Customer Reviews

Jungle Girl - Serial

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I feel Republic Pictures cornered the market when it came to serials.Jungle Girl ,in my opinion , was one of the 3 best that this studio released.The other 2 were " Perils of Nyoka " and
" The Adventures of Captain Marvel " While all 3 have been released on tape,this DVD version of " Jungle Girl " released by VCI Entertainment is superior in quality to the " Jungle Girl " tape. It was remastered from a 35MM master positive print from the British Film institute.Even if you already own a VHS tape of this serial I would recommend that you add this DVD to your library not only for the picture quality but also for the extras.The scene selection brings you with a click to the start of each individual Chapter so when returning to see the film for the umpteenth time you can pick and choose your chapter rather than view the whole 15 chapters at once.The extras also include biographies of some of the cast members and a gallery of theatre posters and still shots.This DVD also has trailers of other serials released in the heyday of the serials ( mostly from Universal Pictures ) and a beautiful color photo of Frances Gifford riding her elephant on both disks.The menu treats you to a solo of Jungle Drums while you are waiting to click on your selection. My only negative thought is why did they put 10 chapters on the 1st disk and the remaining 5 on the second instead of the whole 15 chapters on the one disk.

Despite my youthful age (over 40 / under 50), as a long-time fan of the sound motion picture serial, I've had the pleasure of seeing -- and now, thanks to video, owning -- virtually all of the greats from what was considered the "golden age" of movie serials.

From Batman to Zorro, the Lone Ranger to Flash Gordon, or Dick Tracy to Captain Marvel, they all had their own special appeal and allure. Granted, although all too often there were signficant differences in quality and production values, every fan had a favorite. And, for me and millions of other fans, no serial ever made was more exciting, entertaining, or intense as the action-packed thrills and perils found in "Jungle Girl."

Loosely based upon the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name and released in 1941 by Republic Pictures, the film starred beautiful Frances Gifford as Nyoka, the Jungle Girl. Unusal for the period, this was the first attempt (since the silent days of Pearl White) to feature a female as the lead in a movie serial.

Doubled equally by Helen Thurston and stunt ace David Sharpe, Nyoka swung through the trees with an acrobatic skill unseen in the much higher budgeted Tarzan films. Fighting diamond hunting gangsters and savage natives, she successfully endures 15-chapters of some of the best cliffhanger perils ever filmed . . . from lethal fire traps, avalanches, drownings, poison gas, falls from cliffs, and quicksand, just to name a few.

Opposed by "Slick" Latimer and Shamba, the Witch Doctor, (for me, one of the scariest villains in serial history) Nyoka barely survives to defeat her enemies and save the day. Universally considered one of the best serials ever made (and definitely the best jungle serial ever made), Jungle Girl was directed by the cream of action directors, William Witney and John English. It was so successful, the following year it spawned an even more popular sequel, "Perils of Nyoka."

For an example of the motion picture serial at its best, you can't do much better than "Jungle Girl" or its sequel. It's influence is felt to this day by modern serial fans like Steven Speilberg and George Lucas and many of their films, particularly the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, owes a debt of gratitude to this long gone, but not forgotten, American art form.

As a long-time fan of the old motion picture serials, I've had the pleasure of seeing (and now, thanks to video, owning) many of the greats from the "golden age" of movie serials.

From Batman to Zorro, the Lone Ranger to Flash Gordon, or Dick Tracy to Captain Marvel, they all had their own special appeal and allure, although all too often there were signficant differences in quality and production values. Every fan had a favorite. However, for me and millions of other fans, no serial ever made was more exciting, entertaining, or intense as the action-packed thrills and perils found in "Jungle Girl."

Loosely based upon the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name and released in 1941 by Republic Pictures, the film starred beautiful Frances Gifford as Nyoka, the Jungle Girl. Unusal for the period, this was the first attempt (since the silent days of Pearl White) to feature a female as the lead in a movie serial.

Doubled by stunt ace David Sharpe, Nyoka swung through the trees with an acrobatic skill unseen in the much higher budgeted Tarzan films. Fighting diamond hunting gangsters and savage natives, she successfully endures 15-chapters of perils from lethal fire traps, avalanches, drownings, poison gas, falls from cliffs, and quicksand, to name a few.

Opposed by Shamba, the Witch Doctor, one of the scariest villains in serial history, Nyoka barely survives to defeat her enemies and save the day. Considered one of the best serials ever made (and definitely the best jungle serial ever made), Jungle Girl was directed by the cream of action directors, William Witney and John English. It was so successful, the following year it spawned an even more popular sequel, "Perils of Nyoka."

