Saw this at the San Val Drive-in, Sun Valley, CA ..... During the war, most theaters had "Black-outs" ... and they would stop the movie for awhile, and turn out all the lights, till the warning was lifted ....I was fascinated that the Snake & Tiger could talk to the little boy, that memory has stayed with me all my life ..... most of the animals wanted to Eat him,but he had a gift of gab which got him off the hook most of the time.The Theater was located on San Fernando Road, near Lockheed Airport and many nights the movies were interrupted by low-flying aircraft, or the Bright searchlights along Empire Ave.Another GREAT depiction of this was a later film, "1941" with John Beluishe

When the Second World War began three brilliant Hungarians Jews who had made a name for themselves in London –-the impresario/director Alexander and his two brothers Zoltan, also a director, and Vincent, artist and art director-- escaped to Hollywood and started making movies. After the international success of their superb London Film Productions, among them "The Thief of Bagdad" (1940), "Rembrandt" (1936) and "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), the three began all over again in distant Hollywood. With its Indian themes and actors, few viewers today have recognized that most of this production was shot in 1941-1942 on Hollywood sound stages, primarily the low-budget Hollywood Center Studios on No. Las Palmas, not far from the more luxurious Paramount Studios. Producer Korda with his brother Zoltan as director were brave enough to mix a native-born Indian actor, Sabu ("Elephant Boy") with two Hollywood star character actors, Spanish-born Joseph Calleia ("Touch of Evil") and Sicilian-born Franco Puglia, both heavily made up. Eternally loyal as the Kordas were to their native countrymen, they never forgot to hire their fellow expatriates: the astonishing music is by Budapest-born Milklos Rozsa ("Spellbound") and orchestrated by Eugene Zador; the second-unit work, the animal sequences and those probably shot on location in India, were directed by Andre de Toth, born in Mako in old Austria-Hungary. American born Bill Hornbeck who edited the Korda's "Scarlet Pimpernel" in London did the cutting and Lee Garmes ("Night of the Hunter') and the Technicolor pioneer, W. Howard Greene, did the cinematography. The excellent sound effects are not credited.

Rudyard Kipling's classic story of an infant boy in India stolen from his mother and later raised by wolves in the jungle is given colorfully cinematic treatment from the Korda Brothers, who skimp quite a bit on Baloo the Bear but give us lots of other fanciful things: talking snakes, a cursed fortune of gold, a forest fire, and villainous human characters more deadly than just about any of the animals. Sabu has the lead, and though Mowgli grows up in one quick cut from the film-editor (and learns the English language nearly as quickly!), Sabu provides a sturdy, confident center for the picture and nearly holds the narrative together. The cinematography is occasionally beautiful, though the choppiness of the continuity (and the repetitive shots of tiger Shere Khan) keeps the movie from really blooming. Too much of the mid-section follows three would-be thieves in and out of the jungle, and I felt bad for the monkeys in the Lost City (we never see them escape the fire, and indeed hear their howls over a shot of the ruins). Still, "Jungle Book" is visually impressive and mostly entertaining if you're not too demanding. **1/2 from ****

I found the film simple and enchanting. maybe its because i came across the film as a child, i cant remember, films are so over the top nowadays its a pleasure to go back to simple things although an Indian speaking perfect English is incredible! Haha There was so much more effort put into the films of those days Today everything gets run through a computer for amazing effects but fake. The jungle book actions are all real (so far as i know from what i see) They did their own stunts ;) Anyone who moans about it really is a sourpuss.xXxPeacexXx myspace.com/wishcard