King Of The Wild

3125. KING OF THE WILD (1931-USA). 12 Episode Mascot Serial. With WALTER MILLER, TOM SANTSCHI, BORIS KARLOFF, MISCHA ALTER. Veteran serial star Walter Miller makes a good accounting of himself in this exotic and thrill-packed early talkie action-adventure. He stars as Robert Grant, an American machinery salesman, who has traveled to the Eastern kingdom of Rampur. Amazingly, Grant is the exact lookalike of Rampur’s wise and kindly Rajah. The two men set out on a tiger hunt, during which the Rajah is mortally wounded. Before he dies, he declares that no one must know what has happened until his brother can take power. Otherwise his cousin, an evil prince, will surely seize the throne. The Rajah’s dying wish is for Grant to switch identities with him until the arrival of his brother. Almost immediately Grant finds himself accused of the Rajah’s murder and thrown in jail, with only a missing letter written by the Rajah to prove his innocence. He eventually escapes from prison, disguises himself as an Arab and sets out to reveal the truth. Along the way, Grant will have to contend with an assortment of foes. The most prominent is Harris, a famous, but sinister animal hunter who lusts after the riches to be found in a diamond mine. Other characters include a mystery man wearing dark glasses and a ferocious ape-man of terrific strength who is captured in the jungle and trained to obey Harris. Finally, there is Boris Karloff in a supporting role as Mustapha, a greedy and conniving Arab. 238 minutes. Serial