Review of West of Zanzibar

First, don't confound it with the Tod Browning feature, a silent one, starring the great Lon Chaney. This movie is British and directed by the interesting Harry Watt, who gave us this kind of exotic features, and in a semi documentary style. See for instance, WHERE NO VULTURES FLY, or SIEGE OF PICHGUT. Of course British movie industry was very used to adventures stories, and this till the early sixties. We can analyze that as a sort of reflection of the colonialist history of United Kingdom. That's what I think. And after the fifties we saw the birth of the "Kitchen Sink" way of filming, with such directors as Tony Richardson, Bryan Forbes, Lindsay Anderson and Karel Reisz. The DNA of other film makers like Ken Loach,; the digging into the major social problems of the usual population. But that's another comment. This was not for the same kind of audience.

Back to this film, it is a very good time waster for those who like old fashion movies that we saw in childhood. We can think of KING SOLOMON'S MINES. Ivory hunters who have to fight against natives tribes. Nothing special but worth watching.