pitcairn89
I think bkoganbing has written the most perceptive and accurate review of this film, of all the postings here. Bkoganbing's detailing of the history of the Belgian Congo, from its inception as a private fiefdom of King Leopold, to its transformation into an official "colony," in 1907, is exactly right. And the placing of this film in a 1950s context is also important to point out, as that reviewer has done. When this film was made, the later Zaire/Congo was still a Belgian colony, with independence still a few years away. The makers of the film were no doubt influenced by the prevailing attitudes of the time, and, considering some of those attitudes, the movie is fairly progressive, I think. I lived in the Congo in the late 1970s, when it was called Zaire. That was 70 years after the time period of this story, but some of the elements in this film were still in existence when I was there. Most villages had chiefs, of some form or other, and many had what we used to call "witch doctors." A fair number of people believed that these doctors had special powers, and acted accordingly. Drums were/are still used as a form of communication- what used to be called the "bush telegraph." People dressed as most modern people do- T-shirts and sneakers being quite common- but some of the traditional beliefs still held sway. I'm not an expert in Congolese traditional customs and ceremonies, but I was able to observe a number of interesting things while I was there. Experts in the subject could critique this film's depiction of these things far better than I could. But the scenes in the film seemed fairly accurate, to me, especially for the 1907 time period. Though I would stand corrected, if need be.I was impressed that they seemed to get the language right. Mitchum says that they are speaking Chiluba, which is in fact one of the major languages of the Congo. There are four major trade languages there- Chiluba, Lingala, Kikongo, and Swahili. These trade languages are used as large regional languages, in different parts of the country, so that people can communicate with one another. Swahili in eastern Congo (and neighboring countries), Lingala in the north, and along some rivers, Kikongo in central areas, and Chiluba in the south-- roughly speaking (and if memory serves correct). There are hundreds of smaller regional and tribal languages, and, while many people can speak five or ten of these languages, they often use one of the four trade languages when in another area. The old colonial Belgian French is still one of the government languages, and many people speak that as well. I spoke French and Kikongo when I was there, in my capacity as a volunteer aid worker. Many of my Congolese/Zairean friends spoke multiple languages (to my shame, as I struggled with just these two). Anyway, I think Mitchum and the others are really speaking Chiluba. I didn't speak that language, but all these languages have some overlapping vocabulary, and I think it was Chiluba, or something like it. Again, another poster may be more knowledgeable than I. It seems that Fox must have done some homework for this picture. Mitchum, too, as he handles himself impressively well with the language. I'd love to read comments by Mitchum on his memorizing that dialogue! Mitchum, one of my favorites, was always a trouper, I think.As many have pointed out, he and Hayward never actually went to the Congo. The studio did a pretty good job, I think, of blending studio sets with location shots. Though, as is usually the case, you can spot which are which. Though at least the studio sets aren't as obvious as in many films. The location shots sure brought back memories to me. The river steamers, dugout canoes, riverfront towns, etc.- all looking the same in the '70s, when I was there. The most obvious studio intrusion, to me, was the gorilla you see at the beginning of the film. Though it isn't as bad as many Hollywood "gorillas" you often see- Charlie Gemora in an ape suit, etc., it still detracts from the story. But this IS a 60 year-old film, so it's best not to be too critical, I guess. For its time period, they got some things pretty right. Especially considering that this was not made as a documentary, but as a Mitchum-Hayward entertainment picture, with fictional elements. As one poster pointed out, the source material was a serious book detailing the experiences of two nuns, who tried to bring western medicine to the Congo. Quite a morph there. But still not as outrageous as one might expect from the sensationalistic title. And better and more authentic than lots of other films Hollywood made about Africa, in those days. In my humble opinion, anyway.
