Jungle Book (1942 film)

Jungle Book (1942) is an American color action-adventure film based on the Rudyard Kipling book, The Jungle Book. The film was directed by Zoltán Korda based on a screenplay adaptation by Laurence Stallings. The cinematography was by Lee Garmes and W. Howard Greene and music by Miklós Rózsa. The film starred Sabu Dastagir as Mowgli.

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color for the director's brother, Vincent Korda and creative partner Julia Heron.^[1]

In 1943 the film's score was re-recorded with narration by Sabu Dastagir and became the first commercial recording of a U.S. film score to be released.^[2]

Cast

• Sabu: Mowgli
• Joseph Calleia: Buldeo
• John Qualen: The barber
• Frank Puglia: The pundit
• Rosemary DeCamp: Messua
• Patricia O'Rourke : Mahala
• Ralph Byrd: Durga
• John Mather: Rao
• Faith Brook: English girl
• Noble Johnson: Sikh

Plot

In an Indian village, Buldeo, an elderly storyteller, is paid by a visiting British memsahib to tell a story of his youth. He speaks of the animals of the jungle, and of the ever-present threats to human life posed by the jungle itself. He then recalls his early life:

As a younger man he dreams that his village could one day become an important town, and that the jungle could be conquered. However, when he is speaking about these dreams an attack by Shere Khan the tiger leads to the death of a man and the loss of his child. The child is adopted by wolves in the jungle and grows to be the wild youth Mowgli. Years later, Mowgli is captured by the villagers and recognised as the lost child. Taken in by his mother Messua, Mowgli learns to speak and tries to imitate the ways of men. He becomes friendly with Buldeo's daughter, Mahala, much to Buldeo's distress, since he is convinced that the wild Mowgli is dangerous. When Mowgli and Mahala explore the jungle, they discover a hidden chamber in a ruined palace, containing fabulous wealth. Warned by an aged cobra that the wealth brings death, they leave, but take one coin as a memento. When Buldeo sees the coin he tries to force Mowgli to tell him where the treasure is, but Mowgli refuses.

Later Mowgli fights and kills Shere Khan, with some last minute help from Kaa, the python. As he is skinning the body, Buldeo arrives. He threatens Mowgli with a gun, but is attacked by Mowgli's friend Bagheera the black panther. Buldeo becomes convinced that Bagheera is Mowgli himself, shape-shifted into panther form. He tells the villagers that Mowgli is a witch, as is his mother. Mowgli is chained up and threatened with death, but escapes with his mother's help. However, she and another villager who supports her are tied up, and themselves threatened with burning for witchcraft. Mowgli is followed by the greedy Buldeo and two friends to the lost city. They find the treasure, but Buldeo's friends are killed by the jungle, and their own greed, as they attempt to escape with their booty. Buldeo just survives, but has to jettison his loot. Engraged and maddened, he tries to kill Mowgli, and even the jungle itself, by starting a forest fire. The fire rages, but the wind turns and threatens the village. The villagers flee, but Mowgli's mother and supporter are trapped. Mowgli brings the elephants to the village and breaks open the building, escaping to the river with his Mother, Mahala and other villagers. He is invited to follow them to a new life downriver, but refuses to leave the jungle, turning back to help animals trapped by the fire.

The scene returns to the present day, with the elderly Buldeo telling his story, and admitting that the jungle defeated his youthful dreams. When asked how he escaped from the fire himself, and what became of Mowgli and his daughter, he looks into the camera and says that is another story.

See also

• List of films in the public domain

References

External links

• Jungle Book at the Internet Movie Database
• Jungle Book is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]