Elephant Boy (1937) Online

A young ELEPHANT BOY dreams of becoming a hunter like his father, grandfather & great-grandfather.

Rudyard Kipling's short story Toomai of the Elephants comes to life in this exciting little movie from Sir Alexander Korda's London Films. The original material has been embroidered upon, but the changes from Kipling, who had died in 1936, actually give the slight tale more punch without destroying its integrity. Location shooting, personally granted by the Maharaja of Mysore on his private lands, gives a veracity to the film which no studio back lot could equal.

In the title role, young Sabu is utterly natural & authentic in his film debut. As equally at home in front of the lens as he is on the back of Kala Nag, the wise old elephant, Sabu is never anything less than completely convincing, whether he's scurrying up trees, bathing his pachyderm, or showing complete confidence in interacting around scores of the great beasts.

Walter Hudd is persuasive as Petersen sahib, the hunter sent to round-up elephants for the Government. Allan Jeayes shows authority as Machua Appa, the elderly head tracker. Genial Wilfred Hyde-White, one of Britain's finest character actors, has a single scene as the local commissioner.

The sequences dealing with the elephant herds, the lives of the mahouts, and the building of the stockade are all fascinating and give an almost documentary quality to the film at times.

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Born Sabu Dastagir in 1924, Sabu was employed in the Maharaja of Mysore's stables when he was discovered by Korda's company and set before the cameras. His first four films (ELEPHANT BOY-1937, THE DRUM-1938, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD-1940, JUNGLE BOOK-1942) were his best and he found himself working out of Hollywood when they were completed. After distinguished military service in World War II he resumed his film career, but he became endlessly confined for years playing ethnic roles in undistinguished minor films, BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) being the one great exception. His final movie, Walt Disney's A TIGER WALKS (1964) was an improvement, but it was too late. Sabu had died of a heart attack in late 1963, only 39 years of age.

Wonderful little film adapted from Rudyard Kipling's story Toomai of the Elephants. Kipling's work always makes fine films, even if his British colonialism makes it somewhat dated. This particular film features an unpleasant master-servant relationship between the white man, Petersen (Walter Hudd), and the Indians. But, if you can get past that, and I think most mature people should be able to see the class system in its proper historical light, the movie is very enjoyable. Robert Flaherty discovered Sabu, later to star in such great films as The Thief of Bagdad, The Jungle Book, and Black Narcissus. Sabu is very good, though his English is sometimes difficult to understand. This was Flaherty's only narrative film - I expect that he directed the nature parts of the film and Zoltan Korda directed the actors. The best moments feel just like Flaherty's masterpieces, including a wonderful opening bit (discounting the unnecessary prologue) where Sabu, his elephant, and a monkey echo each other's movements as they all wake up in the morning. The cinematography is quite beautiful, as is the musical score. 8/10.

It is quite clear from the beginning that we have to be understanding about Sabu's acting ability in this his first film.He undertakes the opening narration in a very stilted form.It is quite apparent that he is reading off of boards placed behind the camera.The scenes in India are very well photographed in black and white and the music is quite captivating.the dramatic scenes though are often rather awkward.Not just because of Sabu.the scenes of him with the white trappers are very redolent of the Empire,upon whom the sun never set.Korda did rather have an obsession about this.Bearing in mind that he had previously made Sanders of The River and was about to embark upon "The Drum" and of course "The Four Feathers".Sabu would shortly become a much more skilled performer.

1937. Technicolor still waiting (and expensive and technically demanding), it's no surprise this is in black and white. And, sorry to say, much more black than white. Many scenes look light night, even if from context they should be in daytime. I had to squint my eyes sometimes to see what goes on. (This may also be due to the fact that it's in public domain, and not much was invested into digital remastering. Hey.. they sold it for ?1 at Woolworth..) I also had to squint my ears - sound quality is not crystal-clear, and Indian English takes some more getting used to. But...

Atcha! Against those odds, I enjoyed Elephant Boy tremendously. A simple but strong story, great shots of elephants.. (who needs monster movies when you have these creatures?) I can now better understand Sabu's short success story in the movies. He's ... well, more authentic than say, Douglas Fairbanks as the Thief of Bagdad (which I loved too). Between Prapancha Pash (1929 silent made on location in India), and Sabu's later highlights in Jungle Book (1942) and Black Narcissus, Elephant Boy fits very well in my collection, and I'll keep it in fond memory and re-watch it. Relatively short and quite mono-thematic (it's all about elephant & boy), for me it was a great and memorable experience.

