Call Me Bwana is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas, starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg.
A secret moon capsule containing vital government secrets goes off course and lands in the African jungle, in the territory of the hostile Ekele tribe. The U.S. government recruits Matt Merriwether (Hope), an experienced Great White Hunter and the author of a book about the Ekele, to find the probe. What they don't know is that Matt is actually a fraud who published his uncle's writings as his own and has never been to Africa in his life. Matt is forced to go along with the mission to prevent his deception from being exposed. He travels to Africa under the protection of Frederica Larson (Edie Adams), a secret agent. Meanwhile, the Soviets send the beautiful agent Luba (Ekberg) to act as a Honey Trap so Matt will lead them to the probe.
Released by The Rank Organisation in the United Kingdom and United Artists in the United States, Call Me Bwana was Eon Productions' only film not to be affiliated with the James Bond film series until 2014's The Silent Storm (though Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman produced some other films, just not under the Eon banner).
Call Me Bwana contains examples of:
- Animal Assassin: Luba's "father" Ezra Mungo (Lionel Jeffries) slips a giant spider under the side of Matt's tent. It crawls on his arm, waking him up. Matt watches it in terror for a few seconds, then calmly brushes it off, then leaps up and starts firing wildly at the floor.
- Animal Stampede: While traveling through the jungle, Matt and his party hear what sounds like a stampede of elephants crashing through the jungle. Matt is sent after it, and finds to his relief that it's actually just a lone baby elephant.
- As Himself: Golfer Arnold Palmer appears in a scene where Matt's party stumbles upon a country club, where Palmer and Matt play golf.
- Bait-and-Switch Character Intro: Matt is introduced in what looks like a jungle hut, with walls made of straw. Then he opens his window, revealing that he actually lives in an elaborately decorated apartment in Manhattan.
- Cargo Cult: The Ekele worship the moon capsule as a god, and threaten death on anyone who takes it away.
- Censor Suds: Luba visits Matt in his tent while he's taking a bath. He invites her in, saying the Jungle Jazz bubble bath will cover everything.
- Credits Gag: The opening credits includes a humorous disclaimer: "Any resemblance between characters in this film to human beings is purely coincidental, accidental and unintentional...positively!"
- Cyanide Pill: Matt is given some of these ("One crunch, oblivion"), as well as a poison needle to wear in his lapel in case he can't get to the pills on time. Luba, who doesn't know the needle is poisonous, uses it to repair a rip in Matt's pants, to his terror.
- Double Take: Some goons go into Matt's darkened tent to capture him, not knowing he's been chased out by a lion cub. As the goons carry the cub out wrapped in a sheet, Matt walks by, wearing a Modesty Towel. One of the goons does a double take.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Luba switches sides after falling in love with Matt.
- Idiosyncratic Wipe: A burning film effect is used before the fire part of Matt's initiation.
- Initiation Ceremony: Matt's initiation into the Ekele has two parts. First, he has to stand very still while tribesmen throw spears that are supposed to miss him by a few inches. There are skeletons left over from initiates who were killed by a bad throw. The second part requires him to swallow fire, causing smoke to come out of his shoes.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Mungo refuses to let his goons shoot Matt no matter how many easy opportunities they have because he wants his death to look like an accident.
- Ransacked Room: Matt goes to his hotel room and finds that it's been ransacked by Soviet spies.
- Slip into Something More Comfortable: When Matt knocks on Luba's hotel room door, she tells him she's going to change into something more comfortable, which turns out to be a bathrobe.
- Title Drop: At the beginning of the movie, Matt's maid calls him Mr. Merriwether, and he says, "Don't be so formal. Call me Bwana." He gives another title drop to Luba at the end of the movie.
- Title Theme Tune: The song sung by Bob Hope that plays over the end credits.
- Tomboyish Name: Matt is told that an agent named Fred Larson will meet him on the plane. He's surprised to learn that Fred is short for Frederica.
- Tribal Carry: When the party finally reaches the Ekele, the tribe members tie their ankles and wrists to sticks to carry them into their village.
- Undercrank: Used in the scene where the capsule's rocket is activated while it's strapped to a truck, causing the truck to drive in circles at high speed.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Matt is given a radio to wear around his neck. For safety's sake, Frederica gives Matt a fake radio and hides the real one between her breasts, where only a cad would look.
