West of Zanzibar (1928)

West of Zanzibar is a 1928 silent tropical melodrama with a major helping of horror. It was directed by Tod Browning and stars Lon Chaney.

It was remade four years later as a talkie (Kongo), directed by William J. Cowen and starring Walter Huston. Which is the better version? That’s a controversial question. Both versions are certainly outrageous. Sadly no complete uncut print of West of Zanzibar appears to have survived but at least reasonably complete prints have survived. Many of Browning’s most famous silent movies have not survived at all, or only exist as fragments.

West of Zanzibar begins with a prologue. Stage magician Phroso (Lon Chaney) has his wife stolen from him by Crane (Lionel Barrymore). The wife then has a daughter by Crane. Phroso vows revenge on the man who stole his wife, and on Crane’s illegitimate daughter.

Phroso loses the use of his legs in circumstances that are left a little unclear.

Eighteen years later Phroso, now known by the nickname Dead-Legs, is living in the heart of the African jungle, on the shores of the Congo River. He has collected a kind of human menagerie. He’s the physical cripple but his cronies are psychologically crippled. This includes Doc (Warner Baxter). Phroso needs him to keep the pain from his injuries at bay.

Phroso’ menagerie also includes Anna (Jacqueline Gadsdon), a prostitute. Phroso delights in humiliating her. Doc usually leaps to her defence, only to be intimidated into backing down. That humiliates him, which adds to Phroso’s pleasure.

Phroso makes his living by stealing ivory from rival traders. Or rather he steals ivory from one particular trader, whose name happens to be Crane. The local tribe serves Phroso loyally. He uses his skills as a stage illusionist to convince them that he is an immensely powerful witch-doctor. Phroso is a kind of king.

That illegitimate daughter of Phroso, Maizie (Mary Nolan), has been working in a brothel in Zanzibar. She doesn’t know it but that was Phroso’s doing. Now Phroso has lured Maizie to his jungle kingdom.

Phroso is ready to exact his vengeance, and a very cruel and twisted vengeance it is. He has a plan to deal with both Crane and Maizie.

Doc and Maizie start to fall in love but that doesn’t worry Phroso - he despises Doc but he is confident he can continue to wreck Doc’s life.

There are some nasty twists to come. Nasty for everyone concerned.

Lon Chaney is very good, but Walter Huston in the 1932 remake Kongo is a lot better. The acting in West of Zanzibar is a very mixed bag. Mary Nolan’s performance is of the sort that quite unfairly gives silent movies a bad name. In the equivalent role in Kongo Virginia Bruce is much more effective. Lionel Barrymore is less hammy than usual. Warner Baxter is quite good.  

Even though it’s much tamer than the remake this movie is guaranteed to upset sensitive souls.

The surviving print runs for 65 minutes but the original running time was 75 minutes. One can’t help suspecting that this is a censored print. There’s a vague hint that Phroso keeps his human menagerie under control by feeding them drugs but it’s not made explicit. We’re not told that Anna is a prostitute but it seems highly likely. All of the depravity - alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, white slavery and sadomasochism - is made quite explicit in the 1932 version, Kongo. Perhaps it was explicit in West of Zanzibar as well but those scenes were cut.

West of Zanzibar is quite a good movie and it’s worth seeing but Kongo is superb and an absolute must-see pre-code movie. West of Zanzibar is recommended.