Sorcerers' Village
Cast & Crew
Capt. Hassoldt Davis
Burgess Meredith
Ruth Staudinger Davis
Max Glanbard
Sidney Kaufman
Sidney Kaufman
Film Details
Synopsis
In French West Africa, Capt. Hassoldt Davis and his wife, photographer Ruth Staudinger Davis, record their expedition in search of the origin and practice of modern sorcery in the Ivory Coast. In particular, the couple search for the ancient village of Yho, a center of witchcraft. In the course of the journey, the couple record their encounters with the challenging terrain, exotic animals and the ritual ceremonies of various native peoples. The documentary also records sixteen ritual dances, several which are put on film for the first time. Upon finding Yho, the Davises photograph the strange birthing rite of the chieftain's wife: When the woman goes into labor, two witch doctors hypnotize a young female child and during her trance, fling her back and forth between them. One witch doctor has a knife which he jabs around the child in order to free her from any surrounding evil spirits. This is repeated throughout the duration of the woman's labor. The ritual reaches its high point when the hypnotized child rises upward from one of the witch doctor's arms and onto his chest and stays there suspended without any visible assistance.
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of the film was Voodoo Village. According to a New York Times August 1952 article, The Sorcerers' Village was to be released through Souvaine Selective Pictures, Inc. in the fall of that year. The same article indicates the production was financed primarily by the French government and UNESCO. Ernest Hemingway was reported as in negotiations to write and speak the accompanying narration for the film.
An August 1957 Hollywood Reporter news item indicates the filmmakers had secured distribution through Film Representatives, Inc. According to NYSA records, Sorcerers' Village was approved for distribution in New York State in 1957; it subsequently opened in New York City in July 1958. An October 1960 Motion Picture Herald review lists the running time as 62 minutes and indicates the film was in general release in September 1960. According to reviews, the film was the first to use an all-native musical score in a film of its nature. Music was recorded by the expedition and other original tribal music recordings were provided by renowned ethnomusicologist Laura Boulton. Eleven of the sixteen ritual dances recorded had purportedly never been seen in a motion picture.
