Classic Hollywood films set (and filmed) in Africa

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I have been watching "classic" Hollywood films that were set and filmed in Africa. It is interesting seeing movie stars wandering around looking at wildlife and ecosystems.

So far I have made my way through:
"African Queen" (Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn)
"Mogambo" (Clark Gable, Grace Kelly)
"Hatari" (John Wayne)
"The Roots of Heaven" (Errol Flynn's last movie apparently; very topical film on elephant conservation still relevant today)

Does anybody have any other recommendations?
 
"Greystoke" (Christopher Lambert)?
"King Solomon's mines" (Stewart Granger)?
"Shaka Zulu" (or was it a British TV-Production)?
"Sheena" (Tanya Roberts)?
"East of Africa" (Robert Redford)
"Africa: Texas Style" (John Mills)
and was Columbia Pictures not also involved in "Born free"?

I presume most of the Quatermain-Scenes (with Richard Chamberlain) are filmed outside of Africa, so it doesn't count.

all not for sure
 
Zulu (Michael Caine) - although I don't remember much wildlife in it.

Wild at Heart - British TV series about a vet in South Africa has lots of wildlife.

:p

Hix
 
@Hix: Is "Zulu" and "Shaka Zulu" probably the same we are talking about (a couple of British, one of them an officer, are pressed thru King Shaka Zulu to help him - by a single artillerie cannon - fighting against another tribe?)?
 
DavidBrown said:
"African Queen" = Kenya, Uganda
"Hatari" = Tanzania
"Mogambo" = Kenya, Uganda, Congo
"Roots of Heaven"= Congo
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If you'd bothered to read the question you would have noticed it asked how much of the film was filmed on location? If you looked at the link you would have seen that The African Queen was filmed in many different places. Some of the river scenes were filmed in Turkey. The botanical gardens, Los Angeles is also mentioned as are film studios in both England and the US. So, I wonder how much of these various films were filmed on location in Africa?
 
Ned said:
If you'd bothered to read the question you would have noticed it asked how much of the film was filmed on location? If you looked at the link you would have seen that The African Queen was filmed in many different places. Some of the river scenes were filmed in Turkey. The botanical gardens, Los Angeles is also mentioned as are film studios in both England and the US. So, I wonder how much of these various films were filmed on location in Africa?
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There is no need to be rude Ned.

In "Hatari" it looks like most of the movie was filmed on location as at least 75% of it takes place outdoors and is obviously Africa, rather than California playing Africa. Presumably the interiors were filmed on a soundstage in Hollywood. I have looked around for production details, and there do not seem to be any documentaries or books around. There are no "making of" features on the DVD for "Hatari", "Mogambo", or "Roots of Heaven".

There is an excellent "making of" documentary for "African Queen" on the recent DVD release that discusses where and how they filmed on location. Katherine Hepburn wrote a book about going to Africa for the movie.
 
zoomaniac said:
@Hix: Is "Zulu" and "Shaka Zulu" probably the same we are talking about (a couple of British, one of them an officer, are pressed thru King Shaka Zulu to help him - by a single artillerie cannon - fighting against another tribe?)?
Click to expand...

"Shaka Zulu" is a different story to "Zulu", which is about a British Outpost called Rorke's Drift which was attacked by several hundred zulus during the colonial days.

:p

Hix
 
DavidBrown said:
"Mogambo" (Clark Gable, Grace Kelly)
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One of the highlights of 'Mogambo' was the so-called Gorilla 'hunt'. For this a wild troop of Gorillas were surrounded in the forest with nets and held captive for ten days while they were filmed. So the actual shots of Gorillas used are genuine wild shots, including the charging Silverback and another younger male. I believe one female was found dead from snakebite but the rest of the troop were allowed their freedom at the end of that time.
 
'Harry Black and the Tiger' was a 1950's film starring Stewart Granger. I've never see it but apparently there is accurate portayal of Tiger hunting.

Another more modern film (the title I can't remember),featured Robert Mitchum as an animal trapper in search of a fabled Tiger x Leopard hybrid somewhere in Malaysia.
 
Thanks for elaborating on the information DavidBrown. I responded the way I did to your previous post as I felt you had been a bit blunt, if it was not meant that way then I apologise.

