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Rampage (1963)

9/15/2013

 
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The "Great White Hunter" subgenre was on the wane by the early-to-mid 1960s, and Rampage was part of that last gasp, trying to bridge the old-fashioned jungle adventure yarn with more modern sensibilities about the appropriateness of big game hunting and sexual politics amongst the decadent European jet set. In a reverse twist on Mogambo (1953), here it's one woman who finds herself torn between two men, but unlike the earlier John Ford film,  the romantic triangle this time out is far less interesting. Rampage does have several things in its favor, however, including some great scenery (Hawaii standing in for Malaysia), a nifty title tune and memorable score courtesy of Elmer Bernstein, a couple of nice, tense stand-offs between man and beast, the alluring presence of Elsa Martinelli and one of the last appearances by the one-and-only Sabu.


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Robert Mitchum stars as Harry Stanton, commissioned by a German zoo to head to Malaysia and capture two tigers and, especially, the elusive "Enchantress," a local legend purported to be a combination of a leopard and a tiger. Zoo manager Schelling (Emile Genest) has also hired aging big game hunter Otto Abbot (Jack Hawkins) to accompany Stanton. Otto has experience in the Malay territory and knows the local tribal dialect; he also has a stunning young mistress, Anna (Elsa Martinelli), who, it's rather salaciously implied, he took under his wing when he found her wandering alone as a war orphan at age 14.  Harry gets one good look at Anna (and she him) and the game is on (you can practically see Mitchum's nostrils flare). Since Anna is Otto's "general staff," she'll be going along on the expedition. Otto is amused by the sparks flying between the two, as well as Stanton's preference for catching animals alive rather than killing them. The dichotomy in their personal philosophies is summed up in an early exchange, in Otto's vast trophy room:


Harry:



Otto:

Harry:

Otto:

It can't be too easy, pulling the trigger on an elephant. I mean, they seem to come from another age. It's a shame they couldn't stick around to decorate this age.

The trapper speaks.

I admit it.

My friend, a charging elephant has one idea only - to remove the hunter from this age, and preferably by trampling him to death...just as that panther there would have loved to have torn me into little pieces. I was after his mate. He didn't approve of that at all. He was quite right, you know. Every animal is entitled to kill in order to keep what belongs to him.


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Did First Class lounges like this really exist on 1960s Pan-Am flights? I'd like to think so.
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Things become more overt when, after watching Harry and Anna dancing in their expensive hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Otto calls Harry out on his designs on Anna. "Don't misunderstand me. I enjoy watching. Particularly when I can predict the outcome. As I can here. Easily. No matter what happens, no matter how many people try, Anna always comes back to me." Later that night, offended by a presumptive remark from Harry, Anna slips into his hotel room, gives him a deep kiss to get him all hot and bothered, then basically tells him to drop dead and saunters out of the room with a sweet smile.

PictureSabu, in his next-to-last role.
Then the best part of the movie kicks in, when we get to some actual jungle adventure. The trio helicopter into the remote Malaysian wilderness, where they're met by Talib (Sabu), an experienced tracker and their guide for the trip. Harry and Talib hit it off right away and their friendship becomes one of the high points of the film. Anna remains aloof for a while but Otto notices the romantic tides gradually shifting in Harry's favor as Stanton proves highly adept at his job, catching the two tigers and calmly defusing tensions with the local  Sakai chieftain.

One of the more amusing moments on the trail occurs when Talib, seeing that Harry has no woman of his own, offers his own wife, Chep (Cely Carillo) as company ("It's custom!") Harry refuses gracefully but Chep still ends up in his tent one night, laughing gleefully while tugging on his trousers and peeling out of her robes. Harry is forced to wrap her up, grab her and drop her back in Talib's arms. "Oh, its a beautiful custom, but it's your custom, not mine. Now try to make her understand that."

