View source for Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book

{{Short description|1942 film by Zoltan Korda}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Jungle Book
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| image          = Jungle Book FilmPoster.jpeg
| director       = [[Zoltan Korda]]
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[The Jungle Book]]''|[[Rudyard Kipling]]}}
| screenplay     = [[Laurence Stallings]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Sabu (actor)|Sabu]]
* [[Joseph Calleia]]
* [[John Qualen]]
* [[Frank Puglia]]
* [[Rosemary De Camp]]
* Patricia O'Rourke
* [[Ralph Byrd]]
}}
| producer       = [[Alexander Korda]]
| music          = [[Miklós Rózsa]]
| cinematography = [[Lee Garmes]]<br>[[W. Howard Greene]]
| editing        = [[William Hornbeck]]
| studio         = Alexander Korda Films, Inc.
| distributor    = [[United Artists]]
| released       = {{Film date|1942|4|3}}
| runtime        = 108 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom<br>United States
| language       = English
| budget         = £250,000 ({{US$|{{#expr:0.25*4.03 round 1}} million|long=no}}){{sfn|Kulik|1975|p=[https://archive.org/details/alexanderkordama0000kuli/page/268/mode/1up 268]}}
| gross          = $11 million ({{estimation}})
}}
[[File:The Jungle Book (1942).webm|thumb|thumbtime=10|upright=1.2|''The Jungle Book'']]
'''''Jungle Book''''' or '''''Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book''''' is a 1942 [[Independent film|independent]] [[Technicolor]] [[action film|action]]-[[adventure film]] by the Korda brothers, loosely adapted from [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' (1894). The story centers on [[Mowgli]], a feral young man who is kidnapped by villagers who are cruel to the jungle animals as they attempt to steal a dead king's cursed treasure. The film was directed by [[Zoltán Korda]] and produced by his brother [[Alexander Korda|Alexander]], with the [[art director#in film|art direction]] by their younger brother [[Vincent Korda|Vincent]]. The screenplay was written by [[Laurence Stallings]]. The film stars Indian-born actor [[Sabu Dastagir|Sabu]] as Mowgli. Although the film is in the public domain, the master 35mm elements are with [[ITV Studios#ITV Studios Global Entertainment|ITV Studios Global Entertainment]].  An official video release is currently available via [[The Criterion Collection]].

The cinematography was by [[Lee Garmes]] and [[W. Howard Greene]] and the music was by [[Miklós Rózsa]]. Because of [[World War II]], the Korda brothers moved their filmmaking to Hollywood in 1940, and ''Jungle Book'' is one of the films they produced during that Hollywood period.<ref name=Screenonline>{{cite web |last=Morrison |first=David |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/484532/index.html |title=Jungle Book (1942) |website=[[Screenonline]] |access-date=2013-01-05}}</ref> The film was a commercial success at the box office.{{sfn|Kulik|1975|p=[https://archive.org/details/alexanderkordama0000kuli/page/270/mode/1up 270]}}

==Plot==
In an [[India]]n village, [[Buldeo]], an elderly storyteller, is paid by a visiting British ''[[Sahib#Colonial and modern use|memsahib]]'' to tell a story of his youth.

As a younger man, he recalls his village being attacked by [[Shere Khan]] the [[Bengal tiger|rogue tiger]]. The attack leads to the death of a man and the loss of the man's child. The child is adopted by [[grey wolves]] in the jungle and grows to be the wild youth [[Mowgli]]. Twelve years after, Mowgli is captured by the villagers and taken in by his mother [[Messua (Jungle books)|Messua]], despite Buldeo's prejudice towards him for being from the jungle. He learns to speak and tries to imitate the ways of humans, and becomes friendly with Buldeo's daughter, Mahala.

When Mowgli and Mahala explore the jungle, they discover a hidden chamber in a ruined palace, containing fabulous wealth. Warned by an aged [[cobra]] that the wealth brings death, they leave, but Mahala takes one coin as a memento. When Buldeo sees the coin, he resolves to follow Mowgli to the site of the treasure.

Mowgli fights and uses a [[jambiya|jambiya knife]] to kill Shere Khan, with some last minute help from [[Kaa]], the [[Indian python]]. As he is skinning the body, Buldeo arrives. He threatens Mowgli with his [[hunting rifle]] to take him to the treasure, but is attacked by Mowgli's friend [[Bagheera]], the [[black panther]]. Buldeo becomes convinced that Bagheera is Mowgli himself, shape-shifted into panther form. He tells the villagers that Mowgli is a witch, as is his mother. Mowgli is chained up and threatened with death, but escapes with his mother's help. However, she and another villager who tries to defend her are tied up and threatened to be burned for witchcraft.

Mowgli is followed by the greedy Buldeo and two friends, a [[pandit]] and a [[barber]], to the lost city. They find the treasure and leave for the village with as much as they can carry. When they stop for the night, the priest tries to steal the treasure and murders the barber when the barber wakes up. The priest tells Buldeo that the barber had attacked him and that he had killed in self-defense, but Buldeo knows better. The next day, the priest attacks Buldeo while his back is turned, but Buldeo knocks him into the swamp where he is killed by a [[mugger crocodile]]. Mowgli tells Bagheera to chase Buldeo from the jungle, and Buldeo flees for his life, jettisoning the treasure.

His pride wounded, a half-crazed Buldeo tries to murder Mowgli and destroy the jungle by starting a forest fire. The wind turns and the fire threatens the village. The villagers flee, but Mowgli's mother and her defender are trapped. Mowgli brings the local [[Asian elephant|elephants]] including their leader [[Hathi]] who help free the captives and rescue the jungle animals from the fire. He is invited to follow them to a new life downriver, but chooses to stay and protect the jungle.

The scene returns to the present day, with the elderly Buldeo admitting that the jungle defeated his youthful dreams and destroyed his reputation. When asked how he escaped from the fire and what became of Mowgli and his daughter, Buldeo says that is another story.

==Cast==
[[File:The Jungle Book 1942.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Patricia O'Rourke and [[Sabu Dastagir|Sabu]]]]
* [[Sabu Dastagir|Sabu]] as [[Mowgli]]
** Daniel and David Valdez as Baby Mowgli
* [[Joseph Calleia]] as Buldeo
* [[John Qualen]] as The barber
* [[Frank Puglia]] as The pundit
* [[Rosemary DeCamp]] as Messua
* Patricia O'Rourke as Mahala
* [[Ralph Byrd]] as Durga
* Jack Mather as Rao
* [[Faith Brook]] as Daughter of the British magistrate
* [[Noble Johnson]] as Sikh
* [[Mel Blanc]] as Kaa, Gray Brother<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-02-18|title=A MEL BLANC DISCOVERY|url=https://leonardmaltin.com/a-mel-blanc-discovery/|access-date=2021-02-20|website=Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy|language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Martha Wentworth]] as White Hood<ref name=":0" />

==Production==
In 1940, the three Korda brothers left London for Hollywood, where two of their films that had begun production in the UK were completed: ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]'' and ''[[That Hamilton Woman]]''.

United Artists lent Alexander Korda $300,000 to finance the production of ''Jungle Book'',<ref name=Screenonline/> which was produced by the American company he set up for his Hollywood productions: Alexander Korda Films, Inc.

Laurence Stalling's adaptation was criticised for straying too far from the original, and the frequent disagreements between brothers Alexander and Zoltán did not help matters. Zoltán wanted an underplayed realistic story, while Alex favoured an exuberant fantasist epic. Alex, as always, got his way in the end.<ref name=Screenonline/>

