Africa Speaks!
| Title: | Africa Speaks! |
| Year: | 1930 |
| Tagline: | See the real Africa – HEAR the real Africa! (original ad) |
| Directors: | Walter Futter |
| Writers: | Walter Futter (writer) |
| Actors: | Paul L. Hoefler | Lowell Thomas |
| Rating: | 5.4 | 18 votes |
| Languages: | English |
| Color: | Black and White |
| Country: | USA |
| Company: | Walter Futter Productions |
| Genres: | Documentary | Adventure | History |
| Plot: | |
| 1): Hear the hoof-beats of the gnus and see a young boy chased down and killed by a lion (sans the screams)was what “Africa Speaks!” promised, and delivered. Filmed on the Colorado African Expedition of 1928, headed by Paul L. Hoefler, this film rose above the ‘jungle-graph’ films of the past—”Chang” excepted—because of the sound and not the views of the Dark Continent offered, albeit most of these were new views that some of the critics debated over whether or not some of them were staged. It contained: a locust swarm that devoured everything but the expedition camera; a visit to the duck-billed pygmy tribe in which the females of the tribe had discs inserted beneath their lips when very young and, as they grow older, larger discs replace the previous discs; an antelope—called and spelled illampa in the film—that jumps forty feet backward or forward when frightened and some slow-motion shots are used. “Africa Speaks!” showed Africa to be both dangerous and noisy. |
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| Comments: | |
| 1) In order to bring this important early sound era documentary intoproper cultural and natural historic focus, one must bethink of theprodigious changes that have altered the face of Africa as well as itshumanity and fauna during the more than 70 years since the film'sproduction. One can only imagine the reaction of a 1930 audience whichviewed the extraordinary events presented and filmed by Colorado-basedexplorer Paul Hoefler, including the death and mealtaking by a familyof lions of one of Hoefler's expeditionary native assistants, totaldecimation of the expedition's surrounding flora by a massive wingedhorde of locusts, and remarkable animals and people of many varieties.Narrator Lowell Thomas' somewhat casual comments of events that couldnot have been greeted in such cavalier fashion at the time theyoccurred can be offputting, and his attempts at whimsy consistentlyfall as flat as the veldt being traversed, but withal the narrationprovides a raft of historically fascinating data. Hoefler's book of thesame title, published shortly after the release of the film, differsinsofar as the expedition actually travelled from east to west, ratherthan the reverse, but for purposes of visual impact actual events wereedited in order to produce dramatic action.
2) This film is striking for several reasons. The obvious footage of animalsand insects was magnificent, and so was the scenes of the veldt,regardlessof the animals. But, beyond that, the whole feeling of the daily hardshipof life on the African continent 70 odd years ago was almost overwhelming.This film brought the living in fear of lions, locust, tsetse flies andother dangers into sharp relief for me. It was well worth watch if onlytoget the historical sense of life on the dark continent. |
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