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West of Zanzibar

West of Zanzibar

1928
Drama, Mystery
1h 5m
Magician Phroso's wife Anna leaves him for another man, named Crane, who fights with Phroso and leaves him paralyzed. Later Anna returns and he finds her dead, leaving behind a daughter. For 18 years Phroso, known as "Dead Legs" by his cronies, plots his revenge, becoming a pseudo-king in East Africa, nearby where Crane has set up an ivory business.(imdb)
Your probable score
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West of Zanzibar

1928
Drama, Mystery
1h 5m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 64.13% from 78 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(78)
Compact view
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Rated 02 Dec 2011
67
27th
As I've said before, I have no idea why Chaney would constantly get completely incredulously off-the-wall scripts. If we discount "Tell It To The Marines", then the easiest to swallow of Chaney's movies is "Mr. Wu", and in that one he played an Asian, how's that for suspension of disbelief? That said, it's got a pretty charming ending.
Rated 08 Aug 2017
60
30th
I dunno for people who empathize with the "lessers" of society you think they wouldn't make a movie so racist. But here we are. I dunno I just can't get behind stuff like this.
Rated 05 Jul 2007
85
58th
The plot requires a bit too much reading between the lines (We never are told that Mr. Crane is going to jungle so jumping straight from the church to Zanzibar can take a little bit of time to understand; Why Proso uses the creature is also unexplained), but otherwise, Browning's typical atmosphere permeates throughout the film, aided by a great performance from Chaney.
Rated 23 Mar 2014
78
58th
78.000
Rated 13 Feb 2021
73
78th
Problematic elements aside, the dark 'exotic' atmosphere, surprisingly created on backlots, perfectly suits this tale of revenge pursued to the point of perversion. Browning seems to suggest, both here and elsewhere, that this 'point of no return', once crossed, destroys any possibility of reintegration, and thus normalcy, and it's effectively conveyed here, albeit with a hint of tragedy. Chaney is magnetic, and his reputation as one of early cinema's greatest physical actors is fully earned.

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