Zoltán Korda

Sanders of the River

Sanders of the River

Seeking out new avenues for his artistry, Paul Robeson moved his family to London in 1928. During the next twelve years, he headlined six British films, pioneering uncharted territory for black actors and reaching a level of prominence unthinkable in Hollywood. Robeson's first British production, Zoltán Korda's Sanders of the River, however, ended up being an embarrassment for the actor, its story of an African tribal leader transformed into a celebration of the British Empire.

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Film Info

  • United Kingdom
  • 1935
  • 91 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.33:1
  • English
  • Spine #372

Special Features

  • New, digital transfers created from the best surviving elements
  • True Pioneer: The British Films of Paul Robeson, a new video program featuring interviews with Paul Robeson Jr. and film historians Stephen Bourne and Ian Christie, and including film clips from Song of Freedom (1936), King Solomon's Mines (1937), and Big Fella (1937)
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Available In

Collector's Set

Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist

Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist

DVD Box Set

4 Discs

$69.95

Special Features

  • New, digital transfers created from the best surviving elements
  • True Pioneer: The British Films of Paul Robeson, a new video program featuring interviews with Paul Robeson Jr. and film historians Stephen Bourne and Ian Christie, and including film clips from Song of Freedom (1936), King Solomon's Mines (1937), and Big Fella (1937)
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Sanders of the River
Cast
Paul Robeson
Bosambo
Leslie Banks
Sanders
Nina Mae McKinney
Lilongo
Robert Cochrane
Tibbets
Martin Walker
Ferguson
Richard Grey
Hamilton
Tony Wane
Mofolaba
Marquis de Portago
Farini
Eric Maturin
Smith
Allan Jeayes
Father O'Leary
Charles Carson
Governer of the territory
Chiefs of the Wagenia (Congo) Tribe
Luao & Kilongalonga
Chief of the Acholi Tribe
Oboja
Members of the Acholi, Sesi, Tefik, Juruba, Mendi, and Kroo Tribes
With
Credits
Director
Zoltán Korda
Producer
Alexander Korda
Cinematography
Georges Périnal
Cinematography
Osmond Borrodaile
Cinematography
Louis Page
Editing
Charles Crichton
Supervising film editor
William Hornbeck
Assistant director
Stanley Irving
Production manager
G.E.T. Grossmith
Music director
Muir Mathieson
Scenario and dialogue
Lajos Biro
Scenario and dialogue
Jeffrey Dell
Lyrics
Arthur Wimperis
Musical compositions
Michael Spolianski

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The Kordas

Director, Producer

The Kordas
The Kordas

During sound cinema’s first full decade, the Hungarian-born Korda brothers—Alexander, Zoltán, and Vincent—built a British empire. The mastermind behind their legendary company, London Films Productions, was producer, director, writer, and eventual mega-mogul Alex; born Sándor Kellner, he became interested in the art of silent cinema as a teenager in his home country, writing criticism and even founding a movie magazine before finding success making his own films all over Europe. In the late twenties, following a short stint in Hollywood, Alex was sent to England to head up Paramount’s British Production Unit; in 1932, he established London Films and brought aboard his younger siblings, Zoltán as a writer/director and Vincent as a production designer. Their first big hit was The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), which earned Charles Laughton an Oscar and the Kordas international attention. The rest of the thirties held highs (The Rise of Catherine the Great, Elephant Boy) and lows (The Private Life of Don Juan) for the company. But its films—often about historical personalities (Rembrandt) or the exploits of the British Empire abroad (Sanders of the River, The Four Feathers)—remain exemplars of a grand period of British cinema. In the forties, the Kordas only grew in stature—due not only to such immensely popular titles as The Thief of Bagdad and That Hamilton Woman but also to the selection of Alexander, the first film director to be so honored, for knighthood.

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