British Pathe

L/S of a raft being punted along a river. The raft has a roof on six poles protecting the travellers from the sun. Shot from on the raft with two men sitting on the front. Intertitle reads: "We travel danger-laden water trails into a land of invisible perils." Shot of a raft from on board another. high...

L/S of a raft being punted along a river. The raft has a roof on six poles protecting the travellers from the sun. Shot from on the raft with two men sitting on the front. Intertitle reads: "We travel danger-laden water trails into a land of invisible perils." Shot of a raft from on board another. high angle shot of one of the rafts being propelled along. "The plot, and scene, thicken." M/S of small canoes being manoeuvred through fleshy undergrowth. Various shots of our intrepid explorers on their canoes. "Deep in the interior, we discover a settlement, bordering on the cannibal domain." The party approaches a settlement. They wave their arms and walking sticks. "The villagers assemble - we may soon be well stewed." L/S of group of tribesmen and women with white explorers standing amongst them. "Dyak pygmies - little but strong, (like an onion.)" Panning shot of some of the pygmies. One of the men takes a piece of wood from his hair and puts it through his nose (!) Camera continues to pan across the group. Another pygmy puts a piece of wood through his nose. "Genuine wild men - the kind you have read about." C/U of a young pygmy. C/U of another man - grinning widely at the camera. "Here are the wild women." reads an intertitle followed by a shot of three bare breasted women wrapping pieces of fabric around their lower bodies and laughing uproariously (presumably they are only putting these "skirts" on for the benefit of the prudish Pathe viewers! C/U of some young boys (6 or 7 years old?) smoking. They laugh. C/U of one of the boys smoking. We see a family of Dyaks sitting high in the trees on a kind of platform. "They hunt with blowpipes and poisoned darts - and get all puffed up about it." M/S of group of pygmies practising their hunting techniques. C/U of one of the hunters blowing on his pipe. C/U of the hunter as he takes out darts which seem to be stuck into a coconut. M/S of a group of Dyaks making music by pounding large sticks on a large branch which is lying on the ground. C/U of a child playing a nose flute (intertitle jokes that if he gets a cold he loses his job!) "Happy ending with clinch" intertitle is followed by a Dyak couple "kissing" which involves pressing their noses together. They laugh. Was an item in Pathe Pictorial issue number 598.

Safety print only. Originally decomposed and destroyed.