat ! (and/or a machine-gun)
hudecha19 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
When a film and its main character are as outrageous as they are here, there is no way they will not be some fun. This one is quite far from perfection - but fun it is, with strong acting by Laughton, Carole Lombard and Bickford, and fairly gripping and well-filmed.
In the present case, despite the title and the first billing, and alas for Carole Lombard's admirers - among which the present reviewer can be counted - the central character which is the raison d'être of the film is clearly not hers. Actually the story opens with her, and starts on a strong footing. As an impoverished widow Judith Denning has been reduced to scrape a living by singing in bars of dubious standing. She is as much despised by the narrow-minded white colonial society as she herself despises it. She could not care less about their opinion if it did not add to her troubles by repeatedly obliging her to move from one island to another one. For a woman in a weak position she is quite strong-minded.
But this side of her mostly disappears when, rather than staying under the threat to be imminently expelled once more, she lets herself be convinced to marry and follow Horace Prin, the self-made and self-style King of the River in the upland inside. That is a bold and ominous decision, considering the very strange person he obviously is. He has persuaded her that they are somehow alike, outsiders facing and hating the hypocrisy of bourgeois conventions. In any case she probably believes she does not have a lot of other clearly better choices, or anything much to lose. Obviously she is wrong, but if she had not been there would not have been a film - many film stories could not exist without a fair amount of misplaced decisions from their main characters.
Anyway she rapidly understands her big mistake when she finds herself in the "palace" of her king and master, a river-houseboat moored deep inside the jungle, among native tribes which are supposedly subdued but not very reassuring on the whole. Wild tribesmen, with a nasty habit of cutting heads when they are unhappy, are not her main problem though. Her cunning and stark-raving mad husband is, who reigns Nero-like, despotically and pervertedly, over a ragtag of runaway jailbirds he has brought and offered asylum to, using them as enslaved deputies to rule his extended lands - he is supposed to be a planter, though it is not very clear how he earns his wealth.
Among them is David, an ideally romantic young man whom she learns later to be a traumatized deserter - feeling understandably little sense of loyalty towards her husband and this being a pre-code film, Judith does not have lengthy hesitations before letting herself fall for the handsome David and reciprocally. They have acknowledged each other as soul mates, strayed away from a good upbringing which separates them from Prin and the others - when they talk about native drums, which Judith enjoys, they compare them to Ravel's music...
However this cooing does not last long. As could be totally expected from him, highly-jealous Prin retaliates against the seemingly weak-willed David by exiling him farther inland, while he is replaced by newly-arrived he-man Ballister, one who does not let himself be impressed in the least by Prin. This includes trying right away to seduce his wife under his very eyes - to Ballister's credit, he does not hold it agains her that she refuses him flatly. This makes Prin even more incensed and he takes the rash move to offend mortally a tribal chief of the highlands so as to trigger a rebellion which is likely to entail a dire fate for David - who demonstrates unexpected pluck by crossing on foot through the forest the rebels' territory so as to warn them. By that time rebels have also reached the outskirts of the houseboat - such backfiring was not unexpected by Prin, he has foreseen machine-guns to greet them. Judith has found back her strong will and decides to leave with David - that as well Prin has prepared to, he has sabotaged the boat by mostly emptying the tank and prepared a reception committee of murderous tribesmen (of those faithful to him...). Unfortunately for him Ballister has showed unexpected empathy towards the young couple by giving them the only full tank, which reduces to nil possibility of escaping for Prin and himself; and incensed that Prin has gratuitously killed his pet ape and companion Duke (a courtier...), another of his minions, Jakey, has thrown away the machine-guns in the river and replaced them ironically with Duke's corpse.
The final scene is one of its most memorable ones. With very limited hope left, if any, to save their skins, Ballister and Prin sit for a poker game which the former has proposed, and Prin discovers from him that his plans for having the young couple killed are failing as well, they hear them escape the ambush. Prin finds himself alone when Ballister is shot by a blowpipe, and starts a bombastic and defiant tirade proclaiming he is still King of the River - he then goes out on the balcony under which tribesmen on a boat are waiting to spear him.
