The Naked Prey

This tough survival movie set in the South African veldt stars Cornel Wilde as the sole survivor of a safari group who, despite his advice and warnings, make the fatal mistake of deliberately ignoring native customs and pay a heavy price for it…

Set during the colonial era, Wilde, who simply is referred to as ‘Man’ - leads a group of unscrupulous elephant hunters through the veldt when the small group enter the territory of a native tribe. At first, the head of the tribe reacts politely to the intruders and trespassers, merely expecting gifts in exchange for letting the strangers pass through their land and hunting grounds. Despite Man’s advise to hand over some gifts and return the initially welcoming gestures, the other Safari members not only ignore the professional tour guides’ advice but one of the two white men (played by Gert van den Bergh) makes no secret of his disdain towards the ‘savage and primitive’ natives. In short, he wouldn’t dream of presenting said tribe with presents, instead reminding Man that he is merely the tour guide but he himself is the paying client… leaving the tribesmen empty-handed and humiliated.

Sure enough, after a particularly savage elephant hunt during which van den Bergh excels in cruelty the camping hunters are attacked by the very tribe they insulted and taken captive. In the village, one after another of the Safari members meet a truly horrible end: one is covered in clay and roasted alive over a spitfire, Patrick Mynhardt’s character (the second white hunter) is bound, tarred and feathered only to be chased to death by the female villagers. As for van den Bergh, he too is bound and then thrown into a ring of fire which he shares with a… cobra! Suffice to say only one emerges alive from this sizzling situation, and yes, it is King Cobra!
For Man however the natives have something special in store, for he is given the ‘Lion’s Chance’ – meaning that after having been stripped butt-naked he is forced to run across the open wilderness, pursued by Ken Gampu and his warriors. Thus begins a merciless chase for life during which the hunters become the hunted and vice versa – it is literally survival of the fittest! As if being chased by enraged tribesmen isn’t threatening enough, Man has to fend off heaps of poisonous vipers, hungry lions, crocodiles, vultures, and what have you (thank god he is spared confrontations with poisonous spiders!). As hunger, thirst, heatstroke and general exhaustion set in the odds don’t look good for our lonesome hero, but Man is not only as tough as nails but also boxing clever and cunning, plus, he is acquainted with the hostile territory. Will he come out trumps or fall prey to this unforgiving land?

Cornel Wilde not only stars but also produced and directed, and obviously this was a project close to his heart. The story is loosely inspired by the real-life drama of American explorer John Coulter who, in 1809, was captured by Blackfoot Indians, stripped naked and pursued for miles and miles across the Montana prairie.
Wilde’s version was updated and transferred to Africa, mainly for budget reasons. Not that it does the story any harm mind you! Wilde, an extremely athletically built man with extraordinary stamina, is utterly believable as the tour guide who finds himself at the wrong end – and the wrong side – of what had started out as a straightforward business transaction.
The exotic and deeply atmospheric landscape of South Africa makes for a naturally impressive ‘movie set’ and the various shots (including stock footage) of the animal world are equally intriguing – further enhanced by the sound of tribal drums.
As expected, the dialogue is kept to an absolute minimum and is in any case of secondary importance although it would help if the conversations between the native tribes members (spoken in Nguni dialects) would have at least some sort of translation.
The Naked Prey (1965) is a walk on the wild side in the truest sense and well worth a look!

Bonus features on this Dual Format Edition include:

• Gorgeous 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• New and exclusive interview with film historian Sheldon Hall
• Original theatrical trailer
• 28-PAGE BOOKLET featuring the historical account that provided the basis for the film, an interview with Wilde and archival imagery