Sabu Movies

After a dangerous tiger turns on its trainer and escapes from the circus, a small town in Texas finds itself in an uproar over its capture. As it is hunted by numerous parties, a young girl begins protesting and starts a nationwide movement to plead for the tiger's safety. As the situation gains more attention, the local attitude is torn by politics and outside pressure. At the time of its release, this feature (taken from a book by Ian Niall) was quite different for Disney as it portrayed realistic small-town politics rather than an ideal community. The titular tiger, on the other hand, seemed to have an uncanny knack of choosing baddies to prey upon while leaving all well-meaning folks alone. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

In this film based on an earlier German silent serial, a Swedish scientist (Gino Cervi) has invented a device which can alter the control of gravity. Soon after, Chinese spies intervene and try to swipe the machine, while the Swedish government sends help in the form of two agents (Lino Ventura, Carlos Thompson). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Though Mickey Rooney is listed as coproducer of Jaguar, the star of the proceedings is East Indian actor Sabu, here cast as a young South American. Though raised in a civilized atmosphere, Juano (Sabu) cannot quite shake the savage instincts of his jungle-bred forefathers. When he is falsely accused of three murders, Juano is willing to believe that he committed the crimes thanks to the influence of a powerful narcotic. It turns out that our hero has been set up as a fall guy, but he goes through hell and back before he can prove his innocence. Jaguar was scripted by John Fenton Murray, who later specialized in such TV sitcomery as McHale's Navy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this exotic adventure, young hero Sabu is living in a remote Hindu village. There he must protect the town treasure, the world's largest ruby, from being traded for ammunition. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Presumably, Savage Drums was an attempt by Lippert Studios to launch an adventure series along the lines of "Jungle Jim" and "Bomba the Jungle Boy". The inimitable Sabu stars as Tipo, a native of a tropical island who returns home after establishing himself as a boxer in the U.S. Tipo soon discovers that his friends and family are in danger of falling under the influence of invading communists. Aligning himself with island king Maou (H.B. Warner), Tipo squares off against Red provincial ruler Chang (Steven Geray) and his minions. The film's feminine angle is provided by Lita Baron (good girl) and Margia Dean (bad commie), while comedy relief is in the hands of Lippert perennial Sid Melton and master dialectician Bob Easton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

East Indian actor Sabu heads the cast of the location-filmed Man-Eater of Kumaon. While the film's romantic plotline is carried by native couple Naraian (Sabu) and Lali (Joanne Page), the main story concentrates on the regeneration of American society doctor John Collins (Wendell Corey). Despite his distaste for all things Indian, Collins agrees to participate in a tiger hunt. Upon meeting the residents of a Himalayan village which is being decimated by the titular man-eating tiger, the doctor gains a new perspective on his fellow man, dropping many of his inbuilt prejudices along the way. Based on the best-selling novel by Jim Corbett, Man-Eater of Kumaon is at once a rousing adventure tale and an easy-to-take sociological tract. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

East Indian actor Sabu is consistently better than his material in the sociological melodrama End of the River. The story concerns Mancel (Sabu), an Akuna Indian youth living in the forests of Brazil. Betrayed by a treacherous tribal chieftan, Mancel is branded an outlaw and exiled from his village. Forced to scrounge for a living in the white man's world, he runs afoul of corrupt political forces, ending up on trial for his life. The defense counsel (Maurice Denham) tries to convince Mancel that not all white men are demons, and to help the boy come to terms with his own inner turmoil. Despite its powerhouse cast, End of the River suffers from indifferent and sometimes downright lackadaisical performances; still, it deserves praise for trying to tackle a difficult subject with a semblance of intellence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the eve of her wedding to Ramu (Jon Hall), the beautiful Tollea (Maria Montez) is spirited away from her tranquil South Sea island to the mysterious, forbidden place of her birth, Cobra Island. Ramu follows and, with help from his young-but-not-too-bright friend Kado (Sabu) and their chimp Coco, manages to land on the island and avoid capture, which would mean death. It turns out that Tollea is the rightful high priestess of Cobra Island, the first born of two twin daughters of the earlier priestess. Tollea was not immune to the venom of the king cobra, however, so she was spirited away from the island as an infant to avoid her unnecessary death. Now her grandmother, the Queen (Mary Nash), has secured her return. Tollea's twin sister, Naja (also played by Montez), has turned cruel, greedy, and ambitious, and is killing, torturing, and tormenting her people and perverting their religion; Naja must be deposed, hopefully before the volcano on the far side of the island registers too loud an objection to her blasphemies. But Naja -- who is wanton enough to want Ramu for her own pleasure -- and her confederate, the evil, ambitious Martok (Edgar Barrier), don't plan on leaving quietly.

