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Elephant Boy

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6.6/10 • 19

1937-03-121h 22m

AdventureDramaFamily

In India, Toomai, a young mahout, helps lead the British on a large expedition to round up wild elephants.

Directors
Zoltan Korda, Robert Flaherty
Editors
Charles Crichton

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Sabu

    Sabu

    Toomai

  2. W.E. Holloway

    W.E. Holloway

    Toomai's Father

  3. Walter Hudd

    Walter Hudd

    Petersen

  4. Allan Jeayes

    Allan Jeayes

    Machua Appa

  5. Bruce Gordon

    Bruce Gordon

    Rham Lahl

  6. D.J. Williams

    D.J. Williams

    Hunter

  7. Wilfrid Hyde-White

    Wilfrid Hyde-White

    Commissioner

  8. Iravatha

    Iravatha

    Kala Nag (uncredited)

  9. Harry Lane

    Harry Lane

    Bit Part (uncredited)

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 20, 2022

6/10

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.

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
elephantexpeditionhuman animal relationshipjungleindiabased on short storyherdroundupchild protagonistmahoutasian elephant