The opening credits of movies such as 1948’s Man-Eater of Kumaon tend to fascinate me. Consider how Wendell Corey is billed as “The Hunter”, despite his character being named Dr. John Collins. A statement regarding this character blanked out all other thought: “The character of ‘The Hunter’ is a fictional one.” It is interesting somebody thought it necessary to clarify that as regards somebody who is clearly intended to be a metaphor.
Another credit which intrigued me is that of technical advisor. A “Major M.H. Whyte (Indian Army)” is credited for that service here and, though I cannot find any additional information regarding the man, I think it is safe to say he was likely the type of solider stationed in India against which the people rebelled. Feel free to imagine a handlebar mustache.
It is no surprise the movie has no insight whatsoever into the cultures or geography of the Indian subcontinent. This is largely the kind of fare where a White man with no prior knowledge of an area bosses around people who have been living there their entire lives.
Corey is one surprisingly morose guy for this type of picture. This mighty White hunter is depressed because his wife left him and took their kid with her. He, in turn, walked away from his office where he was a physician and then away from Western civilization entirely. This is what such guys used to do when they had a midlife crisis: travel halfway around the world to blast creatures to Kingdom Come.
This guy is full of self-loathing, and we come to greatly dislike him as much as he hates himself. As he will tell local doctor Ted Hect, “I never was a particular good doctor, just a successful one”. Well, guess what, guy, you’re a lousy hunter, too. He tries to shoot a tiger but only succeeds in shooting off one of its toes. A guide tries in vain to convince Corey he has to finish off the animal; otherwise, the injured beast will start preying on humans. Hey, we all have our weird cravings when we’re feeling under the weather.
Back at the base of operations, Hecht diagnoses Corey as having malaria, but I really think the guy came down with a bout of overacting. Hecht also lectures Corey about only wounding the tiger, and tries to warn him the big cat will be coming after the man who did him harm. Corey: “Oh, I don’t think he’d care for me. I’d probably give him indigestion.” The doctor is shocked by his flippant response, as it reveals he has no consideration for the locals it will hunt: “You don’t even care for my people.” Amazing how long it took him to come to that conclusion.
There is a subplot which doesn’t make Corey any more likable and that is him dropping off an orphaned boy at the next village he comes to. The thing is, the kid lost his parents to the tiger, so the hunter is directly liable for the situation. As the narration informs us, “In the eyes of the community, he was guilty.” Well, that’s only because it’s true. Anyhoo, he dumps the lad (Jimmy Moss) on couple Sabu and Joanne Page, I guess because any indigenous couple will do.
Corey is stuck with a thankless role and I got the feeling he didn’t know what to do with it. Sabu is charming, as always, but in the kind of role that, if you have seen him in any film, is the “Sabu” role. Page, in brownface, is the least convincing Indian woman ever to grace the screen. But my venom is reserved mostly for Moss. Let’s face it: child actors are largely annoying, yet this kid raises the bar for “ain’t a little cutsie wootsie pie” so high as to make me want to pukesie wooksie. I hated this kid.
To be fair, Man-Eater of Kumaon is a more depressed, and depressing, picture than I was expecting. Instead of set-bound and stock-footage-heavy jungle adventure, you get set-bound and stock-footage-heavy jungle pathos. What a sad lot these are, and led by Corey, the biggest sad sack of them all. Fair warning to those who might be curious, this film preceded the time when the credits would state no animals were harmed in the making of this picture. Though it doesn’t makesuch a claim, I’m pretty sure all animals were harmed in the production of this movie.
Dir: Byron Haskin
Starring Sabu, Wendell Corey, Joanne Page
Watched on Kino Lorber blu-ray