British railway workers in Kenya are becoming the favorite snack of two man-eating lions. Head engineer Bob Hayward becomes obsessed with trying to kill the beasts before they maul everyone ... Read allBritish railway workers in Kenya are becoming the favorite snack of two man-eating lions. Head engineer Bob Hayward becomes obsessed with trying to kill the beasts before they maul everyone on his crew.British railway workers in Kenya are becoming the favorite snack of two man-eating lions. Head engineer Bob Hayward becomes obsessed with trying to kill the beasts before they maul everyone on his crew.
- Directors
- Writers
- Stars
Patrick O'Moore
- Ballinger
- (as Pat O'Moore)
Patrick Aherne
- Latham
- (as Pat Aherne)
Edward C. Short
- Native Hunter
- (as Edward Short)
Kalu K. Sonkur
- Karparim
- (as Kalu K. Sonkar)
Milas G. Clark Jr.
- Mukosi
- (as Miles Clark Jr)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This film is worth seeing since it is a classic in the sense of being the very first full length film released in the process of three demention. It was not very good in its acting or story plot, but can be a great movie quiz question from an historical standpoint. It should be seen in the 3 D process with polarized lenses.
Saw this for the first time as an 11 yr old at a matinee. Great movie but it scared me to death. I'm now 71 and it still remains the movie that I most remember as a child
Viewers: Hello. This movie does not show up on Cable very often. It reminds me of a much more recent movie, The Ghost and the Darkness. Similar plot...but has historical truth, of the two lions of "Ranchipour". The British colonel was building a bridge over the river, and some 150 workers were eaten by the two lions. He killed the lions. Those two lions , "taxidermied", are on display at the Chicago Field House,Chicago, IL.
I saw it the first day of its first run release at the Chicago Theater in Chicago in 1952. 'Bwana Devil' was the brainchild of radio director, Arch Oboler. - best known for the radio (and early live TV series) 'Lights Out'. Oboler's brother-in-law was Milton Gunzburg. Gunzburg was, I believe, the optician who connected the use of Polaroid lenses to the making of stereoscopic films.
In 1952, television was stomping out movies and movie theaters the way rogue elephants could destroy villages. Hollywood was searching for any gimmick it could use to bring people back to the theaters. Cinerama, a cumbersome early widescreen process had come on the scene. It produced an 3-D like effect. That opened the door for Gunzberg and his brother-in-law. They called their process Naturalvision, raised some money to demonstrate the process, and produced 'Bwana Devil'.
While the story and production values took a back seat to the illusion of depth, the picture was a hit. It was quickly followed by 'House of Wax' and others. Most producers opted to exploit the stereoscopic effects rather than make good movies. 'House of Wax' was one of the rare exceptions. After about a year, audiences tired of the shoddy productions, and Naturalvision eventually disappeared. Into the void Fox introduced CinemaScope, a flat wide-screen process, and helped stem the sinking theater system.
I imagine seeing 'Bwana Devil' in flat projection would be painful. But for those of us who saw it with pristine prints, and quality projection, it was something to behold. Lions leaping off the screen into our laps was something few of us would forget.
It has taken another fifty years for 3-D to return. Today's producers seem not to be making the same mistake as those in the early fifties. I hope so. After all, 3-D is so much more fun than flat.
In 1952, television was stomping out movies and movie theaters the way rogue elephants could destroy villages. Hollywood was searching for any gimmick it could use to bring people back to the theaters. Cinerama, a cumbersome early widescreen process had come on the scene. It produced an 3-D like effect. That opened the door for Gunzberg and his brother-in-law. They called their process Naturalvision, raised some money to demonstrate the process, and produced 'Bwana Devil'.
While the story and production values took a back seat to the illusion of depth, the picture was a hit. It was quickly followed by 'House of Wax' and others. Most producers opted to exploit the stereoscopic effects rather than make good movies. 'House of Wax' was one of the rare exceptions. After about a year, audiences tired of the shoddy productions, and Naturalvision eventually disappeared. Into the void Fox introduced CinemaScope, a flat wide-screen process, and helped stem the sinking theater system.
I imagine seeing 'Bwana Devil' in flat projection would be painful. But for those of us who saw it with pristine prints, and quality projection, it was something to behold. Lions leaping off the screen into our laps was something few of us would forget.
It has taken another fifty years for 3-D to return. Today's producers seem not to be making the same mistake as those in the early fifties. I hope so. After all, 3-D is so much more fun than flat.
An interesting premise, based on a true life story of two man eating lions but unfortunately, poorly executed. Leading man Robert Stack lacks charisma and the film at only 1 hour and 20 minutes, still drags and, at times, is ludicrous. Nigel Bruce is billed third in this as Dr Angus McLean and it is his penultimate film appearance. Though he has an amusing story about a fish, he is, in the main, a straight character here, though has a twinkle in his eye. He features throughout until the last 20 minutes but unhappily, his Scots accent (Stirling) doesn't really convince and undermines him more than somewhat.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIs the first American 3-D movie shot in color.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
- How long is Bwana Devil?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Lions of Gulu
- Filming locations
- Democratic Republic Of Congo(as the Belgian Congo)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $323,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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