Though one thinks about Nero declaring "What an artist dies in me!', the closest reference which comes to the mind is rather Richard III dying on the battlefield of Bosworth, as lonely and defiant as he has ever been - both do not have a public any more, but anyway the only public they ever respected and played for was really themselves... Charles Laughton has a field day playing this over the top character, which is purely evil during most of the film, but has his character explained at the start, and is granted a kind of absurd, half-mock heroic grandeur with his end. It is quite an interesting and sensible choice to close the film on Prin's death - moreover elliptically, the killing itself and his body are not shown -, rather than to feel obliged to show us again Judith and David; yes, they are saved, this is just sort of an appendix to the conclusion which we learn about through Ballister. It more than confirms, if needed, who the actual "hero" of the film was all along.
The film could almost have been based on a Conrad story of madness - there is something of Heart of Darkness in it, of course in a quite crude and simplistic Hollywood treatment. Maybe, as another comment suggested, this was just the studio's answer to similar stories with Jean Harlow, or another variation on delirious tales which jungle settings were often inspiring then. All the same, it is well worth seeing, and unlikely to be forgotten.
Gobble Incessantly When You're In The Jungle With A Turkey
bkoganbing3 March 2008
In between that glittering array of memorable roles Charles Laughton created like Henry VIII, Doctor Moreau. Moulton Barrett, Emperor Nero, Inspector Javert, and Captain Bligh is nestled in his credits White Woman. It will never make the top ten of any list of Charles Laughton's greatest films.
Nor will Carole Lombard or Charles Bickford's fans be really pleased with this film. It's a jungle melodrama about a western woman whose husband committed suicide. The whispers about the reason and the scandal attached therein has left Lombard doing the only thing she can for a living, singing in a native café. The respectable white folks don't want to go near here.
Except Charles Laughton who doesn't really worry about respectability. He's Horace Prin, formerly of London and self-styled 'King of the River' on his south sea island. It's the only place where this cockney from the slums can feel like a king.
And the chance for a beautiful trophy wife like Lombard isn't going to slip through Laughton's fingers. When she gets to his jungle retreat, Lombard finds distractions in Kent Taylor and Charles Bickford. She also learns what a monster she's married to.
I'm sure Charles Laughton who was getting one great role after another at this point in his career knew very well this one did not rank up with the ones I mentioned before. Still he was under contract to Paramount and when you're in a turkey, gobble incessantly.
Which Laughton does in an overacted performance to beat the band. But in his place he could do little else, but have some fun and collect a paycheck. The story is dumb, the other players look embarrassed, but Mr. Laughton is having one great old time.
He's the only reason to watch this jungle turkey.
Nor will Carole Lombard or Charles Bickford's fans be really pleased with this film. It's a jungle melodrama about a western woman whose husband committed suicide. The whispers about the reason and the scandal attached therein has left Lombard doing the only thing she can for a living, singing in a native café. The respectable white folks don't want to go near here.
Except Charles Laughton who doesn't really worry about respectability. He's Horace Prin, formerly of London and self-styled 'King of the River' on his south sea island. It's the only place where this cockney from the slums can feel like a king.
And the chance for a beautiful trophy wife like Lombard isn't going to slip through Laughton's fingers. When she gets to his jungle retreat, Lombard finds distractions in Kent Taylor and Charles Bickford. She also learns what a monster she's married to.
I'm sure Charles Laughton who was getting one great role after another at this point in his career knew very well this one did not rank up with the ones I mentioned before. Still he was under contract to Paramount and when you're in a turkey, gobble incessantly.
Which Laughton does in an overacted performance to beat the band. But in his place he could do little else, but have some fun and collect a paycheck. The story is dumb, the other players look embarrassed, but Mr. Laughton is having one great old time.
He's the only reason to watch this jungle turkey.
WOW!
shark-4319 May 2003
They don't make them like this anymore. A lurid jungle picture with a fallen woman (the gorgeous LOMBARD)forced to sing in an interracial cafe after her husband commits suicide. No one in the African jungle British community wants anything to do with her. The British are there tearing up the jungle for the rubber plants and building huge rubber plantations. Rumor is her husband killed himself over her cheating ways. She's miserable and salvation comes along in the guise of Charles Laughton playing Horace Prin, the "King Of The River" - he's the richest rubber plantation owner in the jungle and he likes what he sees in Lombard. They marry, she's now rich but she's nothing more than one thing he owns and she begins to realize that he is obsessively jealous and insane and cruel. Laughton is amazing. A brilliant actor (from Witness For The Prosecution, Advise & Consent, Mutiny On The Bounty) who is capable of hamming it up for the sake of ham (Island Of Lost Souls, un-released Caligula)this is the hammiest performance I've ever seen but it is also so entertaining. He has a field day destroying any worker who dares to look at his new bride. What a hoot!!!
Miscast White Woman
arfdawg-126 March 2018
A nightclub singer marries the rich owner of a rubber plantation. When she returns with him to his estate in Malaysia, she finds out that he is cruel, vicious and insanely jealous. She and the plantation's overseer develop a mutual attraction, but are terrified at what will happen if her husband finds out.
A slow moving film that is clearly done in the studio. Carole Lombard is way miscast in her role, unfortunately.
The movie is only interesting to watch Charles Laughton who is fascinating as the weird lord of the jungle!.
A slow moving film that is clearly done in the studio. Carole Lombard is way miscast in her role, unfortunately.
The movie is only interesting to watch Charles Laughton who is fascinating as the weird lord of the jungle!.
Very entertaining uncensored Jean Harlow-esque flick
HotToastyRag16 April 2018
You're going to have to get past the title of this movie. Carole Lombard plays the title character. She's a singer in a Malaysian nightclub, and since at that time it was pretty scandalous for a white woman to hang around "natives", the other white people look down on her. Also, her first husband committed suicide, so Carole has quite a bit of stigma attached to her. Before she's "run out of town on a rail"-in the words of Lionel Barrymore in It's a Wonderful Life-wealthy plantation owner Charles Laughton proposes marriage.
If you're familiar with Jean Harlow's films, you'll enjoy White Woman ten-fold. After only reading the above paragraph, I'm sure you're picturing Jean's character from Reckless. Then, when Carole marries Charles and relocates to his rubber factory, you'll be reminded of Jean's film from 1932: Red Dust. White Woman is so obviously Paramount's answer to Jean Harlow and Red Dust, it's mind-boggling. I've seen Carole Lombard in her classic screwball comedies, and she's completely different in this romantic drama. She looks like Jean Harlow, she speaks like Jean Harlow, she holds her shoulders like Jean Harlow-it's as if director Stuart Walker told her, "We've got to take the attention away from MGM. Be Jean Harlow's clone." In her imitation of Jean, Carole's performance is excellent. She comes across as a beautiful, serious dramatic actress, which is not how her career is usually remembered.
Charles Laughton plays the cuckolded husband, and his Cockney persona is very entertaining to watch. In a way, he plays a very obsessive character, obsessed with cruel pranks. As Charles Bickford got third billing, I thought Carole would fall in love with him, but he's crude and coarse, and she prefers the gentle romance of Kent Taylor. Charles Bickford's blatantly sexual dialogue is very funny and shocking for the time period, so if you get a kick out of pre-Code nasty films, you'll want to watch this one. Also, there's quite a bit of violence in the story, which, had it been made one or two years later, wouldn't have been allowed. The violence is chilling and graphic, yet another reason to appreciate this uncensored old flick.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since there's an upsetting scene involving an animal, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
If you're familiar with Jean Harlow's films, you'll enjoy White Woman ten-fold. After only reading the above paragraph, I'm sure you're picturing Jean's character from Reckless. Then, when Carole marries Charles and relocates to his rubber factory, you'll be reminded of Jean's film from 1932: Red Dust. White Woman is so obviously Paramount's answer to Jean Harlow and Red Dust, it's mind-boggling. I've seen Carole Lombard in her classic screwball comedies, and she's completely different in this romantic drama. She looks like Jean Harlow, she speaks like Jean Harlow, she holds her shoulders like Jean Harlow-it's as if director Stuart Walker told her, "We've got to take the attention away from MGM. Be Jean Harlow's clone." In her imitation of Jean, Carole's performance is excellent. She comes across as a beautiful, serious dramatic actress, which is not how her career is usually remembered.
