Tasked by his editor, American reporter Henry M. Stanley travels to a dangerous and uncharted region of East Africa to find the missing Scottish pioneer missionary Dr. David Livingstone.Tasked by his editor, American reporter Henry M. Stanley travels to a dangerous and uncharted region of East Africa to find the missing Scottish pioneer missionary Dr. David Livingstone.Tasked by his editor, American reporter Henry M. Stanley travels to a dangerous and uncharted region of East Africa to find the missing Scottish pioneer missionary Dr. David Livingstone.
- Dr. David Livingstone
- (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
- Sir Oliver French
- (as Montague Shaw)
- David Webb
- (scenes deleted)
- Directors
- Henry King
- Otto Brower(safari episodes)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe date of Henry M. Stanley's famous quote, "Doctor Livingstone, I presume," occurred on Friday, October 27th, 1871.
- GoofsIt is questionable that Livingston would have had the villagers singing "Onward Christian Soldiers". The tune was written by Sullivan in 1871, the year in which the Stanley met Livingston at Ujiji; Livingston had been out of contact with the outside world for several years at that point.
- Quotes
Henry M. Stanley: Dr. Livingstone, I presume?
[Henry M. Stanley said this on Friday, October 27th 1871, in reality]
Dr. David Livingstone: Yes!
Henry M. Stanley: Thank God, Doctor, I have been permitted to see you.
- Crazy creditsTo the officials of His Majesty's government in British East Africa, the producers wish to express their appreciation for the cooperation that made possible the filming of the safari sequences in Kenya, Tanganyka and Uganda.
- ConnectionsEdited into Monster from Green Hell (1957)
- SoundtracksOnward Christian Soldiers
(uncredited)
Music from "St. Gertrude" by Arthur Sullivan (1871)
Hymn by Sabine Baring-Gould (1865)
Played when Stanley finds Livingstone and often as background music
Sung a cappella by natives
Reprised at the end by offscreen chorus and orchestra
Spencer Tracy, Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Coburn, Nancy Kelly and Walter Brennan bring us wonderful performances full of humanity and depth.
One fine scene in the movie when Stanley encounters extremely hostile adversaries on his way to find Livingston is just about one of the most exciting sequences I have seen on the screen and should there be only one reason to see this movie, then this is it. It is electrifying to see what certainly must have been true African citizens partake in such a very authentic looking ambush. No disrespectful depiction of Africans as seen so often in Tarzan movies will you see here.
Rarely does Hollywood brings us such respectful detail in its depiction of the African citizen as he was when they encountered outsiders. Also, the citizens do not have that awful spurious look that most depictions of Africans are so prone to have from Hollywood in its racism of the past. But then 1939 was a landmark year, wasn't it?
There is so much history that we are inclined to forget too easily and relegate to the dust of the shelves of history.
This is one story that must be heard - if not for anything else than for its sheer humanity.
Exhilarating, Tender, Human, Awe-Inspiring, Wonderful, See It!
- Enrique-Sanchez-56
- Jan 4, 2001
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Henry M. Stanley
- Filming locations
- Kenya(safari sequence)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1