''Africa Speaks!'' is a 1930 American documentary film directed by

Walter Futter Walter Futter (January 2, 1900 – March 3, 1958) was a film producer and director in the United States. After an initial career cutting and editing films, Futter began writing and producing his own shorts and movies, often using footage he acquir ...

and narrated by Lowell Thomas. It is an

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

Premise

Paul L. Hoefler heads a 1928 expedition to Africa capturing wildlife and tribes on film.

Production

Although the film was shot over the fourteen months of the expedition in the

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a Geography of Africa, geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game res ...

and in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, a scene involving an attack by a lion on a native was apparently staged at the Selig Zoo in Los Angeles and involved a toothless lion. Hoefler wrote a book entitled ''Africa Speaks'' about the expedition that was published in 1931.

References in popular culture

The title of the film was parodied in the 1940 cartoon '' Africa Squeaks'' and the 1949 Abbott and Costello film '' Africa Screams''.

DVD release

''Africa Speaks'' was released on

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

DVD-R by Alpha Video on July 7, 2015.

References

External links