Bwana Devil (1952)

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.

Director:

Arch Oboler

Writer:

Arch Oboler

Stars:

Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, Nigel Bruce

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Stack	...	Bob Hayward
Barbara Britton	...	Alice Hayward
Nigel Bruce	...	Dr. Angus McLean
Ramsay Hill	...	Major Parkhurst
Paul McVey	...	Commissioner
Hope Miller	...	Portuguese girl
John Dodsworth	...	Sir William Drayton
Patrick O'Moore	...	Ballinger (as Pat O'Moore)
Patrick Aherne	...	Latham (as Pat Aherne)
Edward C. Short	...	(as Edward Short)
Bhogwan Singh	...	Indian Headman
Paul Thompson
Bhupesh Guha	...	The Dancer
Bal Seirgakar	...	Indian Hunter
Kalu K. Sonkur	...	Karparim (as Kalu K. Sonkar)

Storyline

When the construction of the East African railway comes to a grinding halt Bob Hayward, the chief engineer, undertakes to kill the lion that is terrifying the construction crews and preventing them from working. Hayward isn't very happy in his job. He's been away from his home and his wife for 8 months and has taken to drinking and carousing.As the lion continues to attack the laborers, Hayward seeks the help of the local Masai tribesmen but they too have little success. Despite the arrival of several hunters to assist him - and his wife who unexpectedly arrives from England - the killer beast remains elusive, killing them one by one. It's left to Hayward to overcome his self-doubts and go up against the lion.

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Plot Keywords:

3 dimensional | lion | attack | pipe smoking | first of its kind | 

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Taglines:

The world's FIRST FEATURE LENGTH motion picture in Natural Vision 3 Dimension

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lions of Gulu

Filming Locations:

Democratic Republic Of Congo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gulu Productions, Oboler

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Anscocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bwana Devil was the first American feature film shown using Polaroid's dual-projector 3D system.

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Quotes

Bob: I don't need any help, I'll get that scurvy lion myself.

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Connections

Referenced in Modern Marvels: '70s Tech (2007)

User Reviews

Fairly good action-adventure in Africa fare

Bwana Devil is reputedly the first major studio, full length feature filmed entirely in the 3D process. Supposedly producer Oboler went to Africa to shoot a different movie, but after hearing the tale of two man-eating lions, terrorizing railway builders, decided on this one. It's a good story too, almost Hemmingway-like; fear, redemption, the great white hunter and all. It's the telling of the story that seems to drag, almost as though filming in the new process was too weighty for the crew. The action scenes are stiff, almost too staged. But these technical problems appear small in light of the film's dramatic conclusion.