Elephant Walk (1954)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

"Elephant Walk" has pretty scenery, nice Technicolor photography, opulent sets, a luscious Liz, but a tedious (non-) story and an uninspring romance. The entire film is almost fast-forward-worthy until the last 6 minutes, a spectacular elephant stampede where nature justifiably punishes human vanity and stupidity. ** out of 4.

In Elephant Walk,directed by William Dieterle and set in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the elephants symbolically represent resistance to British colonialism. Viewed from an anti-colonial perspective the film becomes a highly charged, beautifully made pamphlet against colonial grabbing as practiced by the masters of Elephant Walk, British Empire profiteers. To build his fortune, Tom Wiley, the dead, arrogant, greedy tyrant colonizer stopped at nothing, including cutting off the water supply of the Elephants and, collaterally, of the native Ceylonese. However, usurping wealth (tea) and using people as virtual slaves resulted, as usual, in knee-jerk resistance to an unjust economic order, to environmental spoilage, to the rule over the many by a few, to a system formatted to make sure the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This resistance is what the elephants represented. Instead of the ignored elephant in the room, this picture is about resistance symbolized by elephants that won't be ignored. Elizabeth Taylor portrayed a person born and raised in England who remained oblivious to the true nature of the colonial system. She was like 99% of Brits who, like most of us, were and remain victims of the class who has declared it has a right to possess the world and its people. Today we call this class Wall Street, The Banks, The 1%. Fortunately, in 1972, Ceylon became Sri Lanka and the natives recuperated their land. They may not be any richer today but anything beats being a virtual slave at the hands of British colonial masters, one of the greediest, most arrogant and dehumanizing groups ever to infest the planet. The movie masterfully depicts the true nature of the money-hungry economic parasites who were interested in only one thing – making $$$$££££ - and willing to do anything to get it. John Wiley the character so excellently portrayed by Peter Finch, is more true to life than say, The Great Gatsby, a romanticized version of a 1 percenter. The more I watch this film, the better it gets. Elisabeth Taylor is stunning. Peter Finch is captivating. Dana Andrews is, as always, excellent. The supporting cast is superb. The direction is masterful. The natural decor is hauntingly luxuriant and the interior sets are memorable. So is there anything wrong with this picture? Only that it remains underrated.

Agreeable romance/adventure film in which a British gorgeous woman marries a wealthy colonial owner and go to live in his huge plantation but it happens to be on the path where elephants roam. This romantic adventure movie in soap opera style was lavishly produced by Paramount Pictures with all-star-cast , glimmer cinematography and luxurious scenarios . As the young bride named Ruth Wiley (Elizabeth Taylor) of a rich planter (Peter Finch) finds herself the only white woman at Elephant Walk tea plantation, British Ceylon . In the plantation Dick Carver (Dana Andrews), works as a right-hand man and she finds certain protection , thanks to Dick the tough foreman , then a mutual attraction emerges each other , soon makes him indispensable . The jungle , of course, is endangered by some kind of wild life and some dangerous elephants , for this reason she finds herself in a strange atmosphere . Furthermore , a cholera epidemic outbursts , followed by elephants destroying the plantation . There takes places a searing story of sudden love and sudden death in the hot green hell of the Ceylon jungle , being threatened by the hovering , ominous appearance of the hostile elephants . One man and several elephants claimed the land , two men claimed the woman who lived there . This exciting film has emotion , romance , intrigue , exotic landscapes , colonial settings and results to be pretty entertaining . Ceylon's balmy jungles provide the backstage for a triangular torrid love between Elizabeth Taylor , Peter Finch and Dana Andrews , in this post-prime William Dieterle effort . Intelligent and engaging script which uses intriguing situations to give us an acceptable movie in a high sense and intimate sensitivity and that kept me entertained for the almost 100 minutes of duration . ¨Elephant walk¨ is an enjoyable adventure movie , a menace melodrama with a wide view of a huge tropical bungalow , exotic scenarios with rage excessively colorful , big bull elephants , an amazing mansion , a love story , drama and many other things . The movie is very persuasively made , usually rise to a crescendo of emotion and had at the time a remarkable success. Entertaining romance/adventure is visually striking with a spectacular final . I liked everyone in the excellent cast, and the male and female actors , especially Elizabeth Taylor , were all very attractive . The hit of the show is undoubtedly for the fetching and attractive Elizabeth Taylor who gives one of her best screen acting . Elizabeth wears lush gowns splendidly designed by expert costume designer Edith Head . Although Vivien Leigh was originally cast, but her mental illness begun affecting things during filming, and so she was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor ; many long shots and shots from behind are still of Leigh . Furthermore, a thrilling as well as breathtaking climax at the mansion in which the protagonist are besieged by a herd of elephants . This picture bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Escape to Burma¨ (1954) by Allan Dwan that contains a similar jungle scenario (Sri Lanka) , elephants and known actors as Barbara Stanwyck , Robert Ryan and David Farrar . It also has several points in common with ¨The naked jungle¨ by Byron Haskin regarding a woman , Eleanor Parker , who marries a planter , Charlton Heston , living in jungle until a final tragedy takes place . ¨Elephant walk¨ packs a colorful cinematography print in Technicolor 1.37:1 and composed for Widescreen presentation, by Loyal Griggs considered to be one of the best cameramen of the 40s and 50s . Sensitive as well as evocative musical score by the classic Franz Waxman . This adventure yarn from the golden age of Hollywood was well directed by William Dieterle as a classic example of drama/romance/adventure of the fifties . Dieterle is a German director who was in Hollywood by 1930s and directing dramas (Scarlet down, Fog over Frisco, Fashions) , costumer (Hunchback of Notre Dame,Kismet,Omar Khayyan) and biopics (Life of Emile Zola, Dr Ehrlich, Juarez, Madame Curie, Reuter) that were a revelation at the box-office. Rating : 6,5/10 , better than average . Well worth watching . The picture will appeal to Elizabeth Taylor fans .

This tepid melodrama concerns John Wiley, a rich tea planter (Peter Finch) who brings his new wife Ruth (Elizabeth Taylor) home to "Elephant Walk," his plantation in Ceylon. The palatial home was built (purposely) to block the wild elephants' path to water, and they have never forgiven the owners. Ruth finds the adjustment difficult as her loving, debonair groom turns into a drunken, boorish lout who cares more about entertaining his fellow planters than being with her. Enter the sensitive overseer (Dana Andrews) who takes a liking to Ruth and there's trouble in paradise.This 1954 movie has exactly the same plot as "The Naked Jungle" which was also released that year, only with elephants instead of army ants. It was only partially filmed on location and those scenes are easy to spot as the colors are intensely bright and vivid with natural light. It's too bad they cut corners and filmed half of the movie indoors in front of stock footage. Going back and forth between real outdoors and fake outdoors is distracting, to say the least. Taylor is lovely to look at, but she and her co-stars overact to the point of being silly; she's too loud, dressing in ridiculous gowns for the jungle, and generally acts like a one-dimensional shrew. There is no romantic chemistry at all between her and Finch or Andrews; both men are wooden caricatures and unconvincing ones at that.The best part of the movie is the finale which has hundreds of elephants storming the mansion, taking back their "walk." Mercifully, this signals the end of a long and overwrought movie which gives the viewer more opportunities to laugh than swoon.