West of Zanzibar (1954)

The story of native tribesmen who move towards Mombasa, getting drawn info the world of ivory smuggling.

Director:

Harry Watt

Writers:

Max Catto (screenplay), Jack Whittingham (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Steel, Sheila Sim, William Simons

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Steel	...	Bob Payton
Sheila Sim	...	Mary Payton
William Simons	...	Tim Payton
Orlando Martins	...	M'Kwongwi
Edric Connor	...	Ushingo
David Osieli	...	Ambrose: Ushingo's Son
Bethlehem Sketch	...	Bethlehem: Ushingo's Son
Martin Benson	...	Lawyer Dhofar
Peter Illing	...	Khingoni
Edward Johnson	...	Half Breed
Juma	...	Juma
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	Wood (as Howard Marion Crawford)
Stuart Lindsell	...	Colonel Ryan (as R. Stuart Lindsell)
Sheik Abdullah	...	Dhow Captain
Joanna Kitau	...	Ketch African

Storyline

The story of native tribesmen who move towards Mombasa, getting drawn info the world of ivory smuggling.

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Taglines:

He stopped the ivory pirates who plunder Africa's forgotten wilderness

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

A l'ouest de Zanzibar

Filming Locations:

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ealing Studios,Schlesinger Organization

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Gaumont Kalee Recording) (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Colour by) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Opening credits: The events and characters portrayed in this film are wholly fictitious.

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Goofs

When the poachers are hunting the elephants, a kookaburra call is clearly heard. Kookaburras are only found in Australia, a continent thousands of miles east of Zanzibar.

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Quotes

Mary Payton: Don't you understand what all this is doing to innocent African tribes?
Lawyer Dhofar: Perhaps I do. Perhaps I do not. But, but Mrs. Payton don't you think you are being a little, to put it delicately, starry-eyed about these so-called innocent tribes? Oh. come, Mrs. Payton, we must be realists. The world cannot wait for civilisation to catch up with the primitive black man.
Mary Payton: For one thing, this ivory business is destroying a fine, pastoral people, the Golanas; turning them into slum savages.
Lawyer Dhofar: But Mrs. Payton, ...
[...]

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Connections

Follows Ivory Hunter (1951)

User Reviews

Dull And Slow

At times it is difficult to make out if this film is supposed to be a dramatic narrative film or a glorified travelogue.Since this was the pre jet age,not many people could journey to Africa and see these sights for themselves.They could view them in black and white on their 12 inch TV screens but that was it.So the antics of the dung beetle seem to supplant the importance of moving the plot onwards.In the cinema the audience had to suffer in silence whereas we can now happily fast forward.the plot is about ivory poaching,apparently as bad then as it is now.Anthony Steel plays the game warden and seems to be carved out of ivory himself.Sylvia Simm seems to have a different costume for every scene.Michael Balcon's Ealing only had 2 years remaining,and watching lame efforts like this ,it is not very surprising.