Charles Laughton plays the cuckolded husband, and his Cockney persona is very entertaining to watch. In a way, he plays a very obsessive character, obsessed with cruel pranks. As Charles Bickford got third billing, I thought Carole would fall in love with him, but he's crude and coarse, and she prefers the gentle romance of Kent Taylor. Charles Bickford's blatantly sexual dialogue is very funny and shocking for the time period, so if you get a kick out of pre-Code nasty films, you'll want to watch this one. Also, there's quite a bit of violence in the story, which, had it been made one or two years later, wouldn't have been allowed. The violence is chilling and graphic, yet another reason to appreciate this uncensored old flick.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since there's an upsetting scene involving an animal, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Laughton is memorable at least
Prismark1016 February 2019
Set in British colonial Malaysia. Judith Denning (Carole Lombard) is a widow who sings for natives in a bar to make ends meet. Her husband killed himself maybe because of her infidelities.
Horace Prin (Charles Laughton) is an uncouth rubber plantation owner, the self styled 'King of the River' who is smitten by Denning's beauty. He offers to marry her, for Denning it is a way out of her fallen status.
Prin's jungle plantation has non native workers who all have something to hide. Prin shows himself to be cruel and callous. Denning falls for the plantation overseer which makes her new husband jealous. Another worker also takes a shine to her.
Lombard might look beautiful but her acting is flat and anodyne. Laughton hams it up royally, he even shoots a cheeky chimpanzee in one scene.
As for the natives, Hollywood seemed to have rounded up all sorts to play them as cliches. There is a murderous bunch who turn up at the end looking for the scriptwriter.
The story is dumb, thankfully the film is short.
Horace Prin (Charles Laughton) is an uncouth rubber plantation owner, the self styled 'King of the River' who is smitten by Denning's beauty. He offers to marry her, for Denning it is a way out of her fallen status.
Prin's jungle plantation has non native workers who all have something to hide. Prin shows himself to be cruel and callous. Denning falls for the plantation overseer which makes her new husband jealous. Another worker also takes a shine to her.
Lombard might look beautiful but her acting is flat and anodyne. Laughton hams it up royally, he even shoots a cheeky chimpanzee in one scene.
As for the natives, Hollywood seemed to have rounded up all sorts to play them as cliches. There is a murderous bunch who turn up at the end looking for the scriptwriter.
The story is dumb, thankfully the film is short.
Laughton reigns supreme
lor_26 March 2024
Sensibilities have changed in 90 years that it's difficult to get into the swim with "White Woman", a well-shot and acted Paramount feature rooted in Colonialism but saved by the usual tour de force performance by Charles Laughton. It's hard to imagine another actor in his role.
Opening reel seems to be a familiar tale of prejudice and ostracism: star Carole Lombard looking fabulous and even singing (direct sound) a couple of torch songs as a cafe singer down on her luck in some Far East British colony (likely set in Straits Settlements). Her husband committed suicide, and folks look down on her working in a cafe frequented by locals.
But soon she's married Laughton, self-proclaimed King of the RIver, who from humble beginnings has bought up most of the island. With a unique walrus moustache, he's a very odd fellow, full of sarcasm and even some self-deprecatory humor as he lords it over all and sundry. A couple fo studs understandably lust after Lombard, with the sjurprise of Charles Bickford, young and overconfident, even taking a shower and having an unlikely beefcake role.
When Laughton literally spits in the faces of a couple of higher-rank natives, things look glum for the white folks, as a rebellion begins. Chuck has a couple of impressive machine guns with plenty of ammo for just such an occasion, but he's thwarted byt the white guys he keeps under his thumb working for him, leading to a truly memorable climax, in which violence is tastefully delivered off-screen.
Opening reel seems to be a familiar tale of prejudice and ostracism: star Carole Lombard looking fabulous and even singing (direct sound) a couple of torch songs as a cafe singer down on her luck in some Far East British colony (likely set in Straits Settlements). Her husband committed suicide, and folks look down on her working in a cafe frequented by locals.
