May 15, 1953 (Premiere screening as The Hindu)[1] February, 1955 (general release as Sabaka)[2]
Running time
77 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Sabaka (originally to be called Gunga Ram[3]) is a 1953 American adventure film written, directed and co-produced by Frank Ferrin, filmed partially on location in India. The film also starred Victor Jory, Boris Karloff, Peter Coe, Reginald Denny, June Foray and Jay Novello.[4]
The film was about the adventures of an Indian boy named Gunga Ram, played by Nino Marcel. (Ferrin also produced and directed the 1955 television show Andy's Gang, and a number of Gunga Ram's Indian adventures were later broadcast on Andy's show as short subjects. "Gunga Ram" actor Nino Marcel actually appeared live on the show with Andy Devine on two occasions.)
In February, 1953, immediately following the completion of Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it was announced that Boris Karloff would return to England to star in a Jules Verne movie, but the project was cancelled and Karloff was signed for Sabaka instead. Most of Sabaka was shot in India, but Karloff's and Victor Jory's scenes were all shot in Hollywood.[5]
The film was originally to be titled Gunga Ram, but RKO Pictures complained the title was too similar to their Gunga Din (1939). The picture was briefly renamed The Hindu for its May 15, 1953 premiere screening,[6] and was later again changed to Sabaka just before its general release in February 1955.[7][8]
Plot
Set in India, Gunga Ram, a young Indian boy, swears vengeance on the members of a religious death cult that murdered his sister Indria and her husband. The killings were ordered by the High Priestess of Sabaka (June Foray) and Ashok (Victor Jory). The Maharajah of Bakore disbelieves him, and when he turns to the Maharajah's General Pollegar (Boris Karloff), he is once again denied justice. Gunga Ram sets out with his two animal companions, a pet tiger and a trained elephant, to destroy the evil cult of Sabaka's fire shrine.
William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931) established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
Creighton Tull Chaney, known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film The Wolf Man (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard in Son of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), the Mummy in three pictures, and various other roles in many Universal horror films, including six films in their 1940s Inner Sanctum series, making him a horror icon. He also portrayed Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men (1939) and supporting parts in dozens of mainstream movies, including High Noon (1952), The Defiant Ones (1958), and numerous Westerns, musicals, comedies and dramas.
Targets is a 1968 American crime thriller film directed by Peter Bogdanovich in his theatrical directorial debut, and starring Tim O'Kelly, Boris Karloff, Nancy Hsueh, Bogdanovich, James Brown, Arthur Peterson and Sandy Baron. The film depicts two parallel narratives which converge during the climax: one follows Bobby Thompson, a seemingly ordinary and wholesome young man who embarks on an unprovoked killing spree; the other depicts Byron Orlok, an iconic horror film actor who is disillusioned by real-life violence and is contemplating retirement.
James Austin Gleason was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold."
Boris Karloff (1887-1969) was an English actor. He became known for his role as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 Frankenstein, leading to a long career in film, radio, and television.
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Torben Emil Meyer was a Danish-American character actor who appeared in more than 190 films in a 55-year career. He began his acting career in Europe before moving to the United States.
Mad Monster Party? is a 1967 stop-motion animated musical comedy film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions for Embassy Pictures. The film stars the voices of Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Gale Garnett, and Phyllis Diller. It tells the story of a mad scientist who achieves the secret of total destruction as he summons all the monsters to his island home to show it off while planning to retire as the head of the "Worldwide Organization of Monsters".
Unconquered is a 1947 American historical epic adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard. The supporting cast features Boris Karloff, Cecil Kellaway, Ward Bond, Howard da Silva, Katherine DeMille, C. Aubrey Smith and Mike Mazurki. Released by Paramount Pictures, the film depicts the violent struggles between American colonists and Native Americans on the western frontier in the mid-18th century during the 1763 Pontiac's Rebellion, primarily around Fort Pitt. The film is characterized by DeMille's lavish style, including colourful costumes and sets, thousands of extras, violence, and sensationalism.
The Black Castle is a 1952 American gothic horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday and Lon Chaney Jr. It was produced by William Alland. The film was made in the United States but premiered in Sweden.
Andy's Gang is a children's television program broadcast on NBC from August 20, 1955, to December 31, 1960, hosted by the actor Andy Devine. It was the successor to the radio and television program Smilin' Ed McConnell and His Buster Brown Gang. Devine took over the television program when McConnell died suddenly of a heart attack in 1954. Devine inherited a number of characters from the earlier show and the sponsor, Buster Brown shoes.
Voodoo Island is a 1957 American horror film directed by Reginald Le Borg and written by Richard H. Landau. The film stars Boris Karloff, with a cast including Elisha Cook Jr., Beverly Tyler and Rhodes Reason. It is set in the South Pacific and was filmed on Kauai, Hawaii back to back with Jungle Heat. Adam West appears in a small pre-"Batman" uncredited role.
Snake People a.k.a. Isle of the Snake People, is a 1968 Mexican horror film directed by Juan Ibáñez and starring Boris Karloff and Julissa.
The Incredible Invasion, also known as Alien Terror, is a 1968 Mexican science fiction film directed by Luis Enrique Vergara. It stars Boris Karloff, Yerye Beirute and Enrique Guzmán. It is the last film Karloff worked on before his death in 1969. It was filmed in May 1968, but was only released theatrically in 1971, 2 years after Karloff had died.
House of Evil a.k.a. Dance of Death, is a 1968 Mexican horror film directed by Luis Enrique Vergara and Jack Hill. It stars Boris Karloff and Julissa. It was filmed in May 1968, but released theatrically in 1972, three years after Karloff had died.
Fear Chamber, also released as The Torture Zone, is a 1968 Mexican horror film directed by Juan Ibáñez and starring Boris Karloff and Julissa. It was filmed in May 1968, but was only released theatrically in 1971, 2 years after Karloff had died.
Scott Allen Nollen is an American author known for writing about the history of film, music, literature and African American studies. He was born on April 2, 1963, in Harlan, Iowa. His father, Harold N. Nollen, served in the United States Coast Guard prior to running a successful petroleum distribution business, to which his mother, Shirley A. (Stoltz) Nollen, also contributed. Nollen was educated at the University of Iowa (1984-1989), where he received Bachelor's Degrees in Broadcasting and Film and Honors History, Phi Beta Kappa, and a Master's Degree in U.S., Modern European and African-American History. From 1991 to 2001, he served as an archivist and historian for the National Archives and Records Administration.
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Élisabeth Ercy is a German-born French actress. Making her film debut in Phaedra (1962) by Jules Dassin, she began a brief film career that included English-language roles, such as in the horror film The Sorcerers (1967). During the 1960s, she was in a relationship with actor Michael Caine.
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