{"id":38764,"date":"2017-04-24T10:44:11","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T17:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38764"},"modified":"2020-11-21T19:47:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-22T02:47:32","slug":"kongo-1932","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38764","title":{"rendered":"Kongo (1932)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;My one purpose in life is to see that sneer turn into fear!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Poster-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-38766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Poster-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Poster-97x128.jpg 97w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Poster.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA crippled, monomaniacal magician (Walter Huston) who holds sway over a tribe of African natives seeks revenge on his wife&#8217;s lover (C. Henry Gordon) by torturing Gordon&#8217;s daughter (Virginia Bruce), who was raised in a convent before being brought to Africa as a white slave, and seeks solace from her life of misery through the love of a kind but drug-addicted doctor (Conrad Nagel).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Africa<\/li>\n<li>Magicians<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Native Peoples<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Slavery<\/li>\n<li>Walter Huston Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis &#8220;talkie&#8221; remake of Tod Browning&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25617\"><em>West of Zanzibar<\/em> (1928)<\/a> &#8212; itself based on a 1926 Broadway play &#8212; is primarily notable as one of a handful of films that led directly to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Motion_Picture_Production_Code\">Hollywood&#8217;s self-censoring Production Code<\/a>. As noted in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/this-month\/article\/441%7C0\/Kongo.html\">TCM&#8217;s article<\/a>, &#8220;The plot alone was enough to cause controversy as it had every element the Hays Code would later list as unmentionable: rape, torture, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tabernanthe_iboga\">drug addiction<\/a>, alcoholism, and sado-masochism&#8221; (not to mention &#8220;white slavery&#8221;). Huston is appropriately menacing and maniacal in the lead role: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2-1024x571.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"357\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-53761\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2-1024x571.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2-1536x857.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2-484x270.png 484w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Huston2.png 1665w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; though Lon Chaney was perhaps even more memorable, which points to the fact that the original (silent) film basically achieved its goal well enough, and <em>Kongo<\/em> thus remains simply an equally-sordid retelling. However, this version is worth a one-time look to see Lupe Velez in a pre-&#8220;Mexican Spitfire&#8221; role, and for its historical notoriety (it&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/pre-code.com\/kongo-1932-review-walter-huston\/\">a potent reminder of what used to be considered acceptable narrative fodder<\/a>). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography-1024x612.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"383\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-53760\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography-1024x612.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography-300x179.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography-768x459.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography-1536x918.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography-452x270.png 452w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Kongo-Cinematography.png 1551w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, once, for its historical relevance and notoriety. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#historical\">Historically Relevant<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0023101\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9E0CE4DA1131E633A25754C1A9679D946394D6CF\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3570kong.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pre-code.com\/kongo-1932-review-walter-huston\/\">Pre-Code.com Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/this-month\/article\/441%7C0\/Kongo.html\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifilm.org\/musing731.html\">SciFilm Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;My one purpose in life is to see that sneer turn into fear!&#8221; Synopsis: A crippled, monomaniacal magician (Walter Huston) who holds sway over a tribe of African natives seeks revenge on his wife&#8217;s lover (C. Henry Gordon) by torturing Gordon&#8217;s daughter (Virginia Bruce), who was raised in a convent before being brought to Africa as a white slave, and seeks solace from her life of misery through the love of a kind but drug-addicted doctor (Conrad Nagel). Genres: Africa&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38764\"> 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-38764","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\/38764","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=38764"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53762,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38764\/revisions\/53762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}