Trader Horn [Nominee ~ 1931]

"I'm not fool enough to believe any thing's impossible in Africa."

How would I describe Trader Horn?  It's part action-adventure biopic, part nature documentary, with a touch of romantic melodrama thrown in.  It's also an inaccurate, racist view of colonial Africa, which features a great deal of exploitation and real-life danger.  This is one of those films that preserves a moment in time, warts and all.

Based on the book by real life adventurer Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn (played by Harry Carey), the movie follows the ivory trader and his young protege as they trek through the African wilderness in search of a missionary's missing daughter.  Danger is around every corner, in the form of wild animals and angry natives.

While the plot itself is nothing special, the story behind the production is.  This was the first non-documentary to be filmed on location in Africa.  And after the ordeal the cast and crew went through making it, it's a wonder any movie was ever filmed on location again.  Many crew members contracted malaria, including female lead Edwina Booth.  It took her six years to fully recover, effectively ending her acting career.  Wildlife often attacked the crew, and led to two deaths: an African crewman was eaten by a crocodile after falling into a river, and another was killed by a charging rhino.  (Which was captured on film and included in the final movie.  Classy.)  Carey's leg was nearly bitten by a crocodile while swinging across the river by vine (also included in the final cut), and a second unit filming animal footage in Mexico allegedly starved lions to provoke vicious attacks on deer and hyenas.  Some footage also shows crocodiles and rhinos being shot at, the latter appearing to be an actual rhino death.

Along with authentic wildlife footage, this film also features indigenous tribesmen and women.  The inclusion of native peoples is a complicated issue, to say the least.  The locals are described as "savages," "monsters," or "happy, ignorant children."  Horn's gun bearer, played by Kenya native Mutia Omoolu, is the only African who receives anything close to respect, yet he's still referred to by the pejorative "boy."  The divisive issue of "ethnographic" nudity is also presented: topless native women are seen throughout the film, yet Booth's chest is strategically covered by a feather necklace.

Despite these issues, this movie is a visual gem.  The more authentic wildlife scenes are riveting.  The imagery of tribal people in costume is beautiful, especially while performing native dances.  As Africa moves into the 21st Century, tribal culture is in danger of being lost, and wildlife is threatened by industrialization.  Trader Horn captures a moment in time, when a continent was still wholly untamed, and the rules of filmmaking were almost non-existant.