El tesoro de la diosa blanca (1983)

User Rating:

3.7/10   

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Jesus Franco (story)
Jesus Franco (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 June 1983 (Spain)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror

Plot:

A group of adventurers head to a primitive tribe in Africa to find a treasure of diamonds and a beautiful white girl who was lost years ago and was made the tribe's goddess. |

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Search Party | Jungle | Female Nudity | Crocodile

Cast

Katja Bienert	...	Diana
Antonio Mayans	...	Fred Pereira (as Robert Foster)
Aline Mess	...	Noba
Albino Graziani	...	Payton
Javier Maiza	...	Rofo
Olivier Mathot	...	Mathieu
Mari Carmen Nieto	...	Lita (as Ana Stern)
Daniel White	...	Mr. De Winter (as Dan Villers)
Lina Romay	...	Hermine
Daniel Katz	...	Pilot
Yolanda Mobita	...	Girl (as Yolanda Mubita)

Also Known As:

Diamonds of Kilimandjaro (USA)
Les diamants du Kilimanjaro (France)
The Treasure of the White Goddess (International: English title)

Runtime:

83 min | 95 min (alternate version)

Country:

Spain | France

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | West Germany:18

Company:

Elite Films

Trivia:

Some animal scenes in the jungle (such as a charging rhinoceros or a crocodile being killed) are inserts that are not in CinemaScope format. They are stock footage probably taken from an old documentary (such as Mondo cane (1962)).

Goofs:

Continuity: The bottle of whiskey De Winter accepts from Mathieu is made from tinted glass, but the whiskey bottle De Winter is drinking from later is made from clear glass.

Fails at the exploitation basics

Jess Franco makes exploitation films, and he has made tons of them. Franco is responsible for some of the most shocking films in cinema history, and god bless him for it. Unfortunately, The Diamonds of Kilominjaro is a truly awful movie that is not up to his usual standards.

Exploitation films should be judged on story, sex, and gore. What else is there? This film fails on most of those benchmarks. The plot is paper thin, placing a nubile young girl in the jungle among cannibals. We really don't get information on why she and her father were there in the first place. As expected, her father is the "Big White Chief" and she becomes a goddess, sitting in trees, naked. Add fortune hunters and precious stones, and you have your basic rescue the girl for greedy intentions plot line. The characters are stock, not adding an ounce of believability to the proceedings.

Gore? None, or at least very little. This film is often mentioned in the same vein as the classic Italian cannibal movies. Those seeking that type of gore need to run the other way. Save for one cheap be-heading, this movie features surprisingly little blood and guts.

As best I can tell the only reason this movie exists is so Katja Bienert, Aliene Mess, and Mari Carmen Neieto could run around naked. Actually "Lita" (Mari Carmen Neieto) does the full frontal heavy lifting, while the two jungle ladies are bare chested throughout. Yes, there are love scenes....probably the most sterile Franco has ever supervised. The women are beautiful, but nothing here to really make this movie an erotic classic either.

This movie just reeks of low budget buffoonery. The sets are laughable. The acting is horrid, and the editing is confusing. There is no real story to hold this together, and not enough of a budget (or effort) to shock or titillate. I think Franco fans have come to expect more out of the master of exploitation.