Several years ago I saw parts ...
Question: Several years ago I saw parts of a movie on late-night TV — unfortunately I saw neither the beginning nor the end and never found out the title, or the premise for that matter. It looked as though it took place in Africa, and a tribe of natives were terrorizing four or five white men who had disrupted some sort of ceremony. At least two of them were killed on the spot, while two others escaped but were chased mercilessly over miles of vast wasteland. One of the escaped men was caught and killed; I’m not sure about the other because I wasn’t able to catch the end. I never heard a word of understandable dialogue, mostly hard breathing from the running. Do you know the title, is this movie available, and what exactly is the story?
Answer: The movie is The Naked Prey (1965), directed by and starring Cornel Wilde. He plays a guide leading a group of hunters on a safari in Africa. The hunters, as you surmised, arrogantly disrupt a Zulu ceremony and pay dearly for it. The tribesmen recognize Wilde's unnamed character — he's credited simply as "The Man" — as being of a different caliber than the rich, heedless "sportsmen" who started the trouble, so they strip him and give him the opportunity to run for his life. Wilde's intelligence, knowledge of the bush and ferocious determination to survive get him through the ordeal, and though he's nearly naked and unarmed, he eventually takes control of the survival game he's been forced to play. The Naked Prey doesn't seem to be available on DVD, but Paramount put it out on VHS, so you shouldn't have much trouble renting it or buying a used copy.
