Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on October 21, 2015

Is Kongo a horror movie? IMDb lists it as such, and I guess for 1932 the story of African voodoo and female sacrifices would be perceived as horrific in their foreignness. But actually Kongo horrifies more in its realities surrounding drug addiction and female slavery more than anything else, even...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on September 5, 2014

Kongo (1932) certainly ranks as one of the stranger productions of the Pre-Code era and also one of the most alarmingly perverse. It began as a stage play and had already been adapted by Tod Browning in 1928 as West of Zanzibar, with the great Lon Chaney and Lionel Barrymore...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on September 5, 2014

Kongo (1932) certainly ranks as one of the stranger productions of the Pre-Code era and also one of the most alarmingly perverse. It began as a stage play and had already been adapted by Tod Browning in 1928 as West of Zanzibar, with the great Lon Chaney and Lionel Barrymore...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on September 5, 2014

Kongo (1932) certainly ranks as one of the stranger productions of the Pre-Code era and also one of the most alarmingly perverse. It began as a stage play and had already been adapted by Tod Browning in 1928 as West of Zanzibar, with the great Lon Chaney and Lionel Barrymore...   read more

Once Upon a Screen Posted by Aurora on June 11, 2014

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) manages a fairly elaborate production number to end the 1932 pre-code musical, KONGO.  A scantily clad Lupe Velez leads a conga line through jungle terrain.  Velez shakes and shimmies as she leads the procession, a celebration of the new love affair forged in the remote loc   read more

Caftan Woman Posted by Caftan Woman on August 14, 2012

It's been quite a while since this blog has looked at the twists and turns of casting from Broadway to Hollywood. A recent screening on TCM of Tod Browning's 1928 thriller West of Zanzibar prompted this look at a two extraordinary actors. Lon Chaney April 1, 1883 - August 26,...   read more