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      Trader Horn

      Released May 23, 1931 2h 3m Adventure List
      100% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 34% Audience Score 100+ Ratings Famous African explorer Trader Horn (Harry Carey) sails to a small village with Peru (Duncan Renaldo), his best friend's son. That night, their camp is disrupted by the arrival of Trader's friend Edith Trent (Olive Carey), a missionary searching for her missing daughter, Nina (Edwina Booth). Shortly afterwards, Trader and Peru come across Edith's dead body. Continuing the expedition, they discover Nina is now the evil leader of a nearby tribe, and plans to sacrifice them. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      TIME Staff TIME Magazine Incomparably the best jungle picture made so far. Feb 7, 2019 Full Review Variety Staff Variety A good-looking animal picture. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Mordaunt Hall New York Times This shrewdly fashioned jungle melodrama proved to be thoroughly exciting to the spectators last night and it seemed as though many of them were a bit nearer than they ever wanted to be to a big game hunt. Rated: 4/5 Mar 25, 2006 Full Review Francisco J. Ariza Cine-Mundial One of the most splendid premieres of the year. [Full Review in Spanish] Sep 10, 2019 Full Review Alexander Bakshy The Nation The picture is a magnificent record of wild life in Central Africa, abounding in thrilling episodes and in scenic splendors. Jan 18, 2013 Full Review TV Guide The first time Hollywood brought its cameras to the Dark Continent was for this adventure film that was probably more dangerous for the film crew than it was for the characters in the story. Rated: 3/4 Jan 31, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Louisa E I had a hard time watching this movie. Ethically, I had so many issues with it. Reading the trivia behind some of it made it worse. It felt so exploitative, which is a shame because an African adventure movie would have been lovely. There was racism and actual animal cruelty. It certainly hasn't aged well. That said, I applaud some of the efforts it would have taken to film in Africa. The acting was ok. I also felt this movie was overly long! I got pretty bored. Was not worth any nominations. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/09/23 Full Review Audience Member The film depicts the adventures of real life trader Horn while on safari in Africa. Much of the film is fictional, including the discovery of a white blonde jungle queen, the lost daughter of a missionary. A scene based upon a genuine incident occurs where Cary swings on a vine across a river filled with real crocodiles, one of which comes very close to taking his leg off. Many during the filming of this contracted malaria, An African crewman fell into the river and was eaten by a crocodile while another was killed by a rhinoceros. Female lead Edwina Booth became infected with malaria or schistosomiasis and it took six years for her to fully recover. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review kevin w This is W. S. Van Dyke II's baby here. He's the director and the film is all about an expedition into darkest Africa to find (gasp!), a white woman who was kidnapped. Yes, another safari movie, only this film sort of set the mold as it were. There is a story too, some conjecture about there being two hunters: one is young, virile but inexperienced, while the other is more mature, and maybe too mature. Which will the poor girl choose? But the real gist of the film is the wildness, the difference, of Africa, and this is what Van Dyke is there for and what he delivers. It's intriguing to consider how much of what he filmed has remained since then, 90 years ago. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review steve d The racial ides have not aged well. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review david l Undeserved Best Picture nominee Trader Horn is groundbreaking in its cinematography as the first movie shot in Africa. It also has a couple of moving scenes and some fine adventurous elements. But the characters and acting are mediocre, the added plot is pretty bad and the whole movie is incredibly dated in its sexism and particularly blatant racism and xenophobia. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member An early talkie, great for its time. Filmed in Africa. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      Photos

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      Trader Horn

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Famous African explorer Trader Horn (Harry Carey) sails to a small village with Peru (Duncan Renaldo), his best friend's son. That night, their camp is disrupted by the arrival of Trader's friend Edith Trent (Olive Carey), a missionary searching for her missing daughter, Nina (Edwina Booth). Shortly afterwards, Trader and Peru come across Edith's dead body. Continuing the expedition, they discover Nina is now the evil leader of a nearby tribe, and plans to sacrifice them.
      Director
      W. S. Van Dyke II
      Distributor
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Production Co
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Genre
      Adventure
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      May 23, 1931, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Sep 15, 2015
      Runtime
      2h 3m