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The only sequel from Ealing Studios, West of Zanzibar continued the African
adventures of game warden Bob Payton, the hero of what was the most popular British film
of 1951, Where No Vultures Fly. West of Zanzibar was designed to capitalise on
its predecessor's success but the actual film, and its history with audiences,
couldn't be more different.
Harry Watt, returning as director, managed to maintain the fun pace,
beautiful cinematography and focus on wildlife that made the first film so
popular, but West of Zanzibar has one key difference: its subject. It replaces
the worthy concerns for animal welfare in Where No Vultures Fly with a more
contentious humanitarian question - the displacement of rural African tribes and
their participation in ivory poaching. But it completely fudges the answer.
The city where the film's displaced tribe - the Galana - settle brings
economic problems, criminal temptation and tribal exploitation. As the tribe's
young men descend into drink and poaching, their leader, Ushingo, blames his
people's naivety about city life and berates those who judge the Galana savages.
But West of Zanzibar pulls back from any more challenging political message. The
Arab lawyer, Dhofar, lays responsibility for the degradation of Africa's people
at the door of British colonial rule, but this position is undermined when
Dhofar is himself exposed as a mastermind of the ivory poaching.
Thomas Spencer, writing in the Daily Worker, claimed, "the film's failure
stems from its basically futile plea [for the colonialist] to be allowed to go
on ruling Africa in the old way." His criticism summarises how the film has come
to be seen. Despite favourable reviews and good audiences on its initial
release, the film was banned by the Kenya Board of Film Censors in August 1954
as "prejudicial to good race relations in the colony". Watt was reportedly taken
aback, but the Kenyan Board's decision made explicit the film's problematic
depictions of racial politics. West of Zanzibar has since disappeared from
public view, and remains one of the least known Ealing titles.
Dylan Cave
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1. Ushingo's plea (3:24)
