West of Zanzibar

1928

West of Zanzibar is a 1928 American silent film directed by Tod Browning. The screenplay concerns a vengeful stage magician named Phroso (Lon Chaney) who becomes paralyzed in a brawl with a rival (Lionel Barrymore). The supporting cast includes Mary Nolan and Warner Baxter. The screenplay was written by Elliott Clawson, based on a play named Kongo by Charles de Vonde and Kilbourn Gordon.[1] Walter Huston starred in the stage play and later played Phroso again in the 1932 sound film remake of the same story which was also called Kongo.

The Hays office, the official Hollywood censor, banned the stage play "Kongo" from the screen, so to bypass the ruling, MGM changed the title first to SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR, then finally to WEST OF ZANZIBAR. Owen Moore was originally set to play Doc, but the role went to Warner Baxter instead. Mary Nolan was hired to play Maizie because she had "such sad eyes". Cedric Gibbons and Richard Day designed the sets, and David Cox handled the costumes.[2]

West of Zanzibar is intriguing to Lon Chaney fans because of the lost or excised sequences that Browning allegedly shot for the film that no longer exist; in particular, Phroso (Chaney) in costume as The Human Duck in a freak show act and scenes showing Phroso and his troupe when they first arrive in Africa. Stills of Chaney in the duck costume exist, but it is unclear whether the scene was actually shot, or merely planned and publicity stills were taken.

The film was in production from June 25, 1928 to July 31, 1928, and cost $249,000 to produce. Its worldwide box office gross was $921,000. The film was released both silent and with sound effects and a synchronized music score.

Film historian Jon C. Mirsalis wrote that Waldemar Young was involved in writing the screenplay (but no other sources mention him) and that the film was released on December 28, 1928 instead of November 24th. Stills exist showing Chaney as the crippled Phroso[3][4][5]..

The film is today readily available on DVD. MGM Home Video released it with the synchronized music score on laser disc in 1993. The film also turns up frequently on the Turner Classics Movies cable TV channel and on PBS stations. Print exists in the George Eastman Museum film archive [35mm positive].[4][5]

Quelle: Wikipedia(englisch)
Kinostart:1928
weitere Titel:
À l'ouest de Zanzibar
West of Zanzibar sh ast tr cy
La serpe di Zanzibar
Захід Занзібару
ザンジバーの西
Genre:Filmdrama, Stummfilm
Herstellungsland:Vereinigte Staaten
Originalsprache:
Farbe:Schwarzweiß
IMDB: 1818
Verleih:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Regie:Tod Browning
Drehbuch:Joseph Farnham
Schnitt:Harry Reynolds
Musik:William Axt
Produzent:Tod Browning
Irving Thalberg
Darsteller:Lon Chaney senior
Lionel Barrymore
Mary Nolan
Warner Baxter
Jacqueline Gadsden
Mae Busch
Rose Dione
Noble Johnson
Anita Page
Emmett King
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Datenstand: 01.12.2022 15:49:26Uhr