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Perils of Nyoka

 
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Perils of Nyoka

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Perils of Nyoka
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  • Director: William Witney
  • AMG Rating: starstarstarstar
  • Genre: Adventure
  • Release Year: 1942
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 300 minutes

Plot

Nyoka Gordon (Kay Aldridge) leads an expedition into the most remote part of the Libyan desert in search of her father, Professor Henry Gordon (Robert Strange), who disappeared while seeking out the long-lost golden tablets of Hippocrates. The tablets, among other attributes, are reputed to contain the cures for any number of deadly diseases that still plague mankind. Nyoka and her father are the only two people in the world who can translate the papyrus giving directions to the hiding place of the tablets. Her allies in her search include: Dr. Larry Grayson (Clayton Moore), a young physician; Torrini (Tristram Coffin), an Italian adventurer; Professor Campbell (Forbes Murray), a colleague of her father's; and Red Davis (Billy Benedict), their driver. Opposing them is Vultura (Lorna Gray), the leader of a deadly desert cult, who regard the tablets as sacred and will do anything -- including committing murder -- to prevent their discovery and removal. Aided by her ally, Cassib (Charles B. Middleton), and the Taureg tribesmen, Vultura and her cultists lay all manner of deadly traps, involving everything from burning pits of fire and tunnels filled with hurricane-like winds to just plain getting crushed by the embrace of Vultura's trained gorilla, Satan (Emil Van Horn). Meanwhile, Nyoka and her expedition also face the danger of treachery from within. Nyoka must first secure the papyrus and avenge the murder of Major Reynolds in the opening chapter, and then get past the opposing Taureg tribesmen -- and little does she realize that the leader of the Tauregs is far closer to her than she ever could have guessed. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Review

The action in Nyoka and the Tigermen moves at a breakneck pace across 15 chapters, most of which are as exciting as anything in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels (each of which drew a lot of their inspiration from this and one other Republic serial, Secret Service in Darkest Africa). Beyond its genuinely exciting plot, which intersects with reality just enough to keep even adults interested (there really are a North African people called the Tauregs), Nyoka and the Tigermen contains some delightful twists in its casting, production, and writing. Nyoka Gordon, as played by Kay Aldridge, is no typical movie heroine. She's beautiful, athletic, and resourceful, enough so that in the first chapter, she rides down Arab horsemen. She's perfectly capable of fighting, climbing, or diving her way out of trouble, a kind of 1940s American precursor to Emma Peel. Additionally, Lorna Gray's Vultura was, if anything, even more beautiful, and they make an enchanting pair of antagonists, especially when they mix it up physically. Both put 100 percent effort into their work here, assisted by one of the best directors and some of the best stuntmen in the business. Clayton Moore looked, if anything, better here than he did as the Lone Ranger at the other end of the decade and he made a dashing hero in his own right. Watch him in action here and see if he doesn't look like he would've been the perfect Bruce Wayne/Batman of his era. Even Emil Van Horn, in the silliest role in the movie -- as the gorilla Satan -- has a kind of visceral impact as this constantly menacing beast. Working from one of the best scripts that the studio ever devised for one of its serials, director William Witney and a crew of top stuntmen (including David Sharpe and a young Jay Silverheels), made this one of the most exciting serials ever to come out of Hollywood. More than that, the resulting chapterplay has an appeal that cuts across the ages, as demonstrated by the debt owed to it by the Indiana Jones movies. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Cast

Kay Aldridge - Nyoka; John Bagni - Ben Ali; William Benedict - Red; Tristram Coffin - Torrini; Kenne Duncan - Abou; Lorna Gray - Vultura; George Lewis - Batan; Charles B. Middleton - Cassib; Clayton Moore - Larry; Forbes Murray - Prof. Campbell; George Pembroke - John Spencer; Georges Renavent - Maghreb; Robert Strange - Prof. Gordon; Ken Terrell - Ahmed; John Davidson - Lhoba

Credit

William Witney - Director, Tony Martinelli - Editor, Edward Todd - Editor, Mort Glickman - Composer (Music Score), Reggie Lanning - Cinematographer, Howard Lydecker - Special Effects, Ronald Davidson - Screenwriter, Norman Hall - Screenwriter, Joseph O'Donnell - Screenwriter, Joseph F. Poland - Screenwriter
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Wikipedia: Perils of Nyoka
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Perils of Nyoka
Directed by William Witney
Produced by William J. O'Sullivan
Written by Ronald Davidson
Norman S. Hall
William Liveley
Joseph O'Donnell
Joseph F. Poland
Edgar Rice Burroughs (character)
Starring Kay Aldridge
Clayton Moore
Lorna Gray
Charles Middleton
William Benedict
Forbes Murray
George Pembroke
Cinematography Reggie Lanning
Distributed by Republic Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of the United States 27 June 1942 (serial)[1]
2 April 1952 (re-release)[1]
1966 (TV)[1]
Running time 15 chapters (261 minutes (serial)[1]
100 minutes (TV)[1]
Language English
Budget $169,296 (negative cost: $175,010)[1]

Perils of Nyoka is a 1942 Republic Movie serial directed by William Witney. It starred Kay Aldridge as Nyoka the Jungle Girl, a character who first appeared in the Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired serial "Jungle Girl."

