by Hal Erickson
synopsis
The feature-length documentary Below the Sahara was the latest offering from the prolific filmmaking team of Armand and Michaela Denis. The film was lensed during the Denis' expedition along the African coast. Highlights include a tribal gorilla hunt and a battle to the death between two elephants. The scene that really brought 'em in, however, involved a group of curious penguins reacting comically to a short-wave radio. Below the Sahara was co-written by Burton Benjamin, later one of the prime movers of TV's 20th Century series. When first distributed by RKO in 1953, the film was ballyhooed as "The Last Word in Wild African Thrills."
