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.

Directors:

Arch Oboler, Robert Clampett

Writers:

Robert Clampett (Time for Beany sequence), 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:

3d | 3 dimensional | psychotronic film | man wears a suit and tie | lion | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arch Oboler traveled to Africa in 1948 to make audio recordings of native peoples. While in Africa, Oboler met William D. Snyder, a 16mm cameraman with his own industrial filmmaking company in Fargo, North Dakota. During their travels throughout Africa, Mr. Snyder shot the African footage that appears in Bwana Devil.

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Quotes

Bob: Now I'm in a conspiracy against *him*.

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Connections

Referenced in C.O.D. (1981)

User Reviews

A lion in your lap, a lover in your arms!

Based on a true story. Bwana Devil, filmed in Natural Vision 3-D,came out at a time when movies were competing with the growing popularity of television, which was keeping audiences out of theaters in droves, Arch Obler's thiller has some spectacular photography of the African plains and is somewhat of a documentary. Lot's of shots of animal herds and native tribal dancing. The outdoor shots are brightly lit but the studio shots are quite dark. Third Dimension photography requires sets to be brightly lit. Starring Robert Stack, Barbara Britton and Nigel Bruce. This tale of a "Great White Hunter" hired, by the English rail-road company,to hunt down and kill two lions, that are killing off workers, is slow to start but the 3-D action picks up later with many shots of spears being thrown at the screen, on-coming trains heading stright for the camera and, of course, leaping lions jumping from the screen. This movie can still be screen on television, in 2-D of course, and is interesting to see the shots that had audiences jumping in their seats back in 1952.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lions of Gulu

Filming Locations:

Democratic Republic Of Congo

Box Office

Budget:

$323,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arch Oboler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color (Anscocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1