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Eventually, Talib and his men lead the party to the mountain shrine area which is said to be the Enchantress' haunt. Harry and Talib track the cat to its cave lair (disappointingly but understandably, the animal is merely a leopard with its back spray painted a kind of pinkish orange), and Harry heads in armed only with a flaming torch to try and force the cat out the other entrance, into a waiting net. Harry succeeds in capturing the Enchantress and soon he, Otto and Anna are on a ship bound back for Europe, but the danger is far from over, as human passions descend into animal savagery and a final conflict between the three humans, and the loose and cornered wild cat, plays out in the concrete jungle of a German city. 

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The love triangle aspect of Rampage is kept marginally interesting by its charismatic leads and its (for the time) fairly frank treatment of a sexually open relationship, but in the end it's well-worn territory and I myself would have preferred a different approach, and certainly more emphasis on the action/adventure elements would not have gone amiss. That said, there's enough good stuff here to make this an enjoyable enough way to spend an evening. 

Mitchum apparently didn't think much of Rampage himself, calling it "a lot of dancing girls, banjo playing and bull" (1)  - none of which actually appear in the movie, as it happens, but you get the idea. This is no doubt lesser Mitchum, and he seems far from engaged; pretty much sleepwalking through the movie. Of course, even Mitchum on autopilot remains very watchable, and he seems especially comfortable out on location in the jungle, one more big, sleepy cat striding through the grass.

Jack Hawkins does most of the heavy lifting here, and is typically good, even if his character's trajectory is predictable. Ironically, given the "older man giving way to the younger" theme of the film, the British Hawkins was only 7 years older than Mitchum, though he does appear a bit old and frail next to his big American co-star. Elsa Martinelli, 28 years old here, is very fetching in both slinky cocktail dresses and practical khakis, and gives her role the necessary cool elegance, with just the right hint of emotional vulnerability. This was Martinelli's second foray into safari-land, after heading to Africa in Howard Hawks' Hatari! the year before. (The wonderful Hatari! is a much better film, and she's much more lovable in it). Oddly enough, her character in Hatari! was also named Anna (though she goes by the nickname "Dallas"), and her romantic lead in that film was John Wayne, at 55, even older than Hawkins in Rampage.

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Another tick in the plus column for Rampage is the presence of Indian-born Sabu, beloved by fans of classic adventure films like The Thief of Baghdad and Arabian Nights. By this point in his life, Sabu had been through some tough times and the strain shows in the weathered lines of his face; he was 39 years old at the time of filming Rampage but still in excellent physical condition, and readily displays his characteristic buoyant enthusiasm. If it's perhaps a pity to see him once more stuck in the "sidekick to the white man" role, he was doubtless very happy to be working on an A-list picture with top stars like Mitchum, after a lean period of little work other than the occasional lower-grade studio programmer. Sadly, despite his robust looks, Sabu died of a heart attack less than three months after Rampage premiered. He made one more posthumous appearance the following year in the Disney film, A Tiger Walks (about another wild cat hunt).  He remains a one-of-a-kind figure in the movies.

Rampage might be no great shakes in the large scheme of things, but it's just the sort of colorful, laid-back, bread-and-butter yarn that used to fill the cracks in the Hollywood firmament and I for one am thankful to the Warner Archive for the chance to get to see it, looking mighty handsome in its 16:9 widescreen DVD transfer.
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Source Note: (1) from Robert Mitchum: "Baby, I Don't Care," by Lee Server, St. Martin's Griffin, 2001.
ruth link
9/16/2013 04:14:52 am

Hi Jeff, hope all is well! This one looks good, though I'm not the biggest fan of Robert Mitchum, sounds like the white hunter is a perfect role for him. Gregory Peck also played a similar role in The Macomber Affair, that is one tough film to find though. Have you seen it?

Jeff
9/16/2013 01:56:50 pm

Hiya, Ruth Good to hear from you! Mitchum does fit the "Great White Hunter" role to a T, but if you're not a fan, this movie is not one to change your mind. I haven't seen THE MACOMBER AFFAIR, though I did enjoy your man Peck in THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO. Thanks again for stopping by!