But soon she's married Laughton, self-proclaimed King of the RIver, who from humble beginnings has bought up most of the island. With a unique walrus moustache, he's a very odd fellow, full of sarcasm and even some self-deprecatory humor as he lords it over all and sundry. A couple fo studs understandably lust after Lombard, with the sjurprise of Charles Bickford, young and overconfident, even taking a shower and having an unlikely beefcake role.
When Laughton literally spits in the faces of a couple of higher-rank natives, things look glum for the white folks, as a rebellion begins. Chuck has a couple of impressive machine guns with plenty of ammo for just such an occasion, but he's thwarted byt the white guys he keeps under his thumb working for him, leading to a truly memorable climax, in which violence is tastefully delivered off-screen.
The natives are restless
blanche-226 March 2021
Charles Laughton stars with Carole Lombard, Kent Taylor, Charles Bickford, and Percy Kilbride in "White Woman" from 1933.
In British-owned Malaya, Lombard plays Judith Denning who works playing piano and singing in a sleazy nightclub. After her husband committed suicide (rumored to be because she cheated on him) she became an outcast; in fact, the owner of the club wants to fire her and deport her.
A river trader and rubber plantation owner, Horace Prin, enters the club. He takes an immediate shine to Lombard, and offers her a way out of her predicament. Marry him, and she'll move onto the plantation. Now, under normal circumstances, Judith might have laughed in his face, but this is a way out, and she grabs onto it.
Once she gets to his plantation, she learns he is a cruel, jealous man who gives bad rice to the natives. All the people who work for him had to leave their country because of some crime or another. When one of them leaves, Prin promises him he will never make it down the river. That's because the natives have orders from Prin to kill him. J
Judith soon takes up with Prin's manager, Taylor, and later meets the tough Ballister who comes to work for Prin and takes no guff from him.
Charles Laughton is one of the greatest actors ever on screen, but I guess either he had contempt for Paramount, the script, the director, or maybe all three. Using a Cockney accent, he hams it up outrageously, winking, making faces, pursing his lips. The character wasn't repulsive enough!
Very dated. The jungle set, the natives, the drums - it's all there, and it's a good atmosphere where you can feel the heat. I can't say if it's worth seeing or not. I suppose it's such a rare bad performance from Laughton, Lombard had such a short career, and Bickford is so young, it's worth a look.
In British-owned Malaya, Lombard plays Judith Denning who works playing piano and singing in a sleazy nightclub. After her husband committed suicide (rumored to be because she cheated on him) she became an outcast; in fact, the owner of the club wants to fire her and deport her.
A river trader and rubber plantation owner, Horace Prin, enters the club. He takes an immediate shine to Lombard, and offers her a way out of her predicament. Marry him, and she'll move onto the plantation. Now, under normal circumstances, Judith might have laughed in his face, but this is a way out, and she grabs onto it.
Once she gets to his plantation, she learns he is a cruel, jealous man who gives bad rice to the natives. All the people who work for him had to leave their country because of some crime or another. When one of them leaves, Prin promises him he will never make it down the river. That's because the natives have orders from Prin to kill him. J
Judith soon takes up with Prin's manager, Taylor, and later meets the tough Ballister who comes to work for Prin and takes no guff from him.
Charles Laughton is one of the greatest actors ever on screen, but I guess either he had contempt for Paramount, the script, the director, or maybe all three. Using a Cockney accent, he hams it up outrageously, winking, making faces, pursing his lips. The character wasn't repulsive enough!
Very dated. The jungle set, the natives, the drums - it's all there, and it's a good atmosphere where you can feel the heat. I can't say if it's worth seeing or not. I suppose it's such a rare bad performance from Laughton, Lombard had such a short career, and Bickford is so young, it's worth a look.
Charles Laughton has never been better or indeed funnier
1930s_Time_Machine4 October 2023
It just gets better and better and better as it goes on. It's as close to perfection as I've ever seen: emotional engaging, thoroughly entertaining, exciting and shocking but with a huge massive streak of black humour peppered throughout.
It's one of those films about attitudes, old sexist attitudes which make you go grrrr. You're drawn into the story straight away. Within the first five minutes, the scene is set: the stuffy governor and his wife, who are more than happy to befriend a lascivious old lech, genuinely find it totally abhorrent and disgusting that sultry and sophisticated Carole Lombard is allowed to live on the same island now that her husband killed himself leaving her unmarried - a beautiful unmarried woman, how disgraceful!
