Screenland (May-Oct 1931)

for May 1931 25 Edwina Booth, above, as the beautiful Nina in the African epic. W. S. Van Dyke, director of "Trader Horn," with a crocodile prize. Harry Carey, right, as Aloysius Horn, the picturesque African trader . for the filming of "Africa Speaks." At any rate, the National Better Business Bureau, Inc., investigated the situation and reported : "The distributor of the 'Africa Speaks' film has nowadded a foreword to the picture explaining that scenes and sounds have been interpolated in the film in order to give it added theatre entertainment value. Furthermore, all references in the accompanying dialogue and all scenes in which sound equipment apparatus is shown have been removed from the film." Therefore. "Trader Horn" has the distinction of being the first "'all-sound'' film actually made in Africa and shown in this coun And, speaking of "Trader Horn" ! Here at last has arrived a production which had the foresight to capitalize upon some of the education that has been crammed down the eyes of the moviegoing-public by releasing an African film with a plot. "Trader Horn." adapted from the book of the same name, is brim-full of thrills, narrow squeaks, love interest, local color, animal lore, and beautiful scenes. Furthermore, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer should insist that the World Court at Geneva introduce a foreword upon the international value of this picture, as the "all-talking" film employs many languages. English is clipped and drawled, Swahili and other native languages are chanted, lions roar in their own tongues most convincingly, hyenas laugh on both sides of their faces, hippos snort, elephants trumpet, baboons jabber, and — (yea, villains, look to your laurels!) — crocodiles gnash their teeth in most sinister fashion. The only mis-cast animal in the all-sound production is the giraffe. He cannot help it. He Jungle drama! Duncan Renaldo as Peru in a scene with Edwina Booth from "Trader Horn." has no vocal chords. No "sound effects" from him. Although the book setting for "Trader Horn" was West Africa, the film location was changed to East Africa and covered a territory from the East Coast, through Kenya Colony, Uganda, Tanganyika and into the Belgian Congo in Central Africa. The obstacles encountered in transportation alone for such a large assemblage, with tons and tons of equipment, food, and baggage, must have been tremendous. The thought of the cost involved in such an undertaking is staggering. Xo wonder that it has not been attempted on such a scale before ! However, so smoothly flows the continuity of the finished production that the audience little realizes the effort involved in the filming. I know, from my own experience in developing films of still pictures in the field, some of the tragedies encountered. Many a night I have developed confounded pictures between the hours of two and six A. M. I had to do it during these hours as the buckets of water, carried on the porters' heads and placed in front of my tent, took some six or eight hours to cool in the night air sufficiently so as not to melt the gelatine of the film. Also, as I had to do this work by candle-light or kerosenelantern light, all of the small pests of the air — sand flies, mosquitoes, and so on — were attracted into the vicinity. Needless to say, many a morning proved that the labor had been in vain, as the drying film had contacted a thick coating of insect life. When this type of work was accompanied by the grunt of a Hon — not far away enough for comfort's sake — i: hardly seemed worth while. As for Edwina Booth, who played the part of Nina in (Continued on page 121)