I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Don't believe the publicity photos; even though Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum starred in two romances together, there were no fond feelings off screen. The year after they starred in The Lusty Men and had a notoriously low opinion of one another, they reluctantly reunited for White Witch Doctor, a period piece about a missionary's work in Africa.Susan Hayward, a young widow, travels to the Congo, but Robert Mitchum, who has lived there for many years, warns her about the dangers of staying. It's the turn of the century, so women doctors are a novelty and not highly respected. The natives won't take to her, he claims, and the insects and animals can be deadly. But it's Susan Hayward-no warning will stop her! Bob escorts her to her assigned village because he and Walter Slezak believe they can find gold as a natural resource, and along the way, she's faced with many obstacles. Everything Bob warned her about is true, but Suzy is as strong as she always is and refuses to give up.It feels like most of the movie is spent observing native ceremonies, dances, rituals, and medical practices, but those scenes probably make up about one-third of the running time. The rest of the plot feels a little thin and improbable. Upon her arrival, Suzy claims she's studied dozens of native languages, but she isn't able to speak to anyone without an interpreter. Bob fights off an enraged gorilla, and after getting mauled by a ferocious lion, a young man is seen to only have a few scratches on his chest. But if you like movies like Mogambo, Untamed, or The African Queen, you'll be able to sit through this one. I love both the leads, so I found it entertaining, but it did feel a little long in the tooth after a while.

I hate to disillusion all you commentators who think that SUSAN HAYWARD and ROBERT MITCHUM really went to Africa to film WHITE WITCH DOCTOR. A lot of the stock footage was filmed in Africa and used throughout, but the stars and the supporting players were all photographed on Fox's studio lot, never setting a foot outside the studio except for location scenes filmed elsewhere in California.And the story, watchable enough as it is, is not exactly worthy of comparison to either THE African QUEEN or MOGAMBO. In fact, in barren outline, it sounds more like material for a B-picture, a typical '40s jungle film that might have starred Johnny Weissmuller as the big white hunter and fake studio sets to shown tribal natives going into their frenzied dances.However, the African footage is blended so well into the studio shots that it's easy to see why some think that this was a film entirely shot on location in Africa. It wasn't.SUSAN HAYWARD and ROBERT MITCHUM do competent enough work as the dedicated nurse and the would-be treasure hunter, who uses the pretext of being Hayward's guide into Bakuba territory in order to do a hasty search for hidden treasure so that he can inform his companion, WALTER SLEZANK, of its whereabouts. Slezak plays his usual smarmy standard villain role with relish.Nothing spectacular happens and the fake gorilla is laughably obvious--but it has its moments of danger and suspense that make it passable enough as moderately interesting entertainment.

I rather enjoyed this film even though it was a little slow in some places. The cinematography alone should have garnered an Oscar nomination (if it didn't) as the settings in Africa were brilliantly and beautifully photographed. The story revolves around a nurse played by Hayward who goes to Africa to assist a woman doctor in taking care of the sick people there. Susan Hayward plays the nurse and upon arrival meets a businessman played by Robert Mitchum. He thinks she's crazy for staying and she's definitely going to stay! Hayward's and Mitchum's lives become endangered when someone decides to make greed the name of the game. Definitely worth watching and sorry it is not available on video.

When I was about thirteen, I saw this movie and have never forgotten it, I enjoyed it that much. Romantic to a teenager. But I have been searching for about six years for a video of it without success. If anyone knows where a copy can be obtained let it be known. Thanks.