Nabonga

Nabonga is a 1944 PRC film starring Buster Crabbe and Julie London (in her film debut). It was retitled Jungle Woman in the British Empire.

Nabonga
Original film poster
Directed bySam Newfield
Produced bySigmund Newfield
Written byFred Myton
StarringBuster Crabbe
Julie London
Barton MacLane
Fifi D'Orsay
Prince Modupe
Music byWilly Stahl
CinematographyRobert E. Cline
Distributed byPRC
Release date
  • January 25, 1944 (1944-01-25)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

T. F. Stockwell (Herbert Rawlinson) steals the money and jewelry contents of safe deposit boxes of the Cairo bank in which he works. After fleeing south in a private plane with his young daughter Doreen (Jackie Newfield) and the pilot, they're brought down in the jungle during a storm. The three survive the crash but Stockwell murders the pilot when he sees the stolen loot. Whilst exploring the surroundings, Doreen finds a gorilla (Ray Corrigan) wounded and left for dead by members of a safari.

Years pass when Ray Gorman (Buster Crabbe) comes to the area on the fringes of the jungle where the plane crashed. Bar owner Carl Hurst (Barton MacLane) and his female associate Marie (Fifi D'Orsay) spy on Gorman to see what he's up to.

Gorman's father was head of the bank that Stockwell worked for and robbed; when Gorman's father was blamed for the theft he committed suicide. Gorman is out to recover the loot from the plane crash to clear his father's name. When Gorman saves Hurst's servant Tobo (Prince Modupe) from being murdered by another African (Fred Toones), Tobo confides in Gorman that there is a white witch in the jungle who legend has it came from the sky. Gorman realises that this could be a reference to Stockwell's plane crash and disappearance. Tobo offers to lead Gorman to the area whilst Hurst and Marie secretly follow.

The "white witch" is the grown up Doreen (Julie London) living with her gorilla named Samson who protects her; her father having long ago disappeared in the jungle.

Cast

Main

Supporting
  • Prince Modupe as Tobo
  • Jackie Newfield as Doreen Stockwell, as a child
  • Ray Corrigan as Samson the Gorilla (as Nbongo)

Cameo/Uncredited
  • Jack Gardner as Pilot
  • I. Stanford Jolley as Policeman
  • Edmund Mortimer as Trader
  • Fred 'Snowflake' Toones as Native Attacking Tobo

Production

Guinea born Prince Modupe according to his autobiography I Was a Savage/Royal African was a Hollywood technical advisor on African films [1] such as Sundown [2] and The Snows of Kilimanjaro.[3] He gives not only a highly sympathetic portrayal of an African, but one who is a friend rather than a servant of Crabbe. In addition to fighting men and a crocodile, Crabbe displays amusing Bob Hope type comedy when frightened by Julie London's killer gorilla.

gollark: Simple.
gollark: Just post and enjoy the salt!
gollark: Free! Offer CB neglected.
gollark: I've now got a cheese, CB copper, dino, two papers, and two CB zyus. I'm fairly sure I still won't be able to get anything nice.
gollark: "FREE!"

References
  1. pp.78-79 Carpenter, Edmund Snow Oh, What a Blow that Phantom Gave Me 1974 Holt, Rinehart and Winston
  2. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595349/
  3. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595349/
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