African Paradise

After the success of her 1940 book, I Married Adventure, Osa Johnson was contracted to write three follow-up novels. The first of these, Four Years in Paradise, documented her and her husband Martin's exploits in the Northern Frontier District of Kenya, an area they dubbed "Lake Paradise", their own personal Garden of Eden. To promote the book, Osa embarked on an international speaking tour. Her lectures were accompanied by a new silent documentary, African Paradise, compiled by Osa using never before seen footage from her and Martin's second trip to Africa between 1923 and 1927. Like many early travelogues, it was considered lost until a volunteer at the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum discovered this pristine print. The film is partially scored by the Cairo Club from Australia performing the "Congorilla Fox-Trot", written especially for the Johnsons' Congorilla (1932). Also included as bonus material is a recreation of Osa's original lecture with college professor Dr. J. Karen Ray portraying the famous explorer.