When American newspaperman and adventurer Henry M. Stanley comes back from the western Indian wars, his editor James Gordon Bennett sends him to Africa to find Dr. David Livingstone, the missing Scottish missionary. Stanley finds Livingstone ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume.") blissfully doling out medicine and religion to the happy natives. His story is at first disbelieved.
Acting
Spencer Tracy's gruff charisma carries the whole expedition
Production
Dorothy Arzner's uncredited rewrite sharpened the romance
Director
Otto Brower
Spencer Tracy
Henry M. Stanley
Nancy Kelly
Eve Kingsley
Richard Greene
Gareth Tyce
Walter Brennan
Jeff Slocum
Charles Coburn
Lord Tyce
Cedric Hardwicke
Dr. David Livingstone
Henry Hull
James Gordon Bennett, Jr.
Henry Travers
John Kingsley
Miles Mander
Sir John Gresham
David Torrence
Mr. Cranston
Holmes Herbert
Frederick Holcomb
C. Montague Shaw
Sir Oliver French
Brandon Hurst
Sir Henry Forrester
Paul Harvey
Colonel Grimes
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Stanley never confirmed or denied the famous greeting 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume' — he first published it in his newspaper dispatch, and it became instant myth.
Released the same year as 'Gone with the Wind,' this was Fox's attempt at prestige adventure — but Tracy fought the studio over the romantic subplot they invented wholesale.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
US
