| Jungle Girl | |
 |
|
| Directed by | William Witney John English |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Hiram S. Brown Jr |
| Written by | Alfred Batson Ronald Davidson Norman S. Hall William Lively Joseph O'Donnell Joseph F. Poland Edgar Rice Burroughs(novel) |
| Starring | Frances Gifford Tom Neal Trevor Bardette Gerald Mohr Eddie Acuff Frank Lackteen |
| Cinematography | Reggie Lanning |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  21 June 1941 (serial)[1] 1941 3 September 194719 April 1947 (re-release)[1]  25 March 1949 13 July 1951 |
| Running time | 15 chapters (265 min)[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $171,415 (negative cost: $177,404)[1] |
Jungle Girl (1941) is a 15-Chapter Republic Pictures Serial starring Frances Gifford. It was directed by William Witney and John English based on the novel Jungle Girl (1932) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the twenty-second of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic.
Contents |
Plot
Dr John Meredith, ashamed at the crime spree of his twin, Bradley, travels with his daughter, Nyoka, to Africa. There his skills as a doctor displace Shamba, the resident Witch Doctor of the Masamba. Years later, Slick Latimer and Bradley Meredith arrive looking for a local diamond mine and team up with the disgruntled Shamba. Bradley kills his brother John and takes his place. Fortunately, they also brought along Jack Stanton and Curly Rogers, who promptly join Nyoka in trying to stop the villains.
Cast
- Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. Gifford was borrowed from Paramount for the lead.[2]
- Tom Neal as Jack Stanton
- Trevor Bardette as Dr John Meredith/Bradley Meredith
- Gerald Mohr as Slick Latimer
- Eddie Acuff as Curly Rogers
- Frank Lackteen as Shamba
- Tommy Cook as Kimbu
- Robert Barron as Bombo
- Al Kikume as Chief Lutembi
- Bunny the Elephant
- Emil Van Horn was the man inside the gorilla suit.[3]
Production
The serial was officially based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Jungle Girl novel.[4] Nevertheless, it bore almost no resemblance to the novel, which was about an Asian princess, not a white woman living in Africa. Like many Republic adaptations, the contract to use a character called the Jungle Girl meant that showings of the serial after a set date were banned.[3]
Filming on Jungle Girl took place between 25 March and 9 May 1941. At forty-five days this shares the title of second longest shoot for a Republic serial with Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943).[1] The serial's production number was 1096.[1]
The serial's production budget $171,415 but the negative cost rose to $177,404 (over budget by $5,989, or 3.5%). This was the most expensive Republic serial of 1941.[1]
Jungle Girl was the first sound serial to have a female lead.[3]
The serial was successful enough that a semi-sequel, Perils of Nyoka was produced in 1942. To avoid paying Edgar Rice Burroughs a second time for the rights, this sequel is only based on the original Republic Pictures-created elements of Jungle Girl.
Republic's last female lead wore the same costume as its first. This was to make it possible to use significant stock footage from Jungle Girl to cheaply pad out Panther Girl of the Kongo.[3]
Stunts
- Yakima Canutt - Ram Rod/Stunt Coordinator
- Dave Sharpe as Nyoka/Jack Stanton (doubling Tom Neal & Frances Gifford)
- Helen Thurston as Nyoka (doubling Frances Gifford)
- Tom Steele as Slick Latimer (doubling Gerald Mohr)
- Duke Taylor as Curly Rogers (doubling Eddie Acuff)
- Ken Terrell as the Meredith brothers (doubling Trevor Bardette)
Dave Sharpe only doubled for Frances Gifford in the vine-swinging scenes. According to director William Witney, when Gifford first saw Sharpe in her costume she commented that he looked prettier than she did.[5] All of Gifford's non-vine swinging stunts were performed by Helen Thurston.
Special effects
The effects in this serial were, as with all Republic serials, produced by the Lydecker brothers.
Release
Theatrical
Jungle Girl's official release date is 21 June 1941, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]
The serial was re-released on 19 April 1947 between the first runs of Son of Zorro and Jesse James Rides Again. It was the first Republic serial to be re-released in this way.[1]
Chapter titles
- Death by Voodoo (27min 53s)
- Queen of Beasts (17min 11s)
- River of Fire (16min 45s)
- Treachery (16min 43s)
- Jungle Vengeance (16min 44s)
- Tribal Fury (16min 55s)
- The Poison Dart (16min 39s)
- Man Trap (16min 50s)
- Treasure Tomb (16min 43s)
- Jungle Killer (17min 41s)
- Dangerous Secret (16min 41s)
- Trapped (16min 44s)
- Ambush (16min 40s)
- Diamond Trail (16min 53s)
- Flight to Freedom (17min 28s)
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mathis, Jack. Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 54–55. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8.
- ^ Cline, William C.. "5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 93. ISBN 078640471X.
- ^ a b c d Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut. "1. The Girls "Who Is That Girl in the Buzz Saw?"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 10, 12, 14, 17. ISBN 9780713000979.
- ^ Cline, William C.. "2. In Search of Ammunition". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 11. ISBN 078640471X.
- ^ Witney, William. In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door. (McFarland & Company) ISBN 0786422580
- ^ Cline, William C.. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 230. ISBN 078640471X.
External links
- Jungle Girl at the Internet Movie Database
- Jungle Girl at Allmovie
- Jungle Girl Trailer at Video Detective
| Preceded by Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) |
Republic Serial Jungle Girl (1941) |
Succeeded by King of the Texas Rangers (1941) |
| Preceded by Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) |
Witney-English Serial Jungle Girl (1941) |
Succeeded by King of the Texas Rangers (1941) |
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