''Timbuctoo'' is a 1933 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, co-directed by

Walter Summers Walter Summers (1892–1973) was a British film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Barnstaple to a family of actors, British motion picture director Walter Summers began his career in the family trade; his first contact with filmma ...

and

Arthur B. Woods Arthur Bickerstaffe Woods (17 August 1904 – 8 February 1944) was an English film director with 27 credits between 1933 and 1940. Woods' films were mainly quota quickies but were diverse in style, from light comedy and musicals to dark crime ...

for

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

, and starring Henry Kendall and

Margot Grahame Margot Grahame (born Margaret Clark; 20 February 1911 – 1 January 1982) was an English actress most noted for starring in '' The Informer'' (1935) and ''The Three Musketeers'' (1935). She started acting in 1930 and made her last screen app ...

. Although BIP had a reputation for churning out films quickly and cheaply, in this case they allocated enough of a budget to finance location filming in Africa.

Plot

The film's slight storyline concerns a man (Kendall) who has a violent quarrel with his family over his fiancée (Grahame). Feeling totally upset, he wants to get away from all the conflict and decides to travel overland to

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

with its legendary reputation as one of the most remote and mysterious places in the world. As soon as his fiancée learns of his departure, she vows to do the same thing and challenges herself to arrive in Timbuktu before him. Much of the film is essentially taken up with travelogue sequences of African natives and habitats.

Cast

* Henry Kendall as Benedict *

as Elizabeth *

Emily Fitzroy Emily Fitzroy (24 May 1860 – 3 March 1954) was an English theatre and film actress who eventually became an American citizen. She was at one time a leading lady in London for Sir Charles Wyndham. She made her film debut in 1915. Her debut i ...

as Aunt Augusta *

Hubert Harben Leonard Hubert S Harben (12 July 1878 – 24 August 1941) was an English stage and film actor. He was married to the actress Mary Jerrold and father of celebrity chef Philip Harben. Selected filmography * ''Mr. Pim Passes By'' (1921) * ''Every ...

as Uncle George *

Jean Cadell Jean Dunlop Cadell (13 September 1884 – 29 September 1967) was a Scottish character actress. Although her married name was Jean Dunlop Perceval-Clark she retained her maiden name in the context of acting. Life and career She was born at 4 ...

as Wilhelmina *

Victor Stanley Victor Stanley (1892–1939) was a British film actor. Selected filmography * ''The World, the Flesh, the Devil'' (1932) - Jim Stanger * '' The Iron Stair'' (1933) - Ben * '' The Ghost Camera'' (1933) - Albert Sims * '' Puppets of Fate'' (1933) ...

as Henry * Una O'Connor as Myrtle * Edward Cooper as Steven

Availability

''Timbuctoo'' does not appear ever to have been shown on television in the UK, nor has it been made available commercially; however, unlike many

quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...

productions of the 1930s, the film has survived and is available to view by appointment at any of the Mediatheques run by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

.Mediatheque films
British Film Institute. ''Retrieved 19-10-2010'' Although the film is billed as a comedy, it contains a sequence of a

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

being hunted and killed which some modern viewers have found extremely unpleasant and distressing.

References

External links

*
''Timbuctoo''
at BFI Film & TV Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Timbuctoo 1933 films 1933 comedy films British comedy films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios British black-and-white films Films directed by Walter Summers Films directed by Arthur B. Woods Timbuktu in popular culture Films set in Mali 1930s English-language films 1930s British films