Stanley and Livingstone

1939

1h 41m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

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Adventure

History

When American newspaperman and adventurer Henry M. Stanley comes back from the western Indian wars, his editor James Gordon Bennett sends him to Africa to find Dr. David Livingstone, the missing Scottish missionary. Stanley finds Livingstone ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume.") blissfully doling out medicine and religion to the happy natives. His story is at first disbelieved.

Directors

Henry King

Otto Brower

Writers

Philip Dunne(screenplay by)

Julien Josephson(screenplay by)

Stars

Spencer Tracy

Nancy Kelly

Richard Greene

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Photos11

Top cast

Henry M. Stanley

Eve Kingsley

Gareth Tyce

Jeff Slocum

Lord Tyce

Dr. David Livingstone

Henry Hull

James Gordon Bennett, Jr.

John Kingsley

Sir John Gresham

Mr. Cranston

Frederick Holcomb

Sir Oliver French

Sir Henry Forrester

Hassan

Colonel Grimes

Commissioner

Commissioner

Zucco

Directors

Henry King

Otto Brower

Writers

Philip Dunne(screenplay by)

Julien Josephson(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

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User reviews1

Review

Featured review

7/10

Spencer Tracy is on top form in this story of the British-born American journalist Henry Stanley who is despatched by his editor into the uncharted reaches of the African interior to track down the famed explorer David Livingstone, rumours of whose death having been reported by reputable British newspapers. Armed with plenty of money and his reliable sidekick "Slocum" (Walter Brennan) they set off and with some help from the rather fever-ridden British consul in Zanzibar find themselves crossing Africa staring the most beautiful and dangerous travails head on. The screenplay is based in fact, as we all know, so there is little jeopardy in regard to the results of their trekking, but the film takes it's time to develop a bit more of a look into what motivates both men, and how these motivations evolve as their exposure to the dark content and it's peoples moulds and changes opinions and priorities. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is convincing as the missionary explorer who has an innate, if middle-class, decency about him, as is Charles Coburn (Lord Tyce), the publisher of a rival newspaper all too eager for Stanley to fall flat. Though one could never describe him as versatile, the usually charismatic Brennan delivers consistently too. The on-location filming gives us a grand scale vista of their escapades and Tracy and Hardwicke's thoughtful and considered delivery makes this well worth a watch.

Geronimo196722 Jun, 2022