==Reception==
===Box office===
The film was a notable success at the box office.<ref name="tino">{{cite book |last=Balio |first=Tino |title=United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars |year=2009 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |page=172 |isbn=978-0-299-23004-3}}</ref> In the United States and Canada, the film earned {{US$|1.3 million|long=no}} in box office rentals.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety149-1943-01#page/n57/mode/1up |title=101 Pix Gross in Millions |magazine=Variety |date=January 6, 1943 |page=58 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> In total, the film grossed {{US$|3.3 million|long=no}} from approximately 12.2 million ticket sales in the United States, equivalent to {{US$|115 million|long=no}} adjusted for inflation in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Jungle Book (1942) – Etats-Unis |trans-title=The Jungle Book (1942) – United States |url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=12592&view=1 |website=JP's Box-Office |language=fr |access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, its 1948 re-release earned £86,089<ref>{{cite journal |last=Porter |first=Vincent |title=The Robert Clark Account: Films released in Britain by Associated British Pictures, British Lion, MGM, and Warner Bros., 1946–1957 |journal=[[Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television]] |volume=20 |issue=4 |year=2000 |pages=469–511 |doi=10.1080/713669742|s2cid=161670089}}</ref>({{US$|{{#expr:86089*4.03 round -1}}|long=no}}).<ref name="Todd">{{cite web |last=Todd |first=Mike |title=Graph of £/$ exchange rate (1940 - today) |url=http://www.miketodd.net/encyc/dollhist-graph.htm |website=An American Encyclopedia |access-date=June 22, 2018}}</ref>

In France, it was one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1946, drawing over 5 million admissions at the box office.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://translate.google.com.au/translate?sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/france-1946-c22732987 |title=French box office of 1946 |website=Box Office Story}}</ref> At an average late-1940s admission price of 50 [[French franc|francs]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Sadoul |first=Georges |title=French Film |date=1953 |publisher=Falcon Press |page=111 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vOQdAAAAMAAJ&q=1949+average+price |quote=In 1949 the average price of admission was 50 francs (Is.).}}</ref> this was equivalent to an estimated {{formatnum:{{#expr:5084962*50}}}}{{nbsp}}francs ({{US$|{{#expr:254248100/100/3.4968 round 0}}|long=no}}).<ref>{{cite web|title=Pacific Exchange Rate Service|url=http://fx.sauder.ubc.ca/etc/USDpages.pdf|website=[[UBC Sauder School of Business]]|publisher=[[University of British Columbia]]|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> The film also sold 18.9 million box office tickets [[List of highest-grossing films in the Soviet Union|in the Soviet Union]] when it released there in 1944.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jungle Book (1942) |url=https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/92399/ |website=[[Kinopoisk]] |language=ru |access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref> At an average 1950 admission price of {{nowrap|{{#expr:(1.5+2)/2}} [[Soviet rouble|Rbls]]}}<ref>{{cite journal |date=1950 |title=Political Affairs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wM0cAAAAIAAJ |journal=[[Political Affairs]] |publisher=New Century Publishers |volume=29 |page=80 |quote=In moving picture theaters the price of tickets ranges from 2-6 roubles at first-run houses, and from 50 kopecks to 1&nbsp;Rbl.&nbsp;50 kop. in neighborhood houses and clubs.}}</ref> ({{US$|{{#expr:1.75/5.3 round 2}}|long=no}}), this was equivalent to an estimated {{nowrap|{{#expr:18.9*1.75 round 0}} million}} Rbls ({{US$|{{#expr:18.9*0.33 round 1}} million|long=no}}).

