About this movie
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama, Family
- Language:
- English
- Running time:
- 1:18:18
- Partner rating:
- Released:
- 1937
Cast & Crew
Cast
-
Sabu
Toomai
-
W.E. Holloway
Father
-
Walter Hudd
Petersen
-
Raymond Massey
Prince Ghul
-
Roger Livesey
Tony Carruthers
-
Valerie Hobson
Mrs. Carruthers
-
David Tree
Lieutenent Escott
-
Allan Jeayes
Machua Appa
-
Bruce Gordon
Ram Lai
Directors
- Robert J. Flaherty
- Zoltan Korda
- Robert Flaherty
Producers
- Alexander Korda
Writers
- Rudyard Kipling
- John Collier
Elephant Boy
The unusual amalgam of documentary maven Robert Flaherty and pure-entertainment producer Zoltan Korda resulted in the 1937 money-spinner Elephant Boy. In his screen debut, eleven-year-old Indian-born Sabu plays the title character, a mahout named Toomai. When his father is killed by a tiger, Toomal is left alone and unprotected and not long afterward loses his beloved elephant to a sadistic "driver." Stealing back the pachyderm and heading into the wilderness, Toomal stumbles across a herd of wild elephants, which the British government has long been seeking. With visions of a huge reward in his head, Toomal offers to lead the authorities to the elusive herd -- whereupon the "dramatic" portion of the story gracefully gives way to the "documentary" portion. More intriguing than entertaining, Elephant Boy was nonetheless one of the most successful films of its kind.
Reviews by Rotten Tomatoes
100%
percent positive reviews
-
Frank S. Nugent, New York Times
The film moves leisurely, but with rare charm and visual interest.
– Full review
-
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fiction and documentary footage rub shoulders uneasily, but the latter (shot by Flaherty in India) is vividly watchable.
– Full review
You might also like...
-
The Karate Kid (2010)
2:20:03 2010When a 12-year-old from Detroit moves to China with his mother and incurs the wrath of the class bully at his new school, he makes an unlikely ally in the form of his aging maintenance man, a kung fu master who teaches him the secrets to self-defense. Upon arriving at his new school, Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) develops a powerful crush on pretty c...
Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson
66%
$9.99
-
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2:18:05 2007Young wizard-in-training Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year of studies, only to find that the magical community seems to be in a curious state of denial about his recent encounter with the sinister Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the fifth installment of the popular fantasy film series based on the best-sell...
Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Melling, Emma Watson, Jason Boyd, Rupert Grint
79%
$1.99
-
The Wizard of Oz
1:41:44 1939The third and definitive film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy, this musical adventure is a genuine family classic that made Judy Garland a star for her heartfelt performance as Dorothy Gale, an orphaned young girl unhappy with her drab black-and-white existence on her aunt and uncle's dusty Kansas farm. Dorothy yearns to tr...
Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamil...
99%
$1.99
-
Bridge to Terabithia
1:35:32 2007From the producers of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the mind of author Katherine Paterson comes a rousing fantasy adventure about family, friendship, and the wondrous power of imagination. A perpetual outsider both at home and at school, Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) just never seems to fit in no matter how hard he tries. When his go...
Josh Hutcherson, Annasophia Robb, Robert Patrick, Zooey Deschanel
84%
$1.99
-
Peter Pan
1:53:21 2003Director P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding, My Best Friend's Wedding) helms this live-action retelling of J.M. Barrie's classic children's play Peter Pan. Starring Jeremy Sumpter (Frailty) in the title role, the film follows the adventures of the Darling children, Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), John (Harry Newell), and Michael (Freddie Popplewell), as the...
Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Jason Isaacs, Lynn Redgrave, Ludivine Sagni...
77%
$2.99
-
The Karate Kid
2:07:13 1984Newly arrived in California from New Jersey, teenager Daniel (Ralph Macchio) almost immediately runs afoul of karate-trained high school bullies. He is rescued by Japanese janitor Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), who agrees to teach Daniel how to harness karate for good instead of brutality. The film culminates in a championship karate bout, pitt...
Ralph Macchio, Elisabeth Shue
90%
$7.99
Staff Picks
-
Gangster Squad
An elite police squad fights to save the city of Los Angeles from a power-hungry East Coast mobster in this gritty police-detective film set in the 1940s, an...
Gangster Squad
1:52:51 2013An elite police squad fights to save the city of Los Angeles from a power-hungry East Coast mobster in this gritty police-detective film set in the 1940s, and based on Paul Lieberman's seven-part Los Angeles Times series "Tales From the Gangster Squad." Jewish gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is a Brooklyn-born boxer-turned-L.A. kingpin whose b...
Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie,...
32%
$3.99
-
Jack Reacher
Ex-military investigator Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) leaps off the pages of Lee Child's bestselling novel and onto the big screen in the explosive thriller the...
Jack Reacher
2:10:25 2012Ex-military investigator Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) leaps off the pages of Lee Child's bestselling novel and onto the big screen in the explosive thriller the critics are calling "taut, muscular, gruff and cool"*. When an unspeakable crime is committed, all evidence points to the suspect in custody who offers up a single note in defense: "Get Jac...
Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Jai...
62%
$12.99
-
The Impossible
Nominated for an Academy Award® (Best Actress, Naomi Watts), THE IMPOSSIBLE is the incredible true story of a family caught one of the worst natural catastro...
The Impossible
1:53:43 2012Nominated for an Academy Award® (Best Actress, Naomi Watts), THE IMPOSSIBLE is the incredible true story of a family caught one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time. But even in their darkest hours, true life terror is tempered by the unexpected displays of compassion, courage and simple kindness that Maria and her family encounter. Bot...
Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland
81%
$3.99