Elephant Boy

Released Apr 5, 1937

1h 20m

Adventure

Drama

List

100%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

45%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Young animal-lover Toomai (Sabu) faces a life of impoverished orphanhood after a vicious tiger mauls his father (W.E. Holloway). Toomai finds comfort and friendship in the family's prized elephant, the gentle Kala Nag. But when Kala Nag attacks an abusive trainer in self-defense, the village decides the elephant must die. Toomai plots a daring rescue and sets off on thrilling adventure through the jungles of India, in the hope of finding a mysterious and elusive herd of elephants.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Rent Elephant Boy on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

Frank S. Nugent

New York Times

The film moves leisurely, but with rare charm and visual interest.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Fiction and documentary footage rub shoulders uneasily, but the latter (shot by Flaherty in India) is vividly watchable.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)

Esquire Magazine

...as in all Flaherty films, the camera becomes so intimate as to reveal the very soul of the subject. If elephants have souls, they're in that film.

May 5, 2020

Full Review

Ann Ross

Maclean's Magazine

Oone of those rare pictures that are made to please everybody, and actually succeed in doing it.

Oct 3, 2019

Full Review

MFB Critics

Monthly Film Bulletin

Those who know Flaherty's previous work will not be disappointed in his work in this film and the film must be seen for it in spite of the additions and contortions.

Feb 22, 2017

Full Review

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Robert Flaherty's craftsmanship shows in one of his best Hollywood features.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 21, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

kevin w

Sabu's first film role has him as a boy wistfully dreaming of a future working for the ubiquitous colonial figurehead as a tracker...until his father gets viciously killed by a tiger. Lush second unit photography of jungle life make this story of peoples happy under the yoke of "benevolent overseers" palatable, but only just so.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A highly entertaining if somewhat dated film from the late 30's, it marks the film debut of Sabu who would later go on to play in some fantastic films like The Thief of Bagdad. The film is pretty straight forward, but it's a heartwarming story with solid acting and beautiful cinematography.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

PG film which teaches lesson of humility.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I think this is Sabu's first movie. A pretty good tale about a boy and his elephant. The wildlife footage is amazing and the inserted storyline isn't terribly hokey. Based on a Kipling story unread by me.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Korda production with Zoltan handling the studio/location work with jungle imagery by Robert Flaherty interspersed. It's an interesting mix, especially the hordes of elephants Flaherty photographs, and 11-year-old Sabu, in his first movie, is charming and effective as the mascot of the colonialist hunting story.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

sabu shines in this adaption of kipling's tale.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Robert Flaherty

Director

Zoltan Korda

Director

Sabu

Toomai

Walter Hudd

Petersen

Allan Jeayes

Machua Appa

W.E. Holloway

Father

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

88%

58%

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail

67%

70%

The Ugly American

83%

31%

Downhill

89%

82%

Deliverance

89%

66%

The Red Tent

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Young animal-lover Toomai (Sabu) faces a life of impoverished orphanhood after a vicious tiger mauls his father (W.E. Holloway). Toomai finds comfort and friendship in the family's prized elephant, the gentle Kala Nag. But when Kala Nag attacks an abusive trainer in self-defense, the village decides the elephant must die. Toomai plots a daring rescue and sets off on thrilling adventure through the jungles of India, in the hope of finding a mysterious and elusive herd of elephants.

Director: Robert Flaherty, Zoltan Korda
Production Co: London Film Productions
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 1937, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 15, 2016
Runtime: 1h 20m

Most Popular at Home Now