One can't help but go native when encountering Tondelayo (Hedy Lamarr), a local beauty with a great dental plan In White Cargo. With western interests there to exploit the people and capitalize on their natural resources Tondelayo does a decent job of leveling the playing field with the white invaders with a brand of irresistible guerrilla sensuality that throws the boys into disarray.
Langford (Richard Carlson) is a newly arrived employee of an African rubber plantation run by the British. Wirtzel (Walter Pidgeon) who is in charge doubts if he has the right stuff to put up with the oppressive heat and supervising workers who don't speak English. Langford is soon frustrated and overwhelmed but finds respite in island beauty Tondelayo. Wirtzel who has fallen victim to her allure in the past warns Langford about her and the already abrasive relationship becomes even more strained. Gold digger Tondelayo meanwhile attempts to soak Langford for everything he has before Wirtzel puts an end to it.
There is more than a whiff of white supremacy in White Cargo as the savage and immoral Tondelayo without remorse plunders Carlson and tries to pit him against Wirtzel. It's all very nice to dally with the natives away from home states Frank Morgan's doctor but there is no room for miscegenation in the civilized white world. It's all very nice for them to exploit the land and people but the locals better know their place.
Lamarr's Jolson look is jarring with a gleaming Ipana smile as director Richard Thorpe keeps his camera trained in close-up of her. Hedy is stilted and her performance dated but with her beauty speaking for her she is a powerful presence to contend with. Pidgeon, Carlson, Morgan and Reg Owen lend able support but the arch storyline is creaky even for 42 and Lamarr as jungle girl remains a bit of a stretch in the looks department but her beauty and tenacity make it entertaining enough and given the time (WW ll) must have been a welcome sight to overseas GIs, though my guess is they took little heed to the cautionary addendum about the dangers of fraternizing with locals message.
Langford (Richard Carlson) is a newly arrived employee of an African rubber plantation run by the British. Wirtzel (Walter Pidgeon) who is in charge doubts if he has the right stuff to put up with the oppressive heat and supervising workers who don't speak English. Langford is soon frustrated and overwhelmed but finds respite in island beauty Tondelayo. Wirtzel who has fallen victim to her allure in the past warns Langford about her and the already abrasive relationship becomes even more strained. Gold digger Tondelayo meanwhile attempts to soak Langford for everything he has before Wirtzel puts an end to it.
There is more than a whiff of white supremacy in White Cargo as the savage and immoral Tondelayo without remorse plunders Carlson and tries to pit him against Wirtzel. It's all very nice to dally with the natives away from home states Frank Morgan's doctor but there is no room for miscegenation in the civilized white world. It's all very nice for them to exploit the land and people but the locals better know their place.
Lamarr's Jolson look is jarring with a gleaming Ipana smile as director Richard Thorpe keeps his camera trained in close-up of her. Hedy is stilted and her performance dated but with her beauty speaking for her she is a powerful presence to contend with. Pidgeon, Carlson, Morgan and Reg Owen lend able support but the arch storyline is creaky even for 42 and Lamarr as jungle girl remains a bit of a stretch in the looks department but her beauty and tenacity make it entertaining enough and given the time (WW ll) must have been a welcome sight to overseas GIs, though my guess is they took little heed to the cautionary addendum about the dangers of fraternizing with locals message.