{"id":25617,"date":"2012-04-30T11:29:04","date_gmt":"2012-04-30T18:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25617"},"modified":"2020-12-12T10:14:04","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T17:14:04","slug":"west-of-zanzibar-1928","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25617","title":{"rendered":"West of Zanzibar (1928)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;For all the suffering he brought her, he&#8217;s going to pay!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Poster-300x206.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Poster-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Poster-128x88.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Poster.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter learning his wife (Jacqueline Gadsden) has betrayed him, a magician (Lon Chaney, Sr.) is paralyzed in a fight with her lover (Lionel Barrymore), and later seeks revenge upon both Barrymore and his wife&#8217;s grown daughter (Mary Nolan). <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Africa<\/li>\n<li>Lionel Barrymore Films<\/li>\n<li>Lon Chaney, Sr. Films<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Silent Films<\/li>\n<li>Tod Browning Films<\/li>\n<li>Warner Baxter Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased upon the 1926 Broadway play <em>Kongo<\/em> (which was filmed as a talkie in 1932 with Walter Huston), this atmospheric silent film by director Tod Browning has retained much of its power and creepy eloquence, thanks in large part to a haunting central performance by Lon Chaney, Sr. The 65-minute screenplay hurls along at breakneck speed, quickly setting up the initial conflict, then suddenly sending us (for no apparent reason) to the depths of Africa, where Chaney&#8217;s character uses his skills as a magician to hold sway over the natives. While one might wish for a tad more explanation or exposition, the film&#8217;s central theme remains crystal clear: Chaney will avenge both the loss of his wife and the loss of his mobility, at any cost. Watching him slither along the floor, a snarl permanently etched onto his face, one feels it&#8217;s not really possible for a man to be more deeply scarred and embittered. Barrymore, meanwhile, makes a worthy foil, and the sets convey an appropriate sense of claustrophobic menace. Warner Baxter as Chaney&#8217;s personal doctor (whose loyal presence is never fully explained) serves as a welcome relief in the midst of such unrelenting gloom; knowing that he will likely fall for the pretty, put-upon Nolan helps us feel some small sense of hope. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lon Chaney as Phroso, a.k.a. &#8220;Dead-Legs&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Chaney.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Chaney.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Chaney.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Chaney-128x106.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Chaney-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Crane<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Barrymore.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Barrymore.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Barrymore.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Barrymore-128x106.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Barrymore-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Appropriately claustrophobic sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Sets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Sets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Sets.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Sets-128x106.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/West-of-Zanzibar-Sets-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes; this remains a powerful early revenge flick, one which all film fanatics should check out. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0019563\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/2081\/west-of-zanzibar#articles-reviews\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;For all the suffering he brought her, he&#8217;s going to pay!&#8221; Synopsis: After learning his wife (Jacqueline Gadsden) has betrayed him, a magician (Lon Chaney, Sr.) is paralyzed in a fight with her lover (Lionel Barrymore), and later seeks revenge upon both Barrymore and his wife&#8217;s grown daughter (Mary Nolan). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Africa Lionel Barrymore Films Lon Chaney, Sr. Films Revenge Silent Films Tod Browning Films Warner Baxter Films Review: Based upon the 1926 Broadway play Kongo&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25617\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25617"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57316,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25617\/revisions\/57316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}