Mister Moses

Mister Moses

Original film poster
Directed by Ronald Neame
Produced by Frank Ross
Written by Max Catto (novel)
Charles Beaumont
Monja Danischewsky
Starring Robert Mitchum
Carroll Baker
Music by John Barry
Cinematography Oswald Morris
Edited by Philip W. Anderson
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
May 12, 1965
Running time
113 minutes (US)
117 minutes (UK)
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1,250,000[1]

Mister Moses is a 1965 adventure film about a con man blackmailed into persuading an entire African village into relocating for their own safety. It stars Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. It was based on the novel of the same name by Max Catto. It was filmed on location in Kenya at Lake Naivasha and the Amboseli National Park.[2]

Plot

Beaten and expelled by African villagers for trying to cheat them, the unconscious Joe Moses drifts down a river where he is discovered by the natives of another village. This tribe is being pressured to move by the District Officer (Ian Bannen) as their land will be flooded by the release of waters from a dam; but they refuse to leave their homes. Deeply Christian, the villagers compare Joe Moses to the real Moses due to his discovery in the reeds as was the baby Moses. With a broken leg and no money, Joe Moses is trapped in the village.

Nursed to health by missionary Rev. Anderson (Alexander Knox) and his daughter Julie (Carrol Baker), Moses impresses the natives with his medicine show. He further astounds the locals when he discovers Emily, that he recognises as an Indian elephant in the village. Moses gets her to respond to commands in Hindustani, a language he acquired through his army service in the China Burma India theatre.

The Chief (Orlando Martins) agrees to allow his people to move, but only if they are led by Moses. Reverend Anderson and Julie blackmail Joe Moses through their knowledge of his diamond smuggling in order to lead the people to the "Promised Land". Seeing through Moses's confidence tricks is an educated African, Ubi (Raymond St. Jacques). Ubi initially wishes to team up with Moses to con other Africans, but then attempts to steal Moses's show with a concealed flame thrower that has unexpectedly disastrous consequences for Ubi.

Leading the villagers from atop his elephant, Moses takes them on a journey that has many parallels with the Biblical trek, including a bit where he has to part the waters by entering the dam.

Cast

Reception

The New York Times reviewer A. H. Weiler was unimpressed, writing that it "strains credibility and rarely excites a viewer."[3]

See also

Notes

  1. Anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See "Top Grossers of 1965", Variety, 5 January 1966 p 36
  2. "Mister Moses". Variety magazine. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  3. A. H. Weiler (May 13, 1965). "Mister Moses (1965)". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2010.

External links

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