Nabonga (1944)

Overrated and overhyped

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

50-pack Drive-in collection is how I came across this film. I was hoping for a fun adventure from the film but it's rather slow and somewhat drab. It's not a horrible film it's just lacking a bit to make the film memorable. It's far from being as good as "Mighty Joe Young" or "King Kong" and not nearly as fun as "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla". "Nabonga" is more of a so-so film that is fine to watch but it's nothing special.The movie does have it's moments of cuteness, the story is fine it's not not a memorable story, the gorilla suit looks like any other gorilla suit from the 1940s so it's pretty neat and it is worth watching if you happen to find it playing on TV or acquire it in a film-pack.3.5/10

It's just an adventure story. A young girl is raised by a gorilla after her father, a crook, dies. A really boring man played by Buster Crabbe finds her and needs her to give some money and jewels back. Of course, there is another guy who wants the loot. Most of the movie is the discovery of the White Witch who is really just a good looking young woman and the efforts to keep her alive by the duo of Crabbe and gorilla. Most of the scenes are silly and forgettable. There are a lot of animals (stock footage) and lots of vines and trees. It is entirely predictable and there are few surprises. The relationship between the girl and Crabbe goes nowhere. Can you imagine the reality of her being put back into Western society.

For such a short movie, you get plenty of wild animals to look at. In Hollywood's version of deepest, darkest Africa, you get the usual lions, zebras, hyenas, chimpanzees, hippos and leopards - but why limit the animals to only one continent? For the perfect jungle cocktail, stir in South American monkeys, Indian elephants, American alligators, Australian cockatoos...and cap it off with a guy in a gorilla suit. Serve with Buster Crabe and Julie London for a really fun time.The story is about stolen jewels that are lost in a plane crash somewhere in the jungle. The daughter of the thief, Doreen (Julie London) lives a life of seclusion and innocence in the jungle with the jewels, protected by her gorilla friend, Sampson. The natives whisper of a white witch. Ray Gorman (Buster Crabbe) has journeyed to Africa to find the jewels and clear his father's name from the charges that he allowed the jewels to be stolen. A couple of seedy trading post scoundrels get wind of Gorman's goal and they follow along behind him, determined to get the jewels for themselves.Gorman befriends one of the local natives, Tobo, who offers to lead Gorman to the remains of the 'house with wings' that he keeps trying to tell people about. At first, Tobo seems to know his way around the jungle. But after Gorman does the obligatory fight the fake crocodile in the river with his shirt off scene, Tobo has no future and is promptly killed by the guy in the gorilla suit.The rest of the movie involves the resolution of the Beauty and the Beast story. The gorilla, Sampson, jealously protects Doreen's innocence and has kept her out of contact with other humans. Doreen calls off Sampson just as he is about to kill Gorman, thus opening the door to human interaction. Buster Crabbe and Julie London together on screen are very entertaining. Buster plays it all goofy and good natured, while Julie is naive, direct and flirtatious.Gorman's decision to trap Sampson and take the jewels against Doreen's will is a bit unsettling. It seems unfair, like stealing from a infant. The movie does not linger on any moral issue regarding the act, which is interesting. The action is treated like a given - the concerns of western civilization apparently trump everything else. What is chilling is that this attitude is exactly how western civilizations treated Africa for over two hundred years.Doreen decides she really likes Gorman. That pretty much dooms Sampson. The Beauty and the Beast relationship ends with his heroic death, defending her to the last. That means Gorman can now take Doreen out of the jungle and back to civilization. A happy ending...?This is an entertaining little low budget movie. It is thought provoking too, but I doubt if that was the original intent.

NABONGA is just a low-budget gorilla adventure from PRC Pictures, but it offers a good story, more African wildlife shots than most Tarzan movies, and a reasonable level of sex appeal. At 75 minutes, the movie is never dull; and it matters not that Nabonga is an actor in a gorilla suit -- because audiences allowed some slack if the story was good. This rates a solid 7/10, if not better.Contrast this with Peter Jackson's overblown, miserable, and downright stupid 2006 gorilla movie --- that cost in excess of $100 million --- and was dying fast at the box office (per word-of-mouth) two weeks after its release. Jackson's movie had no entertainment value at all.Some say that Nabonga was the inspiration to the 1950 "Mighty Joe Young" --- a truly excellent classic made by the same skilled people that made the 1933 "King Kong". I'd say, not quite. "Nabonga" is a much slimmer story.You can rent Nabonga + Swamp Fire from Netflix, or buy a DVD for about $2.00 on eBay or elsewhere. Worth your time and money.