X
- 1966
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
- 1966
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
Summary During the 1800s, a safari guide, two elephant hunters and their crew run into trouble with the natives in the South African veld when they refuse to offer gifts to the tribesmen.
Written By: Clint Johnston, Don Peters
- 1966
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
- 1966
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
The Naked Prey
64
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
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Where to Watch
Summary During the 1800s, a safari guide, two elephant hunters and their crew run into trouble with the natives in the South African veld when they refuse to offer gifts to the tribesmen.
Written By: Clint Johnston, Don Peters
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
64
75% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
17% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
64
75% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
17% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The Naked Prey has the brute force of great pulp; there's little dialogue, and even much of that is untranslated African dialect. Yet much as Wilde strives to express man's animal nature, he isn't crude or culturally insensitive, so much as sharply attuned to the hideous offenses that put his character in such a bind.
The Naked Prey inverts many of the conventions of Hollywood films about "the Dark Continent." The warriors are given more character depth than Wilde's protagonist, and the film seems seriously engaged in a debate over whether man is driven by Darwinian brutality or rises above it.
Cornel Wilde directed and stars in this nearly wordless 1966 story of a stripped white man hunted by African natives. It has several elements in common with Passion in the Desert. [09 Jul 1998, p.E3]
An early cinema staple, the chase film, is resurrected, pure and simple, by star-producer-director Cornel Wilde.
A purified chase film, Naked Prey nevertheless is at its most affecting in the childlike scenes between the main character and a young native girl (played by Bella Randles) he befriends along the way.
The film itself remains pure fantasy. Sure, it's nice to think you could outrun half a dozen hand-picked African warriors simply because you'd been to college and read Thoreau, but the truth is they'd nail you before you got across the river and into the trees.
A poor and tasteless motion-picture entertainment, redeemed somewhat by its authentic African setting and its effective use of tribal drums and native music as the accompaniment for a primitive jungle chase.
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination