The Mutia (Omoolo) Escarpment
Many fans of classic films, especially jungle adventures, are familiar with the '31 MGM film Trader Horn, starring Harry Carey, Edwena Boothe, and Duncan Renaldo. It was the first major studio production to be filmed in Africa. The production history is in itself, fascinating and filled with many perils and challenges. Originally Trader Horn was to be the initial entry that would lead to the introduction of Tarzan, in a sequel....but that idea never came to pass.
The film depicts the adventures of real-life trader and adventurer Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn (Harry Carey), while on safari in Africa, but the vast majority of the story is fiction. Horn's trusted native translator, guide, and majordomo is Ranchero. Ranchero is to Horn, as Tonto is to the Lone Ranger and Robin is to Batman...well, you get the idea.
Ranchero is played by a man named Mutia Omoolo. Omoolu was born in 1890 in Machakos, Kenya. A chief of the Masai tribe in Kenya, he was hired for the cast of when they shot in that country, and was later brought to Hollywood for reshoots of the scenes he shot in Africa.
While the "Trader Horn Meets Tarzan" idea never became reality, an interesting link took place.
Edgar Rice Burroughs had given permission to MGM to film Tarzan The Ape Man, starring Johnny Weissmueller, and the series of films that followed. As was par for the course, films were 'based on' or 'adapted from' or 'inspired by' the books that characters like Tarzan appeared in.
Tarzan The Ape Man tells us that Tarzan lives on a towering singular mountain that juts up from a plain in the heart of Africa. This plain is surrounded by desert and swamp. To get to the plateau where Tarzan dwelled you may either climb the treacherous rocky incline or find the numerous hidden caverns that wind through the mountain's heart. If you do chose this route make certain you use the correct set ot caverns for there are evidently several plateaus and valleys on the sides of the mountain, accessible only by hidden caverns and pathways. Upon these plateaus and in these hidden valleys exist lost cities that come to light in the future films, these are Palandria, Kor, Palmyra and the Blue Valley.
This towering singular mountain where Tarzan lives is named The Mutia Escarpment, in honor of the Native Chief Mutia Omoolo.
Sources: IMBD, Wikipedia, Dennis Power.
The film depicts the adventures of real-life trader and adventurer Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn (Harry Carey), while on safari in Africa, but the vast majority of the story is fiction. Horn's trusted native translator, guide, and majordomo is Ranchero. Ranchero is to Horn, as Tonto is to the Lone Ranger and Robin is to Batman...well, you get the idea.
Ranchero is played by a man named Mutia Omoolo. Omoolu was born in 1890 in Machakos, Kenya. A chief of the Masai tribe in Kenya, he was hired for the cast of when they shot in that country, and was later brought to Hollywood for reshoots of the scenes he shot in Africa.
While the "Trader Horn Meets Tarzan" idea never became reality, an interesting link took place.
Edgar Rice Burroughs had given permission to MGM to film Tarzan The Ape Man, starring Johnny Weissmueller, and the series of films that followed. As was par for the course, films were 'based on' or 'adapted from' or 'inspired by' the books that characters like Tarzan appeared in.
Tarzan The Ape Man tells us that Tarzan lives on a towering singular mountain that juts up from a plain in the heart of Africa. This plain is surrounded by desert and swamp. To get to the plateau where Tarzan dwelled you may either climb the treacherous rocky incline or find the numerous hidden caverns that wind through the mountain's heart. If you do chose this route make certain you use the correct set ot caverns for there are evidently several plateaus and valleys on the sides of the mountain, accessible only by hidden caverns and pathways. Upon these plateaus and in these hidden valleys exist lost cities that come to light in the future films, these are Palandria, Kor, Palmyra and the Blue Valley.
This towering singular mountain where Tarzan lives is named The Mutia Escarpment, in honor of the Native Chief Mutia Omoolo.
Sources: IMBD, Wikipedia, Dennis Power.
