THE BEAST OF BORNEO (1934) Mae Stuart, John Preston & Eugene Sigaloff | Drama | B&W

The Beast of Borneo is a 1934 American Pre-Code film directed by Harry Garson. The film is made up mostly of leftover footage from Universal Studios's East of Borneo, made in 1931. A couple of added dialogue scenes were spliced into what was essentially a travelogue and a series of close-ups of an enraged orangutan.

SYNOPSIS
A crazed scientist needs primates to conduct experiments to prove his own theory of evolution, so he organizes an expedition into the jungles of Borneo to capture the animals he needs.

A noted big game hunter, Bob Ward (John Preston), is visited in the jungles of Borneo by Russian scientist Boris Borodoff (Eugene Sigaloff) and his lovely assistant Alma Thorne (Mae Stuart), who want to prove the evolutionary link between man and beast. Ward at first declines to lead the scientists to a tribe of orangutans, but Alma's charms finally convince him. Along with Ward's pet orangutan, Borneo Joe, they track the apes and actually manage to capture a male orangutan, whom Dr. Borodoff anaesthetizes with a shot of whiskey. Borodoff, it soon appears, is quite insane—and Bob, in an effort to calm him down, is knocked unconscious and dragged into the jungle by the tormented orangutan.

CAST & CREW
John Preston as Bob Ward
Mae Stuart as Alma Thorne
Eugene Sigaloff as Dr. Boris Borodoff
Val Duran as Darmo
Doris Brook as Nahnda
Alexander Schoenberg as Controller Derrick van de Mark
John Peters as Mr. Kruger

Directed by Harry Garson
Written by Alfred Hustwick (screenplay), Alfred Hustwick (story), Frank J. Murray (story)
Produced by Harry Garson
Cinematography Lewis W. Physioc
Edited by William Faris
Production company Far East Productions
Distributed by DuWorld Pictures
Release date April 14, 1934
Running time 63 minutes
Country United States
Language English

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