For an example of the motion picture serial at its best, you can't do much better than "Jungle Girl" or its sequel. It's influence is felt to this day by modern serial fans like Steven Speilberg and George Lucas and many of their films, particularly the Indiana Jones series, owes a debt of gratitude to this long gone, but not forgotten, American art form. END

I always view earlier films with a different mindset than when I am watching modern films. While watching Jungle Girl, I put myself back in the 1940's when I was a kid watching the Saturday matinees. I also stretched this serial out (as it was originally intended) by watching no more than one or two chapters at each viewing session.

Under those conditons, I thoroughly enjoyed this serial. The resolution of the cliffhanger at the beginning of each chapter is handled in a credible fashion and the fist fights between the heroes and villains are well choreographed. (The gun fights aren't handled as well). Nyoka manages to appear unflappable even after several instances of being dunked in the water or tied to a pole. The key to this type of movie is the performance of the villains and here they are a credit to their class.

VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present Edgar Rice Burroughs "Jungle Girl" (1941) (digitally remastered), 15 Chapters of vintage serial loaded with action sequences...with his infant daughter Nyoka, Dr. John Meredith lives in the African Jungle trying to help the local natives of the Masamba tribes...the tribe owns diamond mines and a gang of thugs is itching to take it away with the help of Shamba the witch doctor who very much dislikes Dr. Meredith...thus enters Slick Latimer who shoots Dr. Meredith in back...the evil twin brother Bradley Meredith who is Latimer's partner takes his brothers place...Jack Stanton and his sidekick Curley come to the aid of Nyoka whenever the 15 chapters need them...can Nyoka and native boy Wakimbu keep the evil native chief Shamba from their gasoline supply for their airplane from being sabotaged...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there.

Under director's John English and William Witney with screenplay by Alfred Batson, Ronald Davidson, Joseph O'Donnell, William Lively, Norman S. Hall, Joseph F. Poland and novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs...the cast include Frances Gifford (Nyoka Meredith), Tom Neal (Jack Stanton), Trevor Bardette (Dr. John Meredith/Bradley Meredith), Gerald Mohr (Slick Latimer), Eddie Acuff (Curly Rogers), Frank Lackteen (Shamba), Tommy Cook (Kimbu) ...another great serial provided by Republic Pictures during their heyday in the early '40s.. this serial is one of the best...stuntwork is outstanding with Helen Thurston doubling for Frances Gifford pulls off some really convincing acrobatic vine swinging and watch for David Sharpe who is doubling for all the fight scenes and then some.

CHAPTER TITLES: (Disc One)
1. Death by Voodo
2. Queen of the Beasts
3. River of Fire
4. Treachery
5. Jungle Vengeance
6. Tribal Fury
7. The Poison Dart
8. Man Trap
9. Treasure Tomb
10.Jungle Killer

SPECIAL FEATURES: (Disc One)
Photo Gallery
BIOS:
John English (Director)
William Witney (Director)
Francis Gifford
Trevor Bardette
Tom Neal
Eddie Acuff

CHAPTER TITLES: (Disc Two)
11.Dangerous Secret
12.Trapped
13.Ambush
14.Diamond Trail
15.Flight to Freedom

SPECIAL FEATURES: (Disc Two)
Photo Gallery
BIOS:
John English (Director)
William Witney (Director)
Francis Gifford
Trevor Bardette
Tom Neal
Eddie Acuff

VCI CLIFFHANGER COLLECTION (Disc Two)
Tim Tyler's Luck
The Master Key
The Mysterious Mr. M
Mystery of the Riverboat
Riders of Death Valley
The Royal Mounted Rides Again
Jungle Queen
Raiders of Ghost City
Lost City of the Jungle
The Phantom Creeps
The Great Alaskan Mystery
Winners of the West
The Fighting Marines
Robinson Cruso of Clipper Island
Junior G-Men of the Air
Adventures of Frank Merriwell
Radio Patrol
Don Winslow of the Navy
Gang Busters
Tailspin Tommy
Scouts to the Rescue
Adventures of Red Ryder
Zorro Rides Again
Radar Men from the Moon

Own them now on DVD....if you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above...if you enjoyed this serial check out another release from VCI Entertainment as they present Alex Raymond's "Jungle Jim " (1936) (digitally remastered), 12 Chapters of vintage serial loaded with action sequences - really outstanding scenes between a lion and tiger in a to the death fight...high production from Universal's serial department...each episode chuck full of scenes loaded with cliffhanger adventure...gotta love it!

