''Rango'' is a 1931 American
quasi
Quasi (phonetics 'kwa - zee') is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by former spouses Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, rocksichord, various keyboards, bass) and Janet Weiss (vocals and drums). Joanna Bolme performed ...
-
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
directed by
Ernest B. Schoedsack
Ernest Beaumont Schoedsack (June 8, 1893 – December 23, 1979) was an American motion picture cinematographer, producer, and director. Schoedsack worked as a cameraman in World War I, where he served in the Signal Corps. At the conclusion of ...
and released by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
Plot
The frame story is narrated by a white father (
Claude King
Claude King (February 5, 1923 – March 7, 2013) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, " Wolverton Mountain".
Biography
King was born in Keithville in southern Caddo Parish sout ...
), who has recently returned from
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, to his son (Douglas Scott). He explains that man's closest relative in nature is the orangutan, which translates literally as "man of the forest." He then tells the story of Ali and his son Bin, natives of Sumatra, who hunt in a jungle village. Ali wants to shoot a marauding tiger, but the orangutans Tua and his baby Rango get in the way, and Rango is almost grabbed by the tiger. While Ali prepares a tiger trap, the orangutans enter Ali's hut and feast on the stored goods. Dozens of orangutans join them, ransacking the hut. When Ali and Bin return to discover the havoc, Ali captures Rango and puts him on a chain. Later, Ali saves Tua from a black panther.
In the night, a tiger enters the camp, and Rango warns Bin in time for him to shoot and scare the tiger away. At dawn, Tua comes for Rango and eats in the hut, while Bin tends the water buffaloes. After the tiger kills a deer, the orangutans scream warnings to each other and flee. Two male tigers approach and chase Bin, Rango and Tua. When Bin is cornered by a tiger, Rango comes to the rescue. The tiger kills Rango, who thus sacrifices his own life for the sake of his human friend, but the water buffalo fights the tiger and kills him. Ali and Bin embrace as Tua waits for Rango, unaware he will never return.
References
External links
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1931 documentary films
1931 films
Films directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack
American black-and-white films
Anthropology documentary films
Ethnofiction films
Films about apes
American documentary films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
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