Elephant Boy
Directed by Zoltan Korda and Robert J. Flaherty
Written by John Collier, Akos Tolnay, and Marcia De Silva from “Toomai of the Elephants” by Rudyard Kipling
1937/UK
London Film Productions
First viewing
[box] The torn boughs trailing o’er the tusks aslant,/ The saplings reeling in the path he trod,/ Declare his might — our lord the Elephant,/ Chief of the ways of God. — Rudyard Kipling, “The Elephant”[/box]
Sabu shines in his debut as an elephant minder.
Toomai’s (Sabu) father owns a huge and magnificent elephant which Toomai lovingly tends to and plays with. There is a call from the local Great White Hunter for elephants to work on a hunting expedition. Toomai’s father applies and the hunter is charmed by Toomai, who is crazy for hunting, and he joins the hunting party. The other local workers tease Toomai and say he will only become a hunter when he sees the elephant dance. The mission of this particular outing is to round up wild elephants for domestication. However, there is not an elephant to be had. How will Toomai save the day?
I’ve always had a soft spot for Sabu, especially after seeing a documentary of his life, and he is already a charmer here. The film has many lovely documentary-like moments showing elephant behavior and “exotic” human activity as might be expected from Flaherty’s involvement. Worth a watch.
Clip – intro
