''Booloo'' is a 1938 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by Clyde E. Elliott. It stars

Colin Tapley Colin Edward Livingstone Tapley (7 May 1909 – 1 December 1995) was a New Zealand actor in both American and British films. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictur ...

as a British soldier who attempts to prove the existence of a legendary tiger.

Premise

Captain Robert Rogers, a British Army officer, publishes a book about his father's exploits. After it is ridiculed as a hoax, Rogers leaves for the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

to prove the existence of Booloo, the legendary tiger that killed his father.

Cast

as Captain Robert Rogers *

Jayne Regan Bobbie Stoffregen (July 28, 1909 – March 19, 2000), known professionally as Jayne Regan, was an American film actress. Her original name was sometimes seen as Bobby Stoffregen. Regan was the daughter of Herman C. and Anna Stoffregen. From age ...

as Kate Jaye *

Michio Itō was a Japanese dancer who developed his own choreography style in Europe and America. He was the son of Kimiye Iijima and architect Tamekichi Ito who was educated at the University of Washington; he was one of nine children, and the brother of D ...

as Sakai chief * Herbert DeSouza as Rod DeSouza * Fred Pullen as Nah Laku *

Mamo Clark Mamo or woowoo is a common name for two species of extinct birds. Together with the extant ʻIʻiwi they make up the genus ''Drepanis''. These nectarivorous finches were endemic to Hawaii but are now extinct. The Hawaiian name may be relat ...

as native girl *

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 south ...

as Major Fenton

Production

Paramount wanted another jungle adventure film after ''

The Jungle Princess ''The Jungle Princess'' is a 1936 American adventure film directed by Wilhelm Thiele starring Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland. Plot Christopher Powell is in Malaya with his fiancée and her father, capturing wild animals. While out hunting he i ...

'' proved popular, and they recruited Clyde E. Elliott to shoot a film in Singapore. Elliott's two previous Malayan films, '' Bring 'Em Back Alive'' and ''Devil Tiger'', had been criticized for lacking authenticity. ''Booloo'' addressed these concerns by using Asian actors when available. However, Paramount cut much of the footage starring these actors and reshot scenes in Hollywood. For example, the role of a native girl, originally played by

Ratna Asmara Ratna Asmara (1913 – August 1968) was an Indonesian actress and film director. Originally active in theatre, in 1940 she starred in the romance film ''Kartinah'', which her first husband Andjar directed. After appearing in several further ...

, was recast to a Hawaiian actress, Mamo Clark.

Release

Paramount released ''Booloo'' in the US on July 29, 1938.

Reception

''Booloo'' received negative reviews, which criticized the story and editing.

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "an exciting and quite entertaining blend of the real and the make-believe".

References

External links

* 1938 films 1938 adventure films American adventure films Films set in Singapore Films shot in Singapore American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{adventure-film-stub