1964's "Dingaka" proved a rarity even for Joseph E. Levine's Embassy Pictures, a dramatic feature from South Africa's documentary director Jamie Uys (best known for his award winning "The Gods Must Be Crazy" from 1980), offering much splendor on actual locations with local tribes and customs playing a major part overall. The crux of the story revolves around the tribal witch doctor, a cruel and wicked charlatan who enriches himself by holding everyone in the superstitious grip of fear. A defeated stick fighter comes to him for strong medicine, which requires the fighter to eat the heart of an innocent little girl, her vengeful father seeking justice not only for his child but also his fallen wife. The witch doctor puts a curse on the grief stricken parent, who then follows the stick fighter to the big city, where the white man's law cannot prove the accused to be guilty of the crime while imprisoning his pursuer for attempted murder. Stanley Baker plays his defending attorney, initially dismayed when his client escapes back to the tribe, but determined to prove the misdeeds of the witch doctor to dispel his evil power. The first half tends to drag in showcasing music and dance, but once Baker is introduced midway through the pace picks up considerably, leading to a satisfactory climax where one man must choose to defy the gods. Juliet Prowse adds little to the dispensable role of Baker's pregnant wife, but his reliable presence anchors the film for Western audiences.
