When I saw the listing on Britain's Talking Pictures TV channel, I predicted that it would include travelogue footage, back projection and a woman remaining glamorous despite the privations of the outback.
So it proved. Dana Andrews plays an insurance investigator suspicious of David Farrar's reported death that will cost his company $2 million ($19 million in 2019). From London he travels to Africa, where he proves a rugged, outdoors type, adeptness with a duelling pistol being one of his skills.
Along the way he shows a great deal of interest in Jeanne Crain, the fiancée of the missing man; in today's politically-correct environment it would be seen as harassment. On arrival in Rhodesia, Crain is escorted by a group of natives to where her fiancé is hiding out. (I did wonder how "politically correct" this would have been in 1950s' Rhodesia?) Back in London she's a personal assistant but seems to adapt to outdoor rigours very easily. Happily when she's reunited with Farrar in a remote native village, she has access to half-a-dozen highly-fashionable outfits, including an evening dress. Andrews also benefits from several changes of clothes, though one might guess that these were loaned to him by Farrar.
The film ends with a chase down the river, ending with Crain falling into the river and getting soaked. A few minutes later, her hair has recovered its elegance and her smart yellow dress (with petticoat underneath) still looks good.
Several well-know actors have minor roles, including Wilfred Hyde White (as charming as ever), Walter Gotell and Paul Carpenter, on his way to starring in B (or C) pictures.
A very average film, then, though the scenes shot on location are better than usual for the period. Almost inevitably, there are incidents (several) with snakes, a lion v tiger fight and a cute monkey.