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with a top notch serial from VCI...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 267 mins on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment 8265 ~ (7/03/2001)

The great director William Witney felt that this was his best serial. It was the first serial to star a woman in the featured role. Unfortunately, both leads had tragic ends. As did the elephant who graces the opening credits, a movie veteran who burned to death in a truck fire years later.

Frances Gifford, the younger sister of NFL great Frank Gifford, was beautiful and an excellent actress. A terrible auto accident in 1949 wrecked her career. She tried a comeback in the early 1950's, but her health was so bad she couldn't make it, and spent quite a lot of time in a mental hospital. She recovered sufficiently in later life to devote herself to charitable causes. Frances Gifford died in 1994 at age 73.

Tom Neal was the quintessential low-budget film noir hero. He had achieved notoriety at an early age when his father kept him from eloping with Inez Martin, a buxom former Follies girl and mistress of slain mobster Arnold Rothsrein. By the early '50s, Neal was well-known for his off-screen escapades. He famously brawled with Franchot Tone over starlet Barbara Payton, breaking Tone's cheekbone and giving him a brain concussion. Tom Neal was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his third wife, Gale Bennett, and served six years in prison. He died of a heart attack in 1972 at age 58.

Incidentally, their buddy in this picture, Eddie Acuff, was the brother of Roy Acuff, and played this kind of role in pictures for years. He's best known as the postman that Dagwood constantly runs into when late for work in the "Blondie" movies.

The great stuntman Davy Sharpe did much of the doubling in this picture, including the vine-swinging scenes for Frances Gifford. Gifford was also doubled by Helen Thurston.

This two-disk set has 10 chapters on Disk One and 5 chapters on Disk Two. The second disk is filled up with prevues of 24 other serials, lasting about an hour.

I bought this DVD at amazon France. "Jungle girl" is my second serials. First one was the silent "Tarzan, the Tiger" with Frank Merrill. The jungle adventures with Frances Gifford as Nyoka are really breathtaking. She looks great and I was very sad when I read that she had in the mid-forties such a terrible car accident which injured her so much. Everyone in this cliffhanger did a fine job. Of course don't forget the vilains : Latimer (Gerald Mohr, great actor of B-movies) and Shamba (Frank Lackteen). What would have been serials without such figures ? Even, I'm a newcomer in this genre, it's obvious for everyone that serials described the eternal fight between good and evil. Another point is very interesting : Serials have sometimes female heros (think about Linda Stirling in the very masculine part of Zorro !).
The DVD quality is really good. The picture looks sharp most of the time and the sound is also OK. The trailers of other serials (in the bonus area) are very entertaining and of course interesting for someone like me who discovers this little gems from another time ! But what a great Time it must have been! William Witney and John English were real Kings of Serials. It's a pity that such artists never became an Oscar for their lifework behind the cameras. Thanks to them !

VCI Video got ahold of a nice clean print from the UK/Irish distribution and really put together a crisp visual & no-hiss audio package here! One of the great Republic serials, Jungle Girl gets her due in this release... from the packaging to the super-affordable price (if you don't think so, shop around). Each episode is complete, from the opening music to the closing credits (and not abridged in from the "where we left off" recap at the beginnings). A nice job all the way from VCI. Time for me to go... now where'd I park my elephant??!! ;^)

I came to this serial in backward fashion. First, as a kid, I discovered the Nyoka comic books. Later, I got to see the excellent "Perils of Nyoka" which was a semi-sequel to this one (even though the Nyoka in the second serial was not only a different actress but a different character; only the name preserved the tradition). Finally, I got to see the original source for Nyoka (well, not counting the Edgar Rice Burroughs book which inspired the first serial). Gerald Mohr, whose varied career included playing Phillip Marlowe on the radio detective series, and being the voice of the masked Scorpion in "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" serial, turned in many fine villainous performances of which this was one. But Frances Gifford (who visited the jungle once more, in a later Johnny Weissmuller picture, "Tarzan Triumphs," in 1943) made a beautiful and athletic-looking Nyoka. And some of the stunt sequences, including one in which she SOMERSALTS from one vine to another, make Tarzan's vine-swinging seem anemic. Incidentally, Gifford had a female stunt double mostly, although it is true that stuntman David Sharpe did double Kay Aldridge in the second Nyoka serial.

Great serial, Francis Gifford is adorable as Nyoka. The cliffhanging moments in this serial have been copied many times over-even in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, when you see it you'll know the scene I speak of and it's practically identical. Francis was also in a Tarzan movie with Johnny Weissmuller two years later called "Tarzan Triumphs" by RKO studios. I know it's not a real gorilla but who wouldn't go ape over JUNGLE GIRL. Two disc DVD sound and picture are very good.