clanciai Zoltan Korda was the middle of the three great Korda brothers of the cinema, (Alexander the eldest and Vincent the youngest) specializing in outdoor films, like this one (on Kipling's "Toomai of the Elephants") and ten years later the still best film adaptation of "The Jungle Book", both with Sabu as the main character. Robert Flaherty (1884-1951) was an important film documentary pioneer with many classics to his credit, like "Nanook of the North", the first commercially successful film documentary (1922) which he directed and produced. With Zoltan Kodaly, he was co-director of this film, probably the best elephant film ever made, which still impresses by its unequaled elephant scenes, including a great score by John Greenwood.

wes-connors In his first film, young Sabu introduces himself as "Toomai of the Elephants" before leading an expedition to find a herd of elephants in the jungles of India. Though this is based on an adventure story by Rudyard Kipling, it runs more like a documentary. There is much time spent on filming Sabu cavorting with his elephant "Kala Nag" and others. Sabu relies on acting natural and hasn't perfected his English; people found him highly appealing, but he's sometimes more of a liability, herein. Sabu and the Korda productions got better. "Elephant Boy" is for viewers who really, really like Sabu and/or a lot of elephants on screen.**** Elephant Boy (4/5/37) Robert Flaherty ~ Sabu, Walter Hudd, Allan Jeayes, W.E. Holloway

suchenwi 1937. Technicolor still waiting (and expensive and technically demanding), it's no surprise this is in black and white. And, sorry to say, much more black than white. Many scenes look light night, even if from context they should be in daytime. I had to squint my eyes sometimes to see what goes on. (This may also be due to the fact that it's in public domain, and not much was invested into digital remastering. Hey.. they sold it for €1 at Woolworth..) I also had to squint my ears - sound quality is not crystal-clear, and Indian English takes some more getting used to. But...Atcha! Against those odds, I enjoyed Elephant Boy tremendously. A simple but strong story, great shots of elephants.. (who needs monster movies when you have these creatures?) I can now better understand Sabu's short success story in the movies. He's ... well, more authentic than say, Douglas Fairbanks as the Thief of Bagdad (which I loved too). Between Prapancha Pash (1929 silent made on location in India), and Sabu's later highlights in Jungle Book (1942) and Black Narcissus, Elephant Boy fits very well in my collection, and I'll keep it in fond memory and re-watch it. Relatively short and quite mono-thematic (it's all about elephant & boy), for me it was a great and memorable experience.

lesg2 I didn't like this movie at all Too much of the "hysterical elephant goes berserk" routine,and the horrid racket to go with it Sabu as the earnest,young Hindu boy was at best,cloyingly maudlin. The patronizing British Head Honcho was also a bit too much to take. I'm not even sure a child would like it.The pathetic elephant screams might be a bit scary. Parental Guidance Recommended (by me at least)