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Trader Horn (1973 film)

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Trader Horn
French theatrical poster
Directed byReza Badiyi
Written byEdward Harper
Ethelreda Lewis (novel)
William W. Norton
Produced byLewis J. Rachmil
StarringRod Taylor
Anne Heywood
Jean Sorel
CinematographyRonald W. Browne
Edited byGeorge Folsey, Jr.
Music byShelly Manne
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • June 1973 (1973-06)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$180,934 (US)[1]

Trader Horn is a 1973 Metrocolor film directed by Reza Badiyi and starring Rod Taylor as the African adventurer Alfred Aloysius Horn (1861–1931). It is a remake (or perhaps more accurately a reboot) of the 1931 film, also released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Neither picture is faithful to the original memoirs of Horn, who was 53 when World War I began.

Plot

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During World War I, Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn leads an expedition in search of a platinum mine in an unexplored region of Africa. The trio encounter warring natives, rhinos and lions. They travel through jungle, swamps, and desert. They are pursued by German soldiers wanting the platinum for the war effort and by a British officer hunting Horn as a traitor.

Cast

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Production

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The film was primarily shot on the backlot at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Culver City, California. The script, set during the First World War, ignores the plot of the largely fictitious 1931 film about the discovery of a white jungle queen. The new story is written to use colourised footage from the MGM films King Solomon's Mines (1950), and Mogambo (1953).[1] Rod Taylor felt, with the end of the Vietnam War, the time was right for old-fashioned hero movies to make a comeback.[2]

The anti-hero image was stretched as far as it could go. I think people now want to see a good guy win out over the bad guys through intelligence, courage and strength – the traditional makeup of hero types.[2]

— Rod Taylor

Rod Taylor performed his own stunt riding on a zebra in the picture, actually taming the animal in the process.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood, Bear Manor Media 2010 p 177.
  2. ^ a b c Trader Horn at Rod Taylor Site.com [permanent dead link]
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