Review of West of Zanzibar (1928) by Antonius B — 26 Aug 2018

Another successful Tod Browning and Lon Chaney silent pairing; these two seem to have been made for one another. Chaney plays a magician who has been crippled during an altercation with his wife's lover (Lionel Barrymore), and then plots revenge. Left with the pair's daughter (Mary Nolan), he sends her off to a sleazy place in Zanzibar, where as an 18 year old we find her in a dive bar bantering with men. The implication is clear. He steals ivory from Barrymore in order to goad him into coming to him, then sends for Nolan, in order to spring vengeance in the form of her degradation. Things don't go as he plans, but I won't spoil it.

Chaney gives a great performance, and with a range spanning glowering bitterness to frightened horror over some of his actions. He's so great physically in these types of roles, truly appearing as one who has no function in his legs as he pulls himself up and down from his wheelchair. Barrymore, Nolan, and Warner Baxter (in the role of a doctor) are all strong as well. Browning is fantastic at blending macabre elements, such as the natives' practice of burning a wife or daughter alive when a man dies, with psychological shock and horror. As compared to William J. Cowen's remake four years later ('Kongo'), I found this one to have a lesser degree of racism, though the 'savage cannibal'/'civilized man' aspects are present. It's unfortunate that a portion of the footage seems to be missing - in particular, when Nolan's character apparently has run away, only to appear the next day in a bedraggled, dirty appearance. Even so, it holds together and makes for a good watch, if you're in the mood for something dark.