So you think you're going to get a good pulling-at-your-heartstrings Carole Lombard film.......think again because in comes Charles Laughton like a hurricane in what I think is his most hilarious role ever. He's fantastic: he's Kenneth Williams and Frankie Howerd blended into one. There's some outrageous gay cockney humour which I imagine would have had English audiences wetting themselves whereas confused 1930s Americans wouldn't have a clue what he was doing.
Escaping that horrible prejudiced judgmental society, Miss Lombard "marries" Charles Laughton's old lech and off she goes to his "Colonel Kurtz-like domaine. As in SAFE IN HELL or RAIN, isolated from the real world in a virtual fantasy kingdom, logic and reason and acceptable behaviour are tossed out of the window. Here the rules of normal life don't exist, here normal life don't exist.
The King of this kingdom is Horace Prim played with fabulosa campness by Charles Laughton. Along with his gang of reprobates he has a beautiful blend of people with him: Carole Lombard becoming increasingly sensual as the minutes progress, Kent Taylor getting it on with his boss's wife and Charles Bickford (whom I've never heard of) as an absurdly cocky American. Although what's happening around them is death, murder and mental cruelty, this bunch of misfits behave just like a bunch of mates constantly taking the p' out of each other. That such behaviour can result in one of them killing the other doesn't seem at all important in this dream world. The final scene reminds me of CARRY ON UP THE KHYBER.
The direction by Stuart Walker is as good as any of his more famous contemporaries. This is one of those films you might never have heard of but when you find it you'll be so chuffed you did.
It's one of those films about attitudes, old sexist attitudes which make you go grrrr. You're drawn into the story straight away. Within the first five minutes, the scene is set: the stuffy governor and his wife, who are more than happy to befriend a lascivious old lech, genuinely find it totally abhorrent and disgusting that sultry and sophisticated Carole Lombard is allowed to live on the same island now that her husband killed himself leaving her unmarried - a beautiful unmarried woman, how disgraceful!
So you think you're going to get a good pulling-at-your-heartstrings Carole Lombard film.......think again because in comes Charles Laughton like a hurricane in what I think is his most hilarious role ever. He's fantastic: he's Kenneth Williams and Frankie Howerd blended into one. There's some outrageous gay cockney humour which I imagine would have had English audiences wetting themselves whereas confused 1930s Americans wouldn't have a clue what he was doing.
Escaping that horrible prejudiced judgmental society, Miss Lombard "marries" Charles Laughton's old lech and off she goes to his "Colonel Kurtz-like domaine. As in SAFE IN HELL or RAIN, isolated from the real world in a virtual fantasy kingdom, logic and reason and acceptable behaviour are tossed out of the window. Here the rules of normal life don't exist, here normal life don't exist.
The King of this kingdom is Horace Prim played with fabulosa campness by Charles Laughton. Along with his gang of reprobates he has a beautiful blend of people with him: Carole Lombard becoming increasingly sensual as the minutes progress, Kent Taylor getting it on with his boss's wife and Charles Bickford (whom I've never heard of) as an absurdly cocky American. Although what's happening around them is death, murder and mental cruelty, this bunch of misfits behave just like a bunch of mates constantly taking the p' out of each other. That such behaviour can result in one of them killing the other doesn't seem at all important in this dream world. The final scene reminds me of CARRY ON UP THE KHYBER.
The direction by Stuart Walker is as good as any of his more famous contemporaries. This is one of those films you might never have heard of but when you find it you'll be so chuffed you did.
Immorality among the jungle heat.
mark.waltz6 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
A very flamboyant performance by Charles Laughton asks the question, is he being feminine or foppish? At times, he seems to be flitting around his own ship, and it certainly is eye raising. He's escorting Carole Lombard out of the tropical community where the uptight white people who have taken over are appalled by her performing in a native cabaret. Lombard falls in love with deserter Kent Taylor, but his sudden departure leaves her open to the strong armed advances by over-seer Charles Bickford who has the power to save Taylor when he's in trouble, but is stopped by his obvious lust for Lombard.