Zoltan Korda was the middle of the three great Korda brothers of the cinema, (Alexander the eldest and Vincent the youngest) specializing in outdoor films, like this one (on Kipling's "Toomai of the Elephants") and ten years later the still best film adaptation of "The Jungle Book", both with Sabu as the main character. Robert Flaherty (1884-1951) was an important film documentary pioneer with many classics to his credit, like "Nanook of the North", the first commercially successful film documentary (1922) which he directed and produced. With Zoltan Kodaly, he was co-director of this film, probably the best elephant film ever made, which still impresses by its unequaled elephant scenes, including a great score by John Greenwood.

Long before Elizabeth Taylor took an unwanted stroll with these gentle giants in "Elephant Walk", there was Sabu as the "Elephant Boy". This adorable adolescent who went on to play many delightfully mischievous free spirits obviously had that rare ability to cavort with nature unlike any other human. In this British made adventure drama from the Korda brothers, Sabu is an Indian boy who comes from a long line of ancestors who have emotional ties with these pachyderms. Yes, even as a beast of burden, the elephant can sense that their master has passed on to that great elephant graveyard in the sky, and they cry out in grief before going crazy. Only Sabu can stop the elephant (who was mourning his father, the leader of a hunt for wild elephants to be used as beasts of burden) and now he must find a way to prove his worth to take his father's place. The kindly British commander of this expedition (Walter Hudd) takes a shine to little Sabu who has become the target of jealous hatred by others in the quest. This will lead to the test that Sabu must pass in order to continue his family's legacy.

A magnificently filmed adventure drama with dollops of humor and a memorable debut by a young boy who hadn't set out to become a child star makes this a must. Other films with certain animals show their love for humans (in spite of what some humans do to the animal kingdom) and these elephants are no exception. The scene of Sabu being picked up by his beloved elephant is warmhearted, as if the elephant considered him one of her own. Of course, the shots of the baby elephants are just adorable, and like the humorous scene in "Hatari" (1962) with a baby elephant falling for the pretty Elsa Martinelli, you can't help but go, "Ah.....". But like in all elephant movies (even "Dumbo"), you know that elephants deep down are wild creatures, and once man does their worst to them, it will not be a quiet payback. Scenes of a few other jungle animals (Bengal tigers, some cute little spider monkeys) add to the nature of the film. The movie also speaks to the innocence of children when it comes to their love for the animal kingdom and the world they are learning about, as well as the cynicism of the adults and how sometimes it is the child (or child-like quality in grownups) which brings peace to the world.

And yet I could not help but feel mortified at the ending, the elephant boy loves is elephant thusly, he loves all elephants and yet he wants to grow up to be a hunter of elephants? scare them to death, coral them, senselessly kill all the elephants for the mercantile profit of a few? WTH? has this boy not heard of extinct animals and how we should co-exist in this world? wholly disconcerting but yet saying this, it is a very good story...

In his first film, young Sabu introduces himself as "Toomai of the Elephants" before leading an expedition to find a herd of elephants in the jungles of India. Though this is based on an adventure story by Rudyard Kipling, it runs more like a documentary. There is much time spent on filming Sabu cavorting with his elephant "Kala Nag" and others. Sabu relies on acting natural and hasn't perfected his English; people found him highly appealing, but he's sometimes more of a liability, herein. Sabu and the Korda productions got better. "Elephant Boy" is for viewers who really, really like Sabu and/or a lot of elephants on screen.

**** Elephant Boy (4/5/37) Robert Flaherty ~ Sabu, Walter Hudd, Allan Jeayes, W.E. Holloway

I didn't like this movie at all Too much of the "hysterical elephant goes berserk" routine,and the horrid racket to go with it Sabu as the earnest,young Hindu boy was at best,cloyingly maudlin. The patronizing British Head Honcho was also a bit too much to take. I'm not even sure a child would like it.The pathetic elephant screams might be a bit scary. Parental Guidance Recommended (by me at least)