Meanwhile, Ramu has to keep himself and Kado alive and decide if he's willing to give up the woman that he loves so that she can save her people; Tollea must choose between love and duty, fate and her birthright. One of the most ridiculously and unselfconsciously campy costume adventure movies of its era, Cobra Woman was apparently a lot of fun to work on and a relief from the reality of the Second World War for audiences in 1944. The script, co-authored by Richard Brooks a long time before he wrote The Brick Foxhole, much less directed Blackboard Jungle or made In Cold Blood or Lord Jim, is incredibly sloppy, the mix of harem dancers and ridiculous prop snakes is bizarre, and some of the worst choreography of its era doesn't help -- and yet it all hangs together, somehow, as entertainment. Director Robert Siodmak reportedly liked it, and as a refugee from the Nazis, working on it still beat the fate he'd fled in Germany. The movie is also alleged to be the primary inspiration for Jack Smith's Flaming Creatures -- which starred female impersonator Mario Montez -- and looking at it in the 21st century, one wonders if it was ever seen by Edward D. Wood Jr.; not only does the production sort of anticipate (albeit on a much higher level and budget) his work in the adventure genre, but the script seems to contain the essence of inept moments that he would elevate to an art of sorts. And one can just imagine Wood, as a young marine recruit, watching Cobra Woman eagerly and "learning" all the wrong lessons from its writing and production. But, like the best of Wood's movies -- only more so -- Cobra Woman is still great fun of the "guilty pleasure" sort. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The Jungle Book isn't always faithful to the Rudyard Kipling original (in fact, it seldom is), but 1942 audiences swept up in the grandeur of the production values and the lush Technicolor photography didn't mind at all. Indian juvenile-star Sabu plays Mowgli, who having been lost in the jungle as an infant has been raised by wolves. While he has no trouble conversing with his animal neighbors (whose voices aren't as ludicrous as you might think, though we never imagined that a snake could sound like Lionel Barrymore), Mowgli yearns to touch base with his human roots; thus, he returns to the native village whence he came. With the help of his jungle companions, Mowgli rescues his adoptive family, his natural mother (Rosemary DeCamp) and the rest of the humans from the greedy machinations of villains Joseph Calleia, John Qualen and Frank Puglia. Adapted for the screen by Lawrence Stallings and co-directed by Zoltan Korda and Andre De Toth, The Jungle Book scored a significant hit for its distributor United Artists, who really needed a smash at this point in time. The film would be remade (so to speak) as a Disney animated feature in 1967, and again as a live-actioner (with "politically correct" British villains) in 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In ancient Bagdad, the young prince Ahmad (John Justin) is betrayed, deposed, and imprisoned by his vizier Jaffar (Conrad Veidt), an evil and calculating man who is also a master of the Black Arts. But Ahmad is saved from prison, and certain execution, by Abu (Sabu), a young thief who has made his way in life by stealing whatever he needs. Together they escape from Bagdad and make their way to the port city of Basra, where they hope to sign to sail with the renowned sailor Sinbad. But Ahmad chances to catch a glimpse of the daughter (June Duprez) of the Sultan (Miles Malleson, who also co-wrote the screenplay), and falls hopelessly in love with her. Sneaking into the garden where she spends most of her days, she meets him and the two are bound together forever in that moment, he the first man she has ever seen, and she the most beautiful woman he has ever beheld. But no sooner have they declared their love for each other then Jaffar arrives in Basra, seeking the princess' hand in marriage -- and to secure the blessing of her father, a fanatical collector of toys, he offers the aging Sultan a fantastic mechanical flying horse that bears him into the clouds at will. The sultan agrees to the marriage, but the princess flees the city. Abu and Ahmad are captured and before either can tell the sultan of their plight, Jaffar works his magic, leaving Ahmad blind and transforming Abu into a dog -- conditions that will remain until he holds the princess in his arms.
Everything in the movie up to this point has been told in flashback, by Ahmad, as he is lured to the palace of his enemy. Jaffar has captured the princess, but she has fallen into a deep sleep that will not end -- so his doctors assure him -- until she is reunited with Ahmad. He achieves this goal, and the princess awakens, only to be parted from Ahmad again by Jaffar, who sails for Basra with her as his prisoner. But she won't love him, and the kind of love he wants from her can only be given by her, not taken by him. When Ahmad and Abu -- now restored by Jaffar's regaining the princess -- try to follow him, he calls up a storm that sweeps them from the sea. Abu finds himself on a beach alone, and while searching for Ahmad he finds a strange bottle, which he opens, and out comes a real genie (Rex Ingram), hundreds of feet tall. The genie means to kill him, but Abu outwits the genie and secures from him three wishes. Abu must find Ahmad, but to do that he must go to the Palace of the Goddess of Night, half a world away, and steal the All-Seeing Eye. Abu does this, getting past guards, both human and monstrous, and from there it is on to Ahmad. But a misunderstanding between them leaves the two friends separated, Ahmad captured by Jaffar and sentenced -- along with the princess, who will not love Jaffar -- to death. Meanwhile, Abu is stranded countless miles away. And then one desperate act by the boy suddenly sends Abu into a magical, golden kingdom, the Land of Legend, where he is greeted as their new king. The old king (Morton Selten) shows him the symbols of his rule, which include magical arrows forged to destroy injustice. Abu still must save his friend, and to do it commits one last act of theft -- but can he arrive in time? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The unusual amalgam of documentary maven Robert Flaherty and pure-entertainment producer Zoltan Korda resulted in the 1937 money-spinner Elephant Boy. In his screen debut, eleven-year-old Indian-born Sabu plays the title character, a mahout named Toomai. When his father is killed by a tiger, Toomal is left alone and unprotected and not long afterward loses his beloved elephant to a sadistic "driver." Stealing back the pachyderm and heading into the wilderness, Toomal stumbles across a herd of wild elephants, which the British government has long been seeking. With visions of a huge reward in his head, Toomal offers to lead the authorities to the elusive herd -- whereupon the "dramatic" portion of the story gracefully gives way to the "documentary" portion. More intriguing than entertaining, Elephant Boy was nonetheless one of the most successful films of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide