Rampage

This movie is underrated. Robert Mitchum is at his laid-back best as the trapper and Elsa Martinelli is sexy and strong in the female lead. Jack Hawkins is fine, and it's nice to see Sabu in a strong role after The Jungle Book. The musical score (by Elmer Bernstein) is melodic, almost as good as his Magnificent Seven soundtrack. Set this all in verdant Africa with a tiger hunt thrown in, and it makes for good viewing.

"Rampage", made in 1963, starred Robert Mitchum, Elsa Martinelli, and Jack Hawkins. This film, set in the jungles of Malasia, had the two professionals, Hawkins an animal hunter, and Mitchum, a trapper, hired by a zoo in Germany to capture a rare species of jungle cat and bring the animal back alive for a major exhibition. Mitchum sees the chance to do as the zoo wishes, while Hawkins only desires the killing of the animal for the newest addition to his collection of kills and trophies. Adding to the mixture is Hawkins' mistress, played by Elsa Martinelli. She goes on the hunt as well, and finally decides to leave Hawkins, tiring of his desire to only kill.

The hunt in Malasia goes well, the animal is captured, but Hawkins' jealousy gives vent to revenge on the two, Mitchum and Martinelli. The film features a stirring music score by Elmer Bernstein, and the scenery in Malasia is breathtaking. Mitchum portrays cool as only he could, and Martinelli and Hawkins add a style to the film. Sadly, not on VHS or DVD yet.

The Wilhelm Zoo in West Germany hires big game hunter Otto Abbot (Jack Hawkins) and trapper Harry Stanton (Robert Mitchum) to travel to Malaysia to bring back two tigers and an "enchantress" (half-breed creature: part-leopard, part-tiger). Abbot's house is filled with wild animal artifacts (head trophies, rugs, animal skins). Harry wants no part of animal killing. Abbot's mistress is the statuesque and lovely Anna (Elsa Martinelli), whom he rescued when she was 14 years-old. She is a crack shot and will be along for the expedition. The jungle guide is Sabu ("The Jungle Book," 1942).

Early on the tone for the movie is set at a dinner club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia when the confident Abbot suddenly asks Harry if he'll try to take Anna away from him. Harry responds, "You drag it out pretty flat on a table, but as long as you did . . . Yes, I'm gonna try." Anna darts those tantalizing dark eyes; she has subjugated her life to Abbot.

In the jungle the expedition captures two tigers with the help of the local Sakai people, who beat their drums to drive out the tigers from hiding. But as Abbot uses his rifle once, the Sakai chief says that the beaters will no longer help (they are against big game hunters). But there is still one more animal to capture, and the film is not even half over at that point. So there is time for plenty of tension. Although Anna has rebuffed Harry early on, they develop a bond that makes Abbot jealous. Eventually an enchantress is captured after hard work. But on the train to Germany Abbot releases it to attack Stanton, and it soon escapes the train: Abbot is not caring about the damage it will do or the people it will kill. In due course, the climax occurs on a building rooftop with all principals involved.

The acting is fine, and Robert Mitchum has always had a strong screen presence. He reminds one of the legendary real-life trapper, Frank Buck of the earlier 20th century ("Bring 'Em Back Alive," 1930). The underrated Elsa Martinelli is appropriately gorgeous, slender, and sensual. She had a fairly similar role in a comparable but superior film with John Wayne as the love interest ("Hatari," 1962). The photography is fine: "Rampage" was filmed in Hawaii. On the negative side the screenplay could have been better, and the enchantress was rather small and somewhat disappointing. Nevertheless, the movie is still worth a look.

British big game hunter Otto Abbot (Jack Hawkins) and American trapper Harry Stanton (Robert Mitchum) have been hired to hunt for big cats including a legendary one known as the Enchantress. Anna is Otto's 'general staff'. The trio travels to the jungle of post-British Malaya.

The most compelling is hunting the animals. The jungle is not the deepest and darkest jungle. It's the wilds of Hawaii. It's beautiful but it doesn't look dangerous. The movie is generally flat for it. Harry is a static character. He has one mode. There is no romantic triangle possible and yet the movie forces one. Otto has a semi-interesting relationship with Anna. A better script would have them deal with their relationship. That's the drama in this story. This should really be a movie about their companionship with Harry as the outside observer. The movie does have some good looking cats.

"Rampage" is definitely one of Robert Mitchum's lesser-known films. It is about two hunters to work together to bring back big cats for a German zoo. But there is tension between them, as Otto (Jack Hawkins) is big in killing animals to prove his virility and Harry is a trapper with no interest in killing (Robert Mitchum). The Freudian aspect of this is that Otto uses his gun to prove his manliness....as his wife (Elsa Martinelli) and her carnal needs apparently cannot be satisfied by him. Not surprisingly, the two men are going to butt heads...over killing animals and over the wife.

There's a subplot involving a leopard called 'The Enchantress'. But it's so stupid and nonsensical that I won't even bother discussing it further!

The film looks nice...with Hawaii substituting for location shooting in Malaysia. The actors are also good. But the story itself is a bit silly and dull at times....and the dialog a bit ridiculous. So it's pretty obvious why the movie isn't well known compared to other Mitchum films. Not terrible...but also pretty silly and boring, which is odd since it's about trapping big cats! It's also a bit sad to see some of the natives are played by white actors (such as the Malayan chief, played by German actor Stefan Schnabel). All in all, watchable but you could easily do a lot better.

By the way, sadly, this was Sabu's penultimate film. He died at age 39 of a heart attack after making one more film, "A Tiger Walks".