Here we have a glorious Technicolour adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling stories, nowadays forgotten after being eclipsed by Disney's cartoon film of 1967. Its status is ill-deserved, however, as this turns out to be a thrilling and eventful movie along the same action-packed lines as THE THIEF OF BAGDAD.
It's hardly surprising, given that the two films share both Zoltan Korda as director and Sabu as star. THE JUNGLE BOOK serves as a loose adaptation of a handful of the original Mowgli stories, featuring all the animal characters that Kipling made famous and integrating them into a storyline that's very much of its era.
Once the Tarzan-like jungle adventures are dispensed with, the plot involves a trio of greedy hunters and their quest for a mythical city of gold. Along the way, there are plenty of animal encounters which utilise some cutting edge technology for their day; those giant snakes still look impressive even now, and I'd for sure take them over lazy, modern-day CGI.
Overall the film has a pleasant and whimsical tone, and the bookend scenes involving an old beggar narrating the tale are very well handled. Sabu is in his element, and doesn't put a foot wrong, and there's enough drama to satisfy both child and adult viewers.
