Directed by Ronald Neame and based on the 1961 novel by Max Catto, Mister Moses is a sweeping adventure film set in East Africa, starring Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. Blending post-colonial themes with biblical allegory, the film follows a reluctant hero who’s mistaken for a modern-day Moses and tasked with leading a village to safety.
Plot Summary
Joe Moses (Robert Mitchum), a smooth-talking con man, is discovered unconscious in a river by a group of African villagers—eerily echoing the story of baby Moses in the bulrushes. The villagers, deeply Christian, believe his arrival is divine. Their land is about to be flooded by a dam project, and the local missionary Reverend Anderson (Alexander Knox) and his daughter Julie (Carroll Baker) blackmail Moses into leading the tribe to a new settlement.
As Moses guides the villagers—riding atop an elephant named Emily, whom he commands in Hindustani from his WWII service—he faces sabotage, betrayal, and spiritual reckoning. Along the way, he clashes with Ubi (Raymond St. Jacques), an educated African who sees through Moses’s schemes and tries to usurp his influence. The journey mirrors the biblical Exodus, complete with a dramatic “parting of the waters” at the dam.
Cast Highlights
- Robert Mitchum as Joe Moses
- Carroll Baker as Julie Anderson
- Alexander Knox as Rev. Anderson
- Ian Bannen as District Officer
- Raymond St. Jacques as Ubi
- Orlando Martins as the Chief
- Reginald Beckwith as Parkhurst
Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
- Filmed entirely on location in Kenya, including Lake Naivasha and Amboseli National Park
- The opening scene was shot at Ruaka Trading Center, while the river sequence was filmed nearly 45 miles away
- Mitchum’s co-star Carroll Baker reportedly tried to seduce him during filming, but her efforts were thwarted when Shirley MacLaine, Mitchum’s old flame, showed up on location
- The power station depicted in the film is actually a diesel station in Nairobi, mocked up to resemble a hydroelectric dam
- In 1962, United Artists originally wanted John Wayne for the lead role
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