Tanganica

An obscure jungle adventure that, while efficiently handled and good-looking enough to sustain interest throughout its trim running time, is let-down somewhat by a cliché-ridden script and lack of memorable incident. A second team cast – Van Heflin, Ruth Roman, Howard Duff and Jeff Morrow – does its best to liven up things in this story that seems partially inspired by Joseph Conrad's "Heart Of Darkness" – long after Orson Welles first abandoned his intention to film it and even longer before Francis Coppola made it his own in APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)! In fact, would-be lumber tycoon Heflin makes it his personal mission to rid the titular region of the nefarious Morrow who, taking it on the lam into the wild to beat a murder rap, eventually becomes the leader of a dreaded and bloodthirsty tribe of Africans that, among other things, are interfering with the smooth running of Heflin's operations. Along the way, the latter saves the lives of Duff (who is concealing a secret), Roman and her little charges and, true to formula, after the initial period of resentment, gets to befriend the first, fall in love with the second and risk his life to save the third when they go running after their runaway mule in the wild animal-infested jungle! The highlight of the film is the ingeniously explosive climax that is typically well-staged by seasoned action director De Toth.