Elephant Boy (1937)
In India, Toomai, a young mahout, helps lead the British on a large expedition to round up wild elephants.
- Zoltan Korda
- Robert Flaherty
- David Flaherty
- Teddy Baird
- John Pommer
- Lajos Biró
- John Collier
- Rudyard Kipling
Rating: 6.7/10 by 16 users
Alternative Title:
Toomaï le grand cornac - FR
Toomai, der Elefantenboy - AT
O Menino e o Elefante - BR
Момчето и слоновете - BG
Elefantdrengen - DK
Elefanttipoika - FI
Elefantenjunge - DE
Der Elefantenjunge - DE
Thryloi tis zouglas - GR
Elefántfiú - HU
Elefántboy - HU
La danza degli elefanti - IT
Kala Nag - PL
O Rapaz do Elefante - PT
Sabu-Toomai, el de los elefantes - ES
Djungelns son - SE
Elephant Boy - SE
Elefantpojken - SE
Мальчик-слон - RU
Маленький погонщик слонов - SU
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 22 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: elephant, expedition, human animal relationship, jungle, india, based on short story, herd, roundup, child protagonist, mahout, asian elephant
This has something of a documentary about it as Sabu portrays the young "Toomai" - the "Elephant Boy" based on the Rudyard Kipling story published in 1893. When an elephant goes on the rampage, only the young boy - the son and grandson of a mahout - can calm it down and in so doing attracts the attention of the leader of a hunting party "Petersen" (Walter Hudd) who agrees to take him on a hunt. What now ensues is a series of adventures that cause the boy to grow up quickly - and sometimes quite harshly. It's one of those films that rather glorifies the Raj and objectifies the local population, but having been filmed on the private reserve of the Maharajah of Mysore, the photography and authenticity of the story helps give it extra credence that, perhaps, the rather banal dialogue compromises. Sabu used to be the Maharajah's stable boy, so if nothing else the film serves as an excellent springboard for this charming and engaging young actor to get to Hollywood. Interestingly ironic that is was nominated for the "Mussolini Cup" in 1937.... I would not call this an exciting film to watch but it is - of it's time - an interesting one.
