Beyond Mombasa (1957)

The characters are cardboard : the rough rider ,who has been through it all ,the beautiful heroine who cannot stand this rude guy,her wise uncle, and two sinister-looking guys ,plus the leopard men in the background.At first sight, the principal is a cynical guy who does not even want to attend his own brother's funeral ,but is only in it for the money;of course,as expected , further acquaintance shows actually a brave guy the reluctant heroine will become little by little mad about (and the other way about).Although it's labelled "adventures movie" ,it is actually a whodunit : who killed the unfortunate brother who discovered uranium in his mine?Every member of the expedition is a suspect .The stupefied expression on the last victim's face is pure thriller.Spoiler: The most interesting side of this story is religious fanatism :how a man who thinks he serves as the instrument of the wrathful petulant Jehovah of Victorian Sunday schools can awaken the old superstitions of the natives and use their own creed . However,as there are absolutely no clues, no forerunner, whilst the identity of the culprit is unexpected,it is a rather implausible.Cornell Wilde's African adventures are best appreciated in his own " Naked prey"(1966) ,his extraordinary "most dangerous game" .

It could have been worse. As it is, at least some of the actors are excellent, especially Christopher Lee as the only elegant mermber of the party, a dashing French hunter in Africa leading the others into the depths of the jungle to solve the mystery of Cornel Wilde's brother's mysterious death. Cornel Wilde himself appears to be a somewhat rowdy Canadian, and it takes some time for Donna Reed to find any charm in that drunken buccaneer. Leo Genn appears to be a somewhat sanctimonious missionary, but he is too good and placid to be true, and he never made the seminary. There is one more interested party in the treasure hunt, but most interesting are the natives and their behaviour, especially their music - the trumpeteer Eddie Calvert has a guest performance in this colourful safari film, where you also see all kinds of other animals, the hippopotami and the crocodiles being the most impressive seconded by giraffes, and of course there is a tame chimpanzee. It's not a bad film, there is some excitement and charm to it, the jungle environments are terrific with their hidden dangers, and it's not too long. It's an entertainment with a fresh and nice dialogue, that at least should leave you happy and content afterwards when the curtain has fallen on the exotic drama of how an African sect could be manipulated out of the jungle.

It is not clear exactly who this film was aimed at.Filmed in technicolour in Africa,with interiors in the UK with a largely British cast.The two main leads are American.So maybe this was made for the American as well as the British market.The story is rather strange.It seems to be utilising elements of the then current Mau mau uprising in Kenya and renaming them the Leopard people.Instead of seeking independence they are being led by a dotty English missionary,played by Leo Genn in a very unsatisfactory wig,to protect a uranium mine.In the meantime Wilde and Reed are having a truly tiresome romance.Some good location scenes but that is about all of interest.

George Marshall directs this Columbia Pictures East African travelogue. Matt Campbell(Cornell Wilde) makes the trip to Mombasa, Kenya too late for his brother's funeral. He discovers his brother did not die of natural causes, but murdered. Matt would like to know who murdered him; but unsympathetically would like to know more about the location of a mine that his sibling wrote him about. Early on arrival, Mr. Campbell meets with a missionary, Ralph Hoyt(Leo Genn)and Hoyt's niece Ann Wilson(Donna Reed)and joins them on safari and search for the valuable mine. This is not a gold mine, nor diamond mine; but a uranium mine. Several attempts are made on Matt's life and he knows someone seriously does not want him to locate the mine. As the safari travels beyond Mombasa, natives speak of a white man being killed by a legendary tribe of "leopard men". This action adventure seems a bit longer than the quoted running time of an hour and thirty minutes. Sure some scenes may have been drawn out a bit; and any violence is not very shocking. Banter between Wilde and Reed at times is playfully humorous. Horror film veteran Christopher Lee plays a shady Frenchman. Also supporting are Ron Randall and Dan Jackson. This film was indeed filmed in Mombasa, Kenya.