Episode 289: "Congolaise" (part 2)




BMA: Black Media Archive show

Summary: Movie: The conclusion of the 1950 film "Congolaise" aka "Savage Africa" which documents the expedition that shot this Ethno-exploitation film sponsored by the French Government and the Museum of Man, for the purpose of making a lasting record of the native tribes in French Equatorial Africa. The USA had nothing to do with the production, except show the film that was shot by the French expedition, and edited into an exploitation stinker. The expedition members consisted of a group of young French scientists. The resulting film that was taken from the extensive day-to-day footage, was chopped down to about only 68 minutes (USA time) and, while there may be unseen and untold thousands of feet on this film at the Museum of Man, the exploitation-type film that resulted was lots of native nudity, a badly-photographed gorilla hunt and the dissection of animals by the natives.