===Critical response===
[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted the filmmakers have "used a whole menagerie to get some remarkable effects, and a finer lot of sleek and lithe wild creatures has never been shown on a screen. But he hasn't put together a solid picture. It is mainly a spectacle. Against the animal competition, the human actors show up quite badly." In summary, Crowther felt the "color is strikingly vivid and some of the individual scenes have natural charm. But the film, as a whole, is ostentatious."<ref>{{cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/04/06/archives/jungle-book-animal-spectacle-film-based-loosely-on-kipling-tales.html |title=The Screen in Review |work=The New York Times |date=April 6, 1942 |access-date=June 22, 2022}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' similarly wrote: "Depending almost entirely on the pictorial grandeur and the production novelty, Korda has neglected any but a slight development of the human equation. Players therefore have unimportant assignments, with the exception of Sabu, who swims and swings his way through the jungle with ease and grace."<ref>{{cite news |last=Flynn Sr. |first=John C. |url=https://archive.org/details/variety145-1942-03/page/n175/mode/2up |title=Film Reviews: Jungle Book |page=8 |work=Variety |date=March 25, 1942 |access-date=June 22, 2022 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' wrote: "This is a jungle fantasy, in which animals play an important part. It has been produced in gorgeous technicolor. The surroundings in which Sabu is cast are familiar ...But by being a fantasy, its appeal is not universal."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/harrisonsreports24harr/page/n61/mode/2up |title='Jungle Book' with Sabu |work=Harrison's Reports |date=April 4, 1942 |page=54 |access-date=June 22, 2022 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> A review in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine felt the Korda brothers have produced "a laborious, sometimes silly tale, saved from disgrace only by some of the best Techni-colored animal photography extant."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,766533,00.html |title=Cinema: The New Pictures |magazine=Time |date=April 13, 1942 |access-date=February 21, 2024}}</ref> Edwin Schallert of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' praised the visuals and the animals, but cautioned: "To say that ''Jungle Book'' is as good in its narrative as ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)|The Thief]]'' is not easy. Many will feel that it is, and certainly it rates right alongside its predecessor."<ref>{{cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104250450/edwin-schallerts-review-of-jungle/ |title='Jungle Book' Legendary Revel, Radiant in Color |work=Los Angeles Times |at=Part II, p. 10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |date=March 25, 1942 |access-date=June 22, 2022}} {{Open access}}</ref> On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 54% from 13 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.8/10.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jungle Book (1942)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1011338_jungle_book|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 21, 2024}}</ref>

==Awards==
The film was nominated for four [[Academy Awards]].<ref name="Oscars1943">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1943 |title=The 15th Academy Awards (1943) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2013-06-22 |work=oscars.org}}</ref><ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/26754/The-Jungle-Book/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128132712/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/26754/The-Jungle-Book/awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-11-28 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |date=2009 |title=NY Times: Jungle Book |access-date=2008-12-15}}</ref>

;Nominated
* [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color]] ([[Vincent Korda]], [[Julia Heron]])
* [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects|Best Visual Effects]] ([[Lawrence W. Butler]], [[William H. Wilmarth]])
* [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
* [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]

==Music==
The extensive musical score by [[Miklós Rózsa]] caught the attention of RCA Victor, which proposed to make a recording of a suite with narration, comparable to [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev]]'s popular [[Peter and the Wolf]]. The 78-RPM album with narration by Sabu, became the first substantial recording of a Hollywood dramatic film score. Rózsa was especially pleased to record the music with members of [[Arturo Toscanini|Toscanini]]'s [[NBC Symphony Orchestra|NBC Symphony]] in New York. The album became very popular, and the suite has been recorded several times.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rozsa |first1=Miklos |title=Double Life |orig-date=1982 |year=1984 |publisher=The Baton Press |location=Tunbridge Wells, Kent |isbn=0-85936-141-1 |pages=111–112}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of films in the public domain in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Kulik |first=Karol |title=Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles |url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderkordama0000kuli/ |publisher=[[Arlington House Publishers|Arlington House]] |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-870-00335-6 |url-access=registration}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jungle Book (1942 film)}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0034928|title=Jungle Book}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=36536/}}
* {{AFI film|id=53856|title=Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book}}
* {{Screenonline title|484532}}
* {{Internet Archive film|id=JungleBook|name=Jungle Book}}
* [http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2081-eclipse-series-30-sabu Criterion Collection Essay]

{{The Jungle Book}}
{{Zoltan Korda}}
{{Alexander Korda}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1942 films]]
[[Category:1940s fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:American fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:British fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:The Jungle Book films]]
[[Category:Films about animals]]
[[Category:Films about apes]]
[[Category:Jungle adventure films]]
[[Category:Films set in India]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1890s]]
[[Category:London Films films]]
[[Category:United Artists films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Zoltán Korda]]
[[Category:Films produced by Alexander Korda]]
[[Category:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:1940s American films]]
[[Category:1940s British films]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy adventure films]]