Contents

Plot

Nyoka, with Larry Grayson, attempt to discover the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates. This, along with the value of the gold and the treasure it was buried with, contains the medical knowledge of the Ancients. Also hunting for the tablets are Queen Vultura ("Ruler of the Arabs") and Cassib.

Cast

Main cast

  • Kay Aldridge as Nyoka Gordon. Aldridge replaced Frances Gifford as Nyoka. The success and popularity she gained from her role in this serial made Kay Aldridge the star of several of the better Republic serials for years after its release.[2]In his autobiography, director William Witney stated that the studio decided to use a different actress just to further ensure that there would be no actionable copyright infringement.[3] Ray Stedman, however, writes that Gifford was not cast in this serial because she had been on loan from another studio for Jungle Girl and was not available for the filming of this serial.[4] Cline partially backs this point of view, saying that Gifford was unavailable to reprise her role because she had moved on to feature films.[2]
  • Clayton Moore as Dr Larry Grayson
  • Lorna Gray as Vultura, Ruler of the Arabs
  • Charles Middleton as Cassib
  • William Benedict as Red Davis
  • Forbes Murray as Prof Douglas Campbell
  • George Pembroke as John Spencer
  • Tristram Coffin as Benito Torrini
  • Forrest Taylor as Translator

Supporting Cast

  • Forbes Murray as Professor Douglas Campbell
  • Robert Strange as Professor Henry Gordon
  • George Pembroke as John Spencer
  • Georges Renavent as Maghreb, Vultura's high priest
  • John Davidson as Lhoba, Tuareg high priest
  • George J. Lewis as Batan, Arab henchman
  • Ken Terrell as Ahmed, Arab henchman
  • John Bagni as Ben Ali
  • Kenne Duncan as Abou, expedition headman
  • Arvon Dale as Bedouin 1
  • Emil Van Horn played the gorilla "Satan" just as he had played the gorilla in Jungle Girl.[5]

Production

Perils of Nyoka was budgeted at $169,296 although the final negative cost was $175,010 (a $5,714, or 3.4%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1942.[1] It was filmed between 20 March and 2 May 1942.[1] The serial's production number was 1197.[1] The success of the original serial Jungle Girl prompted the sequel, but the studio did not want to pay licensing fees to Burroughs again, so it avoided any repetition of the term "Jungle Girl," to which he had the rights. Instead, "Nyoka," the name of the main character in the first film, was placed in the title of the sequel, because that name was an original creation of Republic's writers, not of Burroughs.[5]

Release

Theatrical

Perils of Nyoka's official release date is 27 June 1942, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1] The serial was re-released on 2 April 1952, under the new title Nyoka and the Tigermen, between the first runs of Radar Men from the Moon and Zombies of the Stratosphere.[1]

Television

Perils of Nyoka was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to Nyoka and the Lost Secrets of Hippocrates. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.[1]

Critical reception

Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut write that this is probably the best Jungle serial ever made and that it "lavished in increased production values."[5] Cline notes that Perils of Nyoka stands out in the memories of the original serial audiences despite the strong competition of 1942.[2]

Chapter titles

  1. Desert Intrigue (26min 50s)
  2. Death's Chariot (17min 9s)
  3. Devil's Crucible (16min 52s)
  4. Ascending Doom (16min 48s)
  5. Fatal Second (16min 49s)
  6. Human Sacrifice (16min 41s)
  7. Monster's Clutch (16min 47s)
  8. Tuareg Vengeance (16min 44s)
  9. Buried Alive (16min 41s)
  10. Treacherous Trail (16min 51s)
  11. Unknown Peril (16min 40s)
  12. Underground Tornado (16min 39s)
  13. Thundering Death (16min 43s)
  14. Blazing Barrier (16min 38s)
  15. Satan's Fury (16min 33s)

Source:[1][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Mathis, Jack. Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 62–63. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8. 
  2. ^ a b c Cline, William C.. "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 37. ISBN 078640471X. 
  3. ^ Witney, William (2005). In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door. McFarland & Company, Inc.. ISBN 9780786422586. 
  4. ^ Stedman, Raymond William. "5. Shazam and Good-by". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 132. ISBN 9780806109275. 
  5. ^ a b c 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. 12, 14. ISBN 9780713000979. 
  6. ^ Cline, William C.. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 233–234. ISBN 078640471X. 

External links

Preceded by
Spy Smasher (1942)		 Republic Serial
Perils of Nyoka(1942)		 Succeeded by
King of the Mounties (1942)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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