sol
***SPOILERS*** The movie "White Witch Doctor" is more about greed and guilt and the strength in overcoming it then anything about modern or native medicine. Both big game hunter Lonni Douglas,Robert Mitchum, and nurse Ellen Burton, Susan Hayward, are in darkest Africa in the Belgian Congo for entirely different reasons then what they want you to believe in. Lonnie looking for gold in the dangerous Babuka country and Ellen in trying to make up for her husbands death that she feels responsible for. And in the end they both see the light in that doing the right thing, in unselfishly saving lives, is what it's really all about. That's after they almost end up losing their own!It's really Lonnie's partner Dutch businessman Huysman, Walter Slezak, who plays on his greed in taking Lonni into traveling into Babuba country to find gold thats their by the nugget full. Lonnie together with With Ellan travel deep into the Congo to help white woman doctor Mary, played by an either a dummy or corpse, called "Big Moma" by the grateful natives who's battling a major epidemic that's threatening to wipe out the entire native Congo population.What Lonni is really trying to do is use Ellen's work as cover to check out Babuba country to find where the gold is and get in touch with Huysman and his men to grab it, with deadly force if necessary, from the native tribesmen in the area! It's when Lonni sees what a great job Ellen is doing in saving the sick and dying natives that he turns away from his greed for gold and falls in love with Ellen that greatly outrages his partner Huysman. It's when Ellen is trying to save the Babuba King's, Everett Brown, young son Mekope, Oits Green, who was viciously mauled by a lion while, in order to prove that he's a man, trying to kill it single handedly that Huysman and his trope of gold diggers make their move.***SPOILERS*** Taking Lonni, who tried to stop him, hostage Huysman threatened to murder him if he didn't tell him where the gold is buried: which in fact Lonni didn't know. It's then that Lonni's native guide Jacqus, Mashood Ajaia, set fire to Huysman's cache of both explosives and ammunition that had his gang of gold thieves running for their lives. It's also then that Lonni took on Huysman one on one with Huysman not Lonni being the one who first ran out of ammunition! Meanwhile back at the Babuba camp Ellen who was about to give up in saving Mekope's life, gangrene had already set in, saw that luck was on her side when the medication that she administrated to him miraculously borough the what looked like the dead man back to life!P.S "White Witch Doctor"turned out to be the last movie that actor Everette Brown was to make. Brown who was in such 1930's classics as "I Am a Fugative From a Chain Gang" "King Kong" and "Gone with the wind " died almost four months before "White Witch Doctor" was released on October 25,1953.
Brandt Sponseller
Lonni Douglas (Robert Mitchum) is a trapper working in Africa around the turn of the 20th Century. He captures large, exotic animals that he then sells to zoos around the world. His partner, Huysman (Walter Slezak), who is more the type to stay in the "office" and supervise, has an ulterior motive--he believes there is gold in "them thar" hills. So Douglas has been searching for the gold for years. There is only one place left to look--a remote area far up the Congo, inhabited by a tribe hostile to white men. When nurse Ellen Burton (Susan Hayward) arrives as an assistant for a doctor in a village neighboring the remote one, however, Huysman sees it as the perfect opportunity, with a benevolent "false front" presented to the tribes-people, for Douglas to take her up the Congo and search for the source of the gold.Based on a novel by Louise A. Stinetorf, director Henry Hathaway and screenwriters Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts created a genre-spanning feast for the eyes, ears and mind in White Witch Doctor. The film combines adventure, suspense, romance, drama, intentional and unintentional humor, and an almost documentary-like travelogue through Africa.The Technicolor cinematography is fantastic, and a great choice as we are treated to various African cultures in traditional dress, occasionally performing traditional dances and other ceremonies, throughout the film. I don't know a lot of background information on the film, but I would bet that some shots were filmed as documentary material in Africa. Possibly, some was stock footage.But the heart of the film is Douglas, his relationship to Burton, and an often subtle, mostly subtextual commentary on a clash of cultures, which was far ahead of its time. Both Mitchum an Hayward are fabulous, with Mitchum occasionally approaching an enjoyable camp in his macho swagger and Hayward, in the context of the film and its characters, showing an also ahead-of-its-time underlying strength, intelligence and independence beneath her more stereotypical initial appearance as a beautiful but dependent woman. The script has an effective combination of serious drama with the difficulties of dealing with different cultures as well as a light playfulness.This is a little-known gem of a film that deserves a serious first or second look. A 10 out of 10 from me.
