(1937) Allouard Carny, Henri de la Falaise. This film was previously thought to be lost and it’s technically (unless you count Chaplin’s Modern Times) the last silent film released in the U.S. At one time this was thought to have been made as a documentary, but it’s not. It’s a feature film with a full storyline. A white adventurer returns to a French outpost deep in the jungles of Indo China. He tells a story (in flashback) about a northern village that has been plagued by tiger attacks. The majority of the film is played by unknown actors, all of whom were actual natives. The story revolves mainly around a young villager who sets off to find and kill the beast, which he encounters in the film’s climax. His betrothed nervously awaits his return. There’s a cool scene involving charging elephants and the chum-chum drinking scene is amusing. A real obscurity, but fairly interesting. The film has a full synchronized music score, a few primitive sound effects, and traditional silent film intertitle cards. From 16mm.
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