Beyond Mombasa (1956)

Cornel Wilde ("Campbell") is way past his best in this jungle adventure film. He travels to Eastern Africa to investigate the disappearance of his brother. Luckily, upon arrival he falls in with "Hoyt" (Leo Genn) and his neice "Ann" (Donna Reed). The former is quite adept at keeping him supplied with much needed, early morning, Bloody Mary's and the latter swiftly captivates him. It transpires that his brother might have fallen foul of the evil "Leopard Men" cult and so he must deal with local resentment and superstition as he tries to unearth the truth. It also makes slightly tangential references to the ongoing Mau Mau rebellion as a possible cause of the death, and of course there is also a legendary mine which might contain untold riches. It's Ok, this film but Wilde is really just going through the motions, Genn has one of his less convincing roles - especially at the end, and Reed isn't really given anything much to get her teeth into. Keep an eye out for a young Christopher Lee and Eddie Calvert plays us some trumpet too amidst some fine local scenery augmented by some stock footage of wild animals!