Nothing to do with Hollywood but I remember enjoying the BBC’s Flame Trees of Thika many years ago. It would be interesting to see if it again to see if lives up to how I remember it.
 
Thanks for elaborating on the information DavidBrown. I responded the way I did to your previous post as I felt you had been a bit blunt, if it was not meant that way then I apologise.

Nothing to do with Hollywood but I remember enjoying the BBC’s Flame Trees of Thika many years ago. It would be interesting to see if it again to see if it's as good as I remember.
 
Hepburn alleged that Huston only took the production of The African Queen to Africa so he could shoot a Tusker.

See the Clint Eastwood film White Hunter Black Heart for a semi fictional take on the story.

From the late 60's there was the movie Africa-Texas Style! about wildlife game ranching-surprisingly enlightened! It even got a TV series although I don't think that was shot in Africa.

I'm not sure about Clarence the Cross Eyed Lion, which led to the Daktari series, nor the sequel to Born Free-Living Free or the Born Free TV series.

Many of the early Tarzan films featured some scenes (heavily recycled) originally shot in Africa featuring native dancers and wildlife-you can tell as the actors trek past a back projection out of all scale to them.

Much of that footage came from the film version of Trader Horn, which was the very first expedition to Africa from the fledgling Hollywood in the early 1920's-a story that would itself make a great movie!
 
Gary said:
Hepburn alleged that Huston only took the production of The African Queen to Africa so he could shoot a Tusker.

See the Clint Eastwood film White Hunter Black Heart for a semi fictional take on the story.

From the late 60's there was the movie Africa-Texas Style! about wildlife game ranching-surprisingly enlightened! It even got a TV series although I don't think that was shot in Africa.

I'm not sure about Clarence the Cross Eyed Lion, which led to the Daktari series, nor the sequel to Born Free-Living Free or the Born Free TV series.

Many of the early Tarzan films featured some scenes (heavily recycled) originally shot in Africa featuring native dancers and wildlife-you can tell as the actors trek past a back projection out of all scale to them.

Much of that footage came from the film version of Trader Horn, which was the very first expedition to Africa from the fledgling Hollywood in the early 1920's-a story that would itself make a great movie!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information and suggestions Gary. Have you been able to see "Trader Horn"? It looks really interesting, but an IMDB and Google search show that it is not on DVD...need to figure out how to see it...
 
David,

it is sadly not available on any home format but you should be able to find it on Youtube-a lot of old films are on there in 10 minute chunks that you can watch sequentially.

Given the age of it, the quality is OK-sound and picture-I watched it a few months back.

I recommend the book too if you've not read it-often very funny yarn-a shame it's nowhere near as famous these days as it would make a great Indiana Jones style movie, especially with his mentions of the surviving dinosaurs of the Congo-now known as the Mkole Mbembe by those hunting it....

Oh and to add a couple of other movies-the Richard Chamberlain/Sharon Stone Allan Quatermains were shot in Africa, at least in part.

Gary.
 
DavidBrown said:
There is no need to be rude Ned.

In "Hatari" it looks like most of the movie was filmed on location as at least 75% of it takes place outdoors and is obviously Africa, rather than California playing Africa. Presumably the interiors were filmed on a soundstage in Hollywood. I have looked around for production details, and there do not seem to be any documentaries or books around. There are no "making of" features on the DVD for "Hatari", "Mogambo", or "Roots of Heaven".
Click to expand...

Hatari was filmed in what is now the Arusha National Park. Whereas most of the big name places - Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Lake Manyara - are west of the city of Arusha, Arusha National Park itself is to the east. It does not therefore get a huge number of visitors, although I believe that since I was there, in the late 1990s, there has been investment in the tourist infrastructure.

The only tourist accommodation in the park is a place named Momella Lodge, which is where the film was shot (whether the buildings of the lodge are those which feature in the film is unclear - there's conflicting information out there). It's a wonderful place, but very low key. We stayed there on the 31st of December 1999, and it wasn't the wildest of millennium celebrations, certainly. John Wayne memorabilia is everywhere!

A new lodge, named Hatari Lodge, has opened, fairly recently, just outside the National Park.

"Hatari" is the Kiswahili word for 'danger'.
 
@Gary:

The "Richard Chamberlain/Sharon Stone Allan Quatermains" were mentioned already...;)
 
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