West of Zanzibar (1928)

The wife of circus magician Phroso (Lon Chaney) leaves him for another man (Lionel Barrymore) and in the scuffle, Phroso is injured and loses the use of his legs. Wife Ann returns dead (not sure how that happened) with her lover’s child. The treacherous Crane becomes an ivory trader in Africa so Phroso follows suit to plot his revenge.

It has been over five years since I saw the talkie remake but I remember the major beats of the story. The biggest difference in this shorter version is that the backstory is fleshed out better. If memory serves the remake starts in Africa and we learn in hindsight about the wife, child, and treachery.

So, Dead-leg’s plan is to lure Crane to his compound to show him his daughter, raised in a brothel and abused by Phroso. Based on the same play, both movies play out the same. Walter Houston starred in the stage version and Chaney was perhaps the perfect substitute at the time. Mary Nolan, cast because she had "tragic eyes", is exceptional as the horribly abused damsel. She would later take her own life. Probably.

It would be hard not to compare the two films, the biggest difference being the sound element. Both are pretty ugly films aesthetically, in subject matter, and in how they treat the Africans. The natives are primitive and childlike, easy fooled by sleight of hand and parlor tricks, allowing the white men to become like kings. All this while not being able to walk.

West of Zanzibar is an interesting, if a somewhat hard to watch film. The people and events are not pleasant, but that's what makes it stand out. AMRU 3.