LIONS AND TIGERS AND...ELEPHANTS...
AND A GORILLA...
SEVERAL OTHER KINDS OF EXOTIC CATS...
AND...AND...AND...
A DINOSAUR!
I just kept thinking (or was I singing?), as I watched this mad, mad, mad, mad world, of the song in "The Wizard of Oz". How many places in the African continent do you know of where this assortment of fauna exist? Well, in the darkest part of Kongo these all exist together, along with an assortment of ivory poachers, general thieves, gangs who go after anything and everything (including a cache of jewels in a huge, dirty sack), lost fathers who may not be exactly "lost", a secret service agent who is looking for another secret service agent who's the first mentioned secret service agent's brother who is looking for an international ivory smuggling gang's leader, and, finally, a woman who's looking for her long "lost" father who lives in the area, raised by a priest nearly since she was born, and who has spent most of her time living around a native tribe called the Wahili and knows their leader and their ways extremely well. Oh, and all this is near the ancient place called Nuhalla, a gigantic palace of yore that is fallen into ruin, but is extensive enough to have miles of tunnels and thousands of rooms, and secrets and secrets and secret passageways, dungeons, and whatnots!
Well, this is what is contained in "King of the Kongo" (1929), a ten part serial newly restored by Eric Grayson from 9 different film sources in several millimeters and at least 4 different sound sources, with some voice overlay in places that are missing the sound discs done by modern voice over actors. I must admit that after the first chapter I didn't know what had hit me!! Was this for real? It was so far out, so off the charts, so biologically impossible, so not quite altogether past silent film, so part-sound, so when are they going to learn how to act in this new medium?, so, so, so... It was, for a modern viewer, so bad that's it's not good, but...GREAT! Well, I couldn't wait for chapter 2...and chapter 3. I watched over a period of 4 nights. I couldn't wait to get to the last chapter - - - also to see if things that weren't logical would turn out to be logical in the end. But, nope! There were coincidences and a few parts or incidences that weren't and aren't. So what! This has to be one of the most fun films I've ever watched!
Starring Jacqueline Logan and the King of Serials, Walter Miller, the baddies (and, oh, are they bad) Boris Karloff and Larry Steers, and their gang of crooks (one of the aforementioned baddies is worse than the others, and he may not be exactly the person you think he is). Along for the ride, and they may not be exactly what they appear at first to be, are Lafe McKee, Richard Tucker, Harry Todd, Richard Neill, and J. Gordon Russell. A very tall black actor named Robert Frazier (not to be confused with Robert Frazer) plays the native chief of the tribe.
I wasn't familiar with Larry Steers...or so I thought. He's a good looking actor and he dressed nattily throughout (up to a point). However, the IMDb has him in 616 films during a very long career, mostly uncredited parts much like Bess Flowers, an actress who appeared in well over 1000 films! I've seen Lafe McKee for years and years in hundreds of "B" Westerns and the like. Here he actually has a substantial part. Harry Todd played baddies and the like for decades, too. He plays a character here that appears to be "simple", but by today's classifications is more like an autistic character. He has the most ambiguous, if not ambivalent part, and plays it quite well. Richard Tucker is only in the first chapter, and is the chief of the Secret Service, or one of its main chiefs, anyway.
Don't be put off by the first few minutes. They're awful acting-wise by today's standard. But, trust me, the show doesn't just grow on you, it sucks you up and doesn't spit you out. As for logic, well, one of the first things you learn is that if you find the gorilla you find the King of the Kongo. What does that mean? Well, I'll not give spoilers, but...if you're a logical sort you'll wonder when it's all over just how did the Secret Service learn this point. It's an impossibility if you think about it. I'll not tell why. Anyway, don't worry about logic and don't worry about some continuity that's, well...
Oh, did I mention the dinosaurus? Yes, that's what one character calls it. And how many dinosaurs have you seen roaming around sites lately? None, you say. Well, in the deepest, darkest part of Kongo you might find one around Nuhalla. For the record, Nuhalla uses travelogue scenes from Angkor Wat in Cambodia. They are actual scenes of the ruined palace, though there are scenes with characters in the film shown there. Obviously, even that was a trick of the camera in 1929. Though scenes were filmed there at some time, the actors weren't there. The chapter beginnings all mention that the scenes of the palace were filmed in Cambodia.
Eric, you outdid yourself. Putting all this together had to be monumental! Excellent job. To all fans of the serial genre, to all those interested in the part-talkies, to all interested in the transition from silent to sound, to all fans of a really fun time at the movies, this is your ticket. Highly recommended!
One last thing, Boris Karloff makes this serial tick! Catch that sport coat he wears, torn and shredded and filthy dirty. The mise-en-scene he makes happen. He's also the only one who can act. Indeed, he's wonderful to watch. Now, notice I mention the torn coat. In a couple of scenes it's NOT torn. Hummmmm... Where was the person in charge of continuity. Who cares!!
