Stanley and Livingstone (1939)

65% of users liked it
(104 ratings)

Twentieth Century-Fox borrowed Spencer Tracy, from MGM for the sprawling (yet economically produced) historical drama Stanley and Livingstone. Tracy plays 19th-century American journalist Henry M. Stanley, an adventure-prone sort who is assigned by his editor (Henry Hull) to locate lost Scottish… More Twentieth Century-Fox borrowed Spencer Tracy, from MGM for the sprawling (yet economically produced) historical drama Stanley and Livingstone. Tracy plays 19th-century American journalist Henry M. Stanley, an adventure-prone sort who is assigned by his editor (Henry Hull) to locate lost Scottish missionary David Livingstone (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) in darkest Africa. There are perils aplenty before the inevitable meeting in the clearing, capped by the immortal courtesy "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Though seriously ill, Livingstone is content ministering to the natives, declining Stanley's invitation to return home. Upon arriving back to civilization, Stanley tells his story of Dr. Livingstone, but without tangible proof, he is accused of perpetrating a fraud. Only at the very last moment is Stanley vindicated; at this point, he decides to go back to Africa to continue the late Dr. Livingstone's work. This didn't happen in real life, nor is the studio-dictated romance between Spencer Tracy and Nancy Kelly completely copacetic with the facts; outside of this, Stanley and Livingstone comes pretty close to living up to Fox's ad-campaign slogan "The Most Heroic Exploit the World Has Known." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.
Written By: Philip Dunne, Julien Josephson
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Aug 4, 1939 Wide
On DVD: Aug 2, 1990

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's dramatically sound, but factually unsound.

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Cast

            Spencer Tracy as Henry M. Stanley

            Nancy Kelly as Eve Kingsley

            Cedric Hardwicke as Dr. David Livingstone

            Richard Greene as Gareth Tyce

            Walter Brennan as Jeff Slocum

            Charles Coburn as Lord Tyce

            Henry Hull as James G. Bennett Jr.

            Henry Travers as John Kingsley

            Miles Mander as Sir John Gresham

            David Torrence as Mr. Cranston

            Paul Stanton as Capt. Webb

            Holmes Herbert as Frederick Holcomb

            Brandon Hurst as Sir Henry Forrester

            Hassan Said as Hassan

            Paul Harvey as Col. Grimes

            Russell Hicks as Commissioner

            Frank Dae as Commissioner

            Joseph Crehan as Morehead

            Robert Middlemass as Carmichael

            Frank Jaquet as Senator

            Clarence Derwent as Sir Francis Vane

            Jack Clisby as Mombay

            Vernon Dent as Newspaperman

            Harry Harvey as Man

            James M. McNamara as Committeeman

            Frank Orth as Man with Pills

            C. Montague Shaw as Sir Oliver French

            Emmett E. Smith as Susi

            Emmett Vogan as Bennett's Secretary

            Billy Watson as Copy Boy

            Everett Brown as Bongo

            Dick Stanley as Lieutenant

            William Williams as Mace

            Tom Coleman as Corporal

            William Dunn as Chuma
See full cast

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