Kevin Deany
9/16/2013 04:49:03 am

I've seen most of Big Bob's movies, but this one has always eluded me.Thank goodness for the Warners Archive. Looking forward to seeing it one day.

Jeff
9/16/2013 01:58:51 pm

Thanks for the comment, Kevin! I've seen many Mitchum movies but far from all, so am likely way behind you on the list. I think you'll find this one a pleasant enough watch when you get around to it, anyway.

Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) link
9/16/2013 05:14:28 pm

Wow, it's been ages since I thought about this kind of safari malarky - thanks for bringing all that back. I hadn't realise Martinelli'c character had the same name and I suspect you are right that the success of HATARI may have had an influence. Those screengrabs look scrumptious - a real indulgence mate - can't wait! Thank you Jeff, as ever!

Jeff
9/18/2013 07:50:16 am

Cheers, Sergio! Hope you're enjoying your new digs in the Big Smoke! Glad to remind you of this kind of "safari malarkey" - we all need to watch some malarkey once in a while! Thanks for the kind words re: the screen grabs...it really is a nice transfer from Warner Archive.

Patti link
9/16/2013 10:50:02 pm

While he's not one of my absolute loves, Robert Mitchum is always a draw for me. I love his masculinity...not to mention that great chin and his fabulous voice..

This film sounds somewhat like "Harry Black and the Tiger," a Stewart Granger "hunter" film I caught earlier this year. As in this film, there are 2 men, 1 woman, a killer tiger, and a native guide (played by I.S. Johar).

Yes, Sabu does indeed look robust and healthy in this film. You surely wouldn't guess that he would succumb to a heart attack not long afterwards. So sad that he died at such a young age.

Jeff
9/18/2013 07:56:34 am

Hi Patti - thanks for the reply! I remember your review of HARRY BLACK AND THE TIGER and that's a film I'd love to get my hands on, as I like this sort of genre (as you can tell) and as you know, I also am fond of Stewart Granger.

Sabu's sudden death was quite tragic, especially as he seemed to be getting his career somewhat back on track with this film and the subsequent Disney outing. Apparently, he had just had a medical check-up the day before he died and his doctor had told him if all his patients were in as good a shape as Sabu, he (the doc) would be out of business. Obviously he was wrong, sadly.

Colin link
9/19/2013 08:55:45 pm

These jungle/hunter/safari pictures are a real guilty pleasure for me. Maybe it's the exotic locales, the overall look, the fact they hark back to an era long gone...I don't know, I just know I like them.

I don't have a copy of RAMPAGE but I've been contemplating the Spanish DVD, which I guess would be a port of the Archive edition, for some time now.

Jeff
9/21/2013 09:14:46 am

Hey there, Colin! Thanks for chiming in...I couldn't even claim to feel guilty about these kinds of jungle/safari pics. They're just good old-fashioned fun flicks, even some of the bad ones. It's a dead subgenre, and rightly so, I suppose, but I get a warm rush of nostalgia whenever I catch one of these things. Brings me back to the days of "Jungle Theater" on Saturday afternoons on my local TV station.

ClassicBecky link
9/21/2013 12:44:08 pm

I have always loved the safari movies ... even King Solomon's Mines with Deborah Kerr and her perfectly coiffed hair -- hardy har. I just really like them! I haven't seen this one, so I have a new one to look forward to. Boy, Jack Hawkins really does look so much older than Mitchum! Poor Sabu, he was awfully young when he died. Nice article, Jeff -- now you've made me want to look up something jungle-themed!

Jeff
9/21/2013 03:13:10 pm

Thanks a bunch for the comment, Becky! Yeah, it was a real shame about Sabu...39 is too damned young to die - especially when you're ostensibly in great shape. Jack Hawkins also would sadly be dead only 10 years later, at age 63. He must have done some real hard living. Mitchum was no shrinking violet in the hard partying sweepstakes either, but he does look a hell of a lot better than Hawkins does, here as well as when he himself was 63.

Good to hear form others who love the safari genre as much as I do!


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