Untamed Africa (Warner Bros.) (1933)

Here’s o group of natives, posing after considerable coaxing, for the cameraman of “Untamed Africa,” a most exciting film of wild life in darkest Africa. It’s on view at the Strand. Cut No. 3 Cut 45c Mat 15c REVIEW “Untamed Africa,” Thrilling ey TNTAMED AFRICA,” the Vitagraph feature picture, which opened an engagement last evening at the Strand Theatre, is one of the most thrilling pictures of primitive life in the Dark Con tinent yet brought to the screen. Two years were required to film it, the leader of the expedition heing Wynant D. Hubbard, Fellow of the American Geographical ceed aie a a ee a eee African wild life. The amazing “Untamed Africa” reveals the battle between the wit of man and the intuitive cunning of beasts and reptiles, witch doctors and natives. There are scenes which seem unbelievable. One in particular, shows a herd of oxen, supposed to be the most timid of all animals, forming themselves into a compact circle, to meet the onslaught of two infuriated lions. Another shows a hyena entering into a conflict with a lion, who has just brought down a young deer. But there are many scenes which call for the laughter and applause of the spellbound audience. Among the absorbing incidents is shown the power’ of the “witch doctors,” who exert such malign influence over the natives. In one village Mr. Hubbard and his men found the inhabitants on the verge of starvation, ‘because the witch doctors had. forbidden the use of game which had to be killed by the villagers. Mr. Hubbard got around the difficulty by having nets thrown over the Leche antelopes, which were nearby. ‘These animals die of fright when captured. ‘The savages could use the meat under these circumstances without incurring the vengeance of the witch doctors. Mr. Hubbard’s wife and two small children accompanied the expedition, and they are seen in the picture, often having amusing little adventures with pickaninnies or small denizens of the wilds, like the monkeys. A graphic description of the action accompanies the film from fade-in to fade-out, adding much to the general effect. “Untamed Africa” was greeted with enthusiastic applause last night, by the big audience. Besides its unquestioned entertainment value, its use as an educational feature makes it doubly worth while for everybody who has visited the far-off places of the world—or wanted to visit them. Whatever else you must miss, don’t miss “Untamed Africa.” Seen in "Untamed Africa" Be prepared to shed a shiver or two on your next Strand visit! It took -— fense of _hi 2 years to film “Untamed Africa,” its current feature, and as the scene above can testify, it must have been a hectic 2 years for the cameraman! “Untamed Africa” is a new film of the wildest of African jungle life. Cut No. 2 Cut 30¢ Mat 10¢ Page Six 1st Day of Run Hungry Hyena Fights Lion Over "Kill" in "Untamed Africa” The hyena is not the slinking, craven creature which we sometimes imagine —classing him with the jackal in our mental picture of the brute. He is a ferocious fighter, bold, dauntless, ready to attack ve of bez ts in de the .... Theatre. Ensconced in a camera pit, Wynant D. Hubbard, noted authority on African wild life, and the cameraman got close-ups of a laughing hyena with its kill, a deer. Then a famished lioness got scent of the kill and came prowling about ready to dispute with the hyena the possession of the fresh meat. The result is graphically pictured on the screen. Driven off by the more powerful lioness, the hyena returns to the attack again and again, uttering his laughing, demonical cry. That creepy, sardonic laughing-cry seems to be the only sound the hyena can make; in the fight with the lioness it rises even above the roaring of the latter. As usual, the battle is to the strong —the lioness finally succeeds in driving the hyena slinking away, but she soon becomes aware of the scent of humans and Mr. Hubbard and the cameraman make a narrow escape. “Untamed Africa” is the result of a two-year trek into the veldts of Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa by Mr. Hubbard, Fellow of the American Geographical Society, lecturer, traveler and one of the most noted authorities on@African life, and W. Earle Frank, cameraman, who has spent several years in the Dark Continent both with Mr. Hubbard and with other camera hunters, photographing wild animal life. Mr. Hubbard was also accompanied by his wife, little son and daughter. “Untamed Africa” picks up the expedition at Choma in Northwestern Rhodesia and carries it for forty-five days into the heart of the wilderness where the terrific encounter between the lioness and the hyena was filmed. Two Years to Film African Adventures Six whites and a retinue of about one hundred natives constituted the filming staff for “Untamed Africa,” a Vitagraph feature now at the.... Theatre. Wynant D. Hubbard, noted big game hunter and authority on African life, headed the expedition with W. Earle Frank as his cameraman, Over 103,000 feet of film were shot during the two years spent in the wilds of the Dark Continent. 2nd Day of Run First Lion Gives Greatest? Thrill Big game hunters thrill over the first lion they bring down with a rifle bullet. With some of the men the thrill seems to last a life time and they return many times to Africa to indulge in lion-shooting. Few of these big game hunters would care to undertake the capture of a full grown lion alive. Yet that is exactly what Wynant D. Hubbard did in “Untamed Africa,” the thrilling Vitagraph, Inc., feature picture, which is now showing at the .... Theatre. On his two-year filming expedition into Rhodesia. and Portuguese East Africa to obtain these sensational wild animal pictures, Mr. Hubbard, who has captured and tamed more animals than probably any other man alive, decided to capture a full grown lion, and record the process of capturing the king of the veldt on film. When two lions broke into the corral where the native cattle were kept, Mr. Hubbard ordered the natives to bring out the nets prepared for such an emergency—nets made of woven flax ropes 100. feet long and twelve feet wide, used in three thicknesses to keep the lion from breaking through the net once he was snared. This episode forms one of the most thrilling sequences ever seen in any African wild animal film and is a highlight of the picture. The lion was captured and carried on the shoulders of natives to the compound! 3rd Day of Run Hubbard One Hunter Who Does Not Kill Wynant D. Hubbard, who filmed “Untamed Africa,’ Vitagraph’s feature film now showing at the .... Theatre, has often been called 2 hig Sat ame RUBECE: but he denies the impu FES HeF tation. a Sas e ee He is a big Same ily with the camera. His interest in wild animals is not how many he has killed but how many he can capture, domesticate and train. He is an animal psychologist, rather than hunter. WYNANT D. HUBBARD, intrepid adventurer and explorer, who spent 2 years in the African veldt to bring “Untamed Africa” to the screen. It’s showing currently at the Strand. Cut No. 1 Cut I5e Mat 5c He has never shot an elephant and hopes he will never have to, but. he has helped to tame and domesticate several. He and -his associates in Africa have had as many as 600 beasts of the jungle and the veldt domesticated in one camp at one time. Hubbard’s first interest in wild animals, to tame and train them, was given a new turn when he saw “Chang,” the motion picture of wild elephants. He added filming the jungle beasts to his other interests and led an expedition into the wilderness of upper Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa on a two-year filming trek. This resulted in a hundred thousand feet of film, from which Vitagraph has selected the most thrilling scenes for inclusion in ‘Untamed Africa.” There is an area in Africa of 3,000 square miles in extent, approximately the size of the United States, which is infested with the dreaded tsetse fly which spreads the germs of the sleeping sicknss. Wild animals are immune to the disease; domestic animals are not,