Tiger Hunt

Hunting tigers, with elephants, in the southern Himalayas

Warning: animals *were* harmed in the making of this film. A Himalayan hybrid of travelogue, natural history and adventure film, it follows a hunting party in Nepal, pursuing tigers with the help of elephants - and knocking off a few leopards and deer while they're at it. The film and its protagonists lavish care and respect on the elephants and don't appear to feel any inconsistency between this and their slaying of other animals.

The footage was shot by Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Marshman Bailey, a Himalayas-based British intelligence officer with a passion on the side for trophy hunting, photography - and film. The film would seem to be based on 16mm footage Bailey had shot some years earlier, blown up to 35mm and turned into a narrative with commentary and music by professional filmmakers, for release to cinemas as a novelty interest item.