This exotic adventure is escapist fare at its campiest, not quite the classic of Laughton's "Island of Lost Souls" or the bad taste of Lombard's "Supernatural", both released around the same time as this by Paramount. Lombard seems to be sleepwalking through this, obviously bored by contractual obligations and a wretched screenplay that has the characters who barely know each other talking like they've known each other for years. Beckford is commanding, but brutish, while the future Pa Kettle, is touching as a crew member who has a chimpanzee as a pal. Stereotypical portrayals of unseen natives pepper the script with clichés. It's impossible to totally hate it, but there are some truly tacky moments that really emphasize why the production code was enforced the following year.
This exotic adventure is escapist fare at its campiest, not quite the classic of Laughton's "Island of Lost Souls" or the bad taste of Lombard's "Supernatural", both released around the same time as this by Paramount. Lombard seems to be sleepwalking through this, obviously bored by contractual obligations and a wretched screenplay that has the characters who barely know each other talking like they've known each other for years. Beckford is commanding, but brutish, while the future Pa Kettle, is touching as a crew member who has a chimpanzee as a pal. Stereotypical portrayals of unseen natives pepper the script with clichés. It's impossible to totally hate it, but there are some truly tacky moments that really emphasize why the production code was enforced the following year.
Probably Laughton's worst performance.
planktonrules12 May 2022
Charles Laughton was an incredible actor...one of the best of his generation. That being said, it's amazing to watch "White Woman" because, for once, he's not on the top of his game...in fact, he's pretty terrible. Much of it is because his character and motivations were just difficult to understand...and perhaps he just had trouble understanding the man.
The summary on IMDB makes it sound like the movie is a romance or has strong romantic elements. Well, this is not the case...it's not about romance at all but about a sadistic jerk who eventually overplays his hand.
The story is set in some land whose location is confusing. You see guys with blowguns (which is very South American) and chimps (which is very African) and I cannot recall the movie saying where it's supposed to be located. All I can say is that it's in the jungle in some godforesaken land...a jungle surrounded by hostile natives who are under the control of a sadist. It seems that Horace (Laughton) uses the tribes to kill anyone who tries to escape the plantation he's built. But then he makes the mistake of mistreating these natives...a HUGE mistake in hindsight.
As for Carole Lombard, she plays Horace's new wife...and she's horrified at Horace and his brutal ways. And she's essentially told to accept him and the situation or else!
So is this film good? No...not really. But in a bizarre pre-code way it does keep your attention! Some poor performances, a strange script and an amazingly sluggish pacing keep this from being a good film...but it IS memorable!
The summary on IMDB makes it sound like the movie is a romance or has strong romantic elements. Well, this is not the case...it's not about romance at all but about a sadistic jerk who eventually overplays his hand.
The story is set in some land whose location is confusing. You see guys with blowguns (which is very South American) and chimps (which is very African) and I cannot recall the movie saying where it's supposed to be located. All I can say is that it's in the jungle in some godforesaken land...a jungle surrounded by hostile natives who are under the control of a sadist. It seems that Horace (Laughton) uses the tribes to kill anyone who tries to escape the plantation he's built. But then he makes the mistake of mistreating these natives...a HUGE mistake in hindsight.
As for Carole Lombard, she plays Horace's new wife...and she's horrified at Horace and his brutal ways. And she's essentially told to accept him and the situation or else!
So is this film good? No...not really. But in a bizarre pre-code way it does keep your attention! Some poor performances, a strange script and an amazingly sluggish pacing keep this from being a good film...but it IS memorable!
We love Lombard, and She Was White...
splurben21 February 2021
I love pre-code Hollywood and Carole Lombard is a stunningly wonderful actress. Charles Laughton is seriously overacting this part even for a "B" movie melodrama of this era although he did make this villain thoroughly unlikable. I really wanted to care, but just didn't find it anywhere in this film. It's important to note that there was something about the play upon which this film is based (and re-made over and over again), "The Hangman's Whip" 1933 which played for one month in New York at the St James Theatre, that seemed to entrance Paramount, maybe because they got it real cheap. To see a story like this done properly, Marlene Dietrich directed by Tay Garnett and with a young and handsome John Wayne in Seven Sinners (1940) is the height of this genre.
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