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| The King of the Kongo | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Richard Thorpe |
| Produced by | Nat Levine |
| Written by | Harry Sinclair Drago Wyndham Gittens |
| Starring | Jacqueline Logan Walter Miller Richard Tucker Boris Karloff |
| Cinematography | Ernest Laszlo Ray Ries |
| Distributed by | Mascot Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 9 August 1929 |
| Running time | 10 chapters |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The King of the Kongo (1929) is a Mascot movie serial. It was the first serial to have sound,[1] although only partial sound ("Part Talking") rather than the later (and obviously now standard) "All-Talking" productions with complete sound. The soundtrack is now considered to be lost. [2]
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Plot
Independently, the two protagonists, Diana Martin and Secret Service agent Larry Trent are searching the jungle for missing relatives, her father and his brother. Tied up in this plot are ivory smugglers and a lost treasure hidden in the jungle.
Cast
- Jacqueline Logan as Diana Martin
- Walter Miller as Larry Trent, Secret Service Agent
- Richard Tucker as Chief of the Secret Service
- Boris Karloff as Scarface Macklin
- Larry Steers as Jack Drake
- Harry Todd as Commodore
- Richard Neill as Prisoner
- Lafe McKee as Trader John
- J.P. Leckray as Priest
- William P. Burt as Mooney
- J. Gordon Russell as Derelict
- Robert Frazer as Native chief
- Ruth Davis as Poppy
- Joe Bonomo as Gorilla
Chapter titles
- Into the Unknown
- Terrors of the Jungle
- Temple of Beasts
- Gorilla Warfare
- Danger in the Dark
- Man of Mystery
- The Fatal Moment
- Sentenced to Death
- Desperate Choices
- Jungle Justice
Production
The King of the Kongo was the first film serial to have any sound element. Larger serial-producing studios (for example, Pathé and Universal Studios) were reluctant to change away from silent production (although Universal released their own Part-Talking serial, Tarzan the Tiger, later in the same year) while smaller studios could not afford to do so. Legend has it that producer and studio-owner Nat Levine carried the sound discs in his lap from Los Angeles to New York City, by train and aeroplane, for them to be safely developed. For financial reasons, these discs could not have been repaired or replaced if anything had gone wrong.[1] This was two years after the first Part-Talking film, The Jazz Singer (1927), had been released and a year after the first "All-Talking" film, Lights of New York (1928).
Two versions of this serial were released, a "Part Talking" version and a silent version intended for theatres not yet equipped for sound.
Stunts
See also
References
- ^ a b (Re)search My Trash: Mascot Pictures retrieved 29th June 2007
- ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: The King of the Kongo". Silent Era. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
External links
| Preceded by The Fatal Warning (1929) (Silent) |
Mascot Serial The King of the Kongo (1929) |
Succeeded by The Lone Defender (1930) |
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