Mogambo (1953) on Netflix
Passed19531h 56mAdventureDramaRomance
A maharaja cancels his visit and Eloise Kelly is stranded at a remote African outpost, where she spars with Victor Marswell, who captures wild animals. The Nordleys arrive by steamer.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.6/1010,114 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes75%
Trailer
Plot summary
Eloise Kelly, an American socialite, arrives at a remote outpost in Africa to meet a maharaja acquaintance, only to find that he has canceled his trip because of unrest in his realm. She waits for the next river boat out and spars with Victor Marswell, who traps live animals for zoos and circuses and leads safaris. Marswell's business partner, John Brown-Pryce, is sympathetic to her. An attraction grows between Kelly and Marswell. Then the river boat brings Donald Nordley, an anthropologist, and his wife Linda, who want to record the cries of gorillas. Marswell turns down the request, citing the difficulties, and says his assistant will lead them on the agreed route.
Cast
- Asa Etulaas Young Native Girl
- Samburuas Themselves
- Wageniaas Themselves
Show all 14 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Mogambo (1953)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- During Mogambo's location shoot three crew members were killed in road accidents, including assistant director John Hancock, and two of the unit were revealed to be Mau Mau.
- The trailer claimed "Mogambo" meant "the greatest", but the word in fact has no meaning at all: producer Sam Zimbalist invented it by altering the name of the Mocambo, a famous Hollywood nightclub.
- Clark Gable arrived in Kenya on 1 November 1952 for the shoot and was given an armed guard because of the Mau Mau Uprising.
- Donald Sinden was told to report to the hair-dressing tent, where make-up men armed with electric clippers removed the hair from his chest because Clark Gable, whose own chest was completely hairless, insisted no other actor appear on film with a hairy chest.
- After someone pointed out to John Ford that he had been foul to Donald Sinden during the location shoot, Ford had a large notice painted at the sound stage entrance reading "BE KIND TO DONALD WEEK"; he kept it up for precisely seven days, then ripped it down.
- Grace Kelly was not the first choice for the role of Linda Nordley: Gene Tierney withdrew because she did not want to leave Aly Khan in Paris.
