By Lee Pfeiffer
Primarily remembered as a footnote in James Bond trivia (more about that later), the 1963 comedy Call Me Bwana has been released by MGM's burn-to-order program. The film stars Bob Hope as Matthew Merriwether, a con man who has built a reputation as a courageous African explorer despite the fact that he has never visited the continent. When an American space capsule accidentally lands in the African jungle, the government is frantic to recover it before a team of Soviet spies does. U.S. agents coerce Merriwether into making a heroic trek into the area where the capsule has landed to see if he can locate it and return it safely to the government. In an amusing scene, Merriwether delays leading his safari into the heart of darkness long enough to pick up some tourist-themed maps of the country, as he has no idea where he is going. Complicating matters is the fact that he is accompanied by a sexy U.S. secret agent, Frederica (Edie Adams) and a faux father daughter team, Ezra and Luba (Lionel Jeffries and Anita Ekberg), who are, in fact, Soviet agents.Predictable but amusing sexual situations occur every couple of minutes with Merriwether's near seduction of both women interrupted by extraordinary events.
Along the way, Merriwether encounters every comical cliche the jungle can provide, from close encounters with dangerous animals to barbaric tribesmen who speak perfect English. The film's primary pleasures are simplistic but plentiful, topped by Hope's inimitable machine gun-like delivery of quips. There is also an infectious score by Monty Norman and some delightfully cheesy studio shots blended in with the limited second unit footage of Africa. (It appears that the closest the cast and crew ever got to the Dark Continent is the suburbs of London, as most of the film was shot at Pinewood Studios.) Somehow it took four credited screenwriters to bring this trifle to the screen, but it is a pleasant time-killer with an inspired cast.
As for the James Bond connection, Call Me Bwana is memorably featured on the side of a billboard advertisement that features in From Russia With Love. A SPECTRE assassin is shot and killed as he climbs through a window located in Anita Ekberg's "mouth". The film also represents the only non-Bond movie jointly produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. The 007 producers enlisted a stock company of talent from the Bond series including special effects man John Stears, editor Peter Hunt, screenwriter Johanna Harwood, cinematographer Ted Moore, associate producer Stanley Sopel and production designer Syd Cain, among others. Fortunately, the entire team was capable of far greater achievements or we wouldn't be discussing them today in relation to this sitcom-like production. Call Me Bwana generates some frequent laughs, but remains primarily a curious footnote in the history of Eon Productions.
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