Gow the Headhunter

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Gow the Headhunter
Gow the Headhunter.jpg
Poster
Directed byEdward A. Salisbury
LanguageEnglish

Gow the Headhunter (or Gow, the Headhunter, with a comma) is a 1931 exploration film. The footage, from the 1920s was originally released as 4 different films before being released as a 63-minute feature film in 1931. The film was released in the 1950s under the title Cannibal Island. [1]

Contents

Premise

The film consists of genuine documentary footage but an attempt at creating a plot may be perceptible in the end. [2]

Production

Footage originates from a two-year expedition led by Edward A. Salisbury, a wealthy British adventurer, in the Western Pacific. [2] The aim of the filming was to document the life of cannibals in the South Seas islands (Western Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides and the Eastern Solomons), [1] including the practice of headhunting. [3]

Reception and legacy

In 2012 Flicker Alley released a Blu-ray edition [4] of The Most Dangerous Game including Gow presenting the film as an Exploration classic [1]

According to the company, the film "is not only a true curiosity but also in many ways a key influence of later Cooper and Schoedsack productions including King Kong." [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Flicker Fusion – Flicker Alley". Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  2. 1 2 ""GOW" A TRIBAL PICTURE.; Head-Hunter Film Depicts Customs in South Sea Islands". The New York Times. 1928-12-25. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  3. Gow, the Head Hunter (1928), archived from the original on 2023-04-25, retrieved 2023-04-25
  4. "Silent Era : Home Video Reviews". www.silentera.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.