On the one hand Old Bones of the River satirises Sanders of the River. The opening title offers a strong, albeit comic, critique of colonial rule in Africa, as it introduces ‘Darkest Africa where in primeval surroundings amidst crocodile-infested waters, a handful of Englishmen rule half a million natives – teaching the black man to play the white man’. The African students, naked except for their ‘Eton collars’ and satchels, prove more educated than their schoolteacher. The students have learnt ‘compound mathematics’ from the missionaries and the Africans are easily able to outsmart Tibbetts when he attempts to collect their taxes.

However, Old Bones of the River also reiterates and exaggerates the stereotypes of Sanders of the River as Hay’s character is transported into Africa. The film’s credits explain that the film is ‘based on the stories by Edgar Wallace’ and in its use of this narrative framework, the film establishes a racial division, culminating in a battle between the three white characters and a group of ‘cannibals’. This division is evident in advertisements for the film. For example, a two-page drawn advertisement in Today’s Cinema depicted Hay running, with the black baby under his arm, away from a group of Africans who were throwing spears at him (Today’s Cinema, 19 December 1938, 4-5).

The supporting characters from Wallace’s books – such as Bosambo and Hamilton – are largely played as dramatic figures. This is particularly noticeable in the scenes in which Hay does not feature, for example when Hamilton tells Saunders that ‘educated natives always bring trouble into the country. Oxford and the Gold Coast don’t mix’. When Bosambo delivers lines such as ‘we are loved as his children by the white King across the sea’ or ‘if they once get the blood lust of human sacrifice, no white man will live’, the scenes are played dramatically within, according to the reviews, an ‘exciting’ and ‘convincing’ recreation of Africa.

Furthermore, the character that most strongly critiques British rule, M’Bapi, is presented as the film’s villain, in contrast to the loyal, largely undressed figure of Bosambo. M’Bapi is dressed in a white suit, has studied overseas, and outsmarts Tibbetts. He thus represents the ‘civilised’ and, the film implies, dangerous African, asking ‘Am I a savage that I should be told what I shall eat and drink?’ and accusing Bosambo of ‘licking the white man’s hand’. His criticisms and claims are dismissed within the film, as M’Bapi is ultimately exposed as a reprehensible figure, driven by a thirst for power and drink.

Much of the film’s comedy is derived from cultural differences. For example, Tibbetts attempts to write down the names of the locals that he taxes, but is unable to pronounce or spell them. Many of the jokes here rely on familiar stereotypes; the Africans have different cognitive levels, understanding everything literally, so that, on learning that the earth revolves, they ‘waited for the playground to come round to them’; Tibbetts escapes because the superstitious tribe believe he is their God after a statue falls on him; when Tibbetts bathes the black child, he has rescued from a tribal sacrifice, he remarks ‘There’s a nice clean looking chap … I hope, so difficult to tell’.

The baby is seemingly used – as Today’s Cinema noted – to counteract the negative racial representations within the film. The use of a baby for this purpose suggests both the apparent difficulty of positive, ‘unthreatening’ adult representations and also the paternal attitude still dominant within films, as Hay looks after and protects the African child.

Tom Rice (March 2008)