Customer Reviews

Manhunt in the African Jungle [VHS]

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

 

 

serials were never known for great acting, writing or much of anything else. However there are excetions to the rule, and this is one of them. The plot may not be the freshest, and the nazis are about as stereotypical as they come, but some of the ideas that the writers came up with are quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the fake German graveyard in Morrocco loaded with explosives. Also, predictable as every fight scene is, the stunt coordinators and cameramen went out of their way to let everything look just a little bit different (my dad's got about forty serials, and Manhunt has by far the best fights of any of them, it's also in the top five for most amusing cliffhangers). No other serial has the actors fighting at the camera (pardon the grammar, but there's no other way to put it). The sets are also quite remarkable in that a large number of items are placed around for the actors to use. Again don't be looking for a great story or good acting. Just sit back and enjoy what passed for gratuitous violence in the 1940s. It's definitely a winner.

If you want to study stock plots, standard characters and typical cliffhangers in Republic chapterplays, this is a good academic excesize. But it is a VERY mediocre example of Republic serials generally.... While ANYTHING from Republic's unit was better than 90% of the serials from other studios, SECRET SERVICE IN DARKEST AFRICA (the original title)was perhaps the beginning of the end of the Golden Age. All but three chapters are carbon-copies of one another: two 4-man fistfights (each beginning with Rex Bennet getting the pistol knocked out of his hand) per episode, one shot of the captive Sultan Ben Ali mocking his Nazi captors, a cross-country chase and an explosion at the end. Sure, these are the staples of serialdom, but here they are presented as "bones without flesh." For wartime Nazi-fighters in the serials, Spy Smasher (or any similar Whitney-directed outing) is a better choice.

This is the high point of Republic serials, with action and special effects like nothing I've ever seen.

It's the fearless American agent matching wits with evil Nazi spies in Africa, and giving Hitler's cronies the kay-o!

True, there are the sterotypical things that come with all serials. The uncanny ability for heroes and villains alike not to be able to hold on to a gun, Califonia doubling for every location on Earth (this time it's Africa, sans black folks), and frequent fights that you KNOW are gonna happen (usually because a cowboy Nazi spy was distracted and dropped his gun), and bad guys never seeming to get captured for good and all until the last chapter. But hey, that's half the fun!

This one is impressive, and shows off the work of the famous effects wizards, the Lydecker Brothers.

If you like serials, this one is action all the way!

Republic Pictures present "MANHUNT IN THE AFRICAN JUNGLE" (1943) (243 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 15-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Rod Cameron as Agent Rex Bennett, relive those thrilling days week after week venue brought you to the theater, as you were mesmerized in your seat waiting for the final chapter ... exciting action within 15 episodes the Republic Serials department, story line has Rod Cameron (Rex Bennett) of the American Secret Service along with reporter Janet Blake (Joan Marsh) trying to thwart the Nazi alliance in Africa, joining forces is our friend Duncan Renaldo (Pierre LaSalle) a French officer who is involved with many fisticuffs with fellow comrade Cameron against the forces of evil Germany during the '40s.

Under Spencer Gordon Bennet (Director),William J. O'Sullivan (Associate Producer), Royal K. Cole (Screenwriter), Ronald Davidson (Screenwriter), Basil Dickey (Screenwriter), Jesse Duffy (Screenwriter), Joseph O'Donnell (Screenwriter), Joseph F. Poland (Screenwriter), Mort Glickman (Original Score), William Bradford (Cinematographer), Wallace Grissell (Editor), Tom Malloy (Editor) ------ the cast includes Rod Cameron (Rex Bennett), Joan Marsh (Janet Blake), Duncan Renaldo (Capt. Pierre LaSalle), Lionel Royce (Baron von Rommler/Sultan Abou Ben Ali), Kurt Kreuger (Ernst Muller), Frederic Brunn (Wolfe), Sigurd Tor .(Luger), Bud Geary (Blacksmith), Reed Howes (American Officer), Jack La Rue (Hassan), George J. Lewis (Kaba), Eddie Parker (Karl Koche), Buddy Roosevelt (Sniper), Tom Steele (Cafe Heavy 1), Ken Terrell (Fireman), Anthony Warde (Relzah) ------ story line is a 15-episode serial covering the adventures of two undercover agents (Rod Cameron and Joan Marsh) who infiltrate the German army in Morocco, Casablanca, North Africa during World War II ... our main hero Rod Cameron had fisticuffs in every chapter at least two or three times ... the number one villain besides Hitler is Lionel Royce (Baron von Rommler who is also poising as Sultan Abou Ben ali) behind all the skullduggery of this era during the war ... Duncan Renaldo is the french Capt. Pierre La Salle who is helping the war effort and this serial by supporting Cameron in each scene he appears ... great fight scenes by the Republic stunt personnel Tom Steele (stunt double: Rod Cameron), Bud Geary (stunts), Eddie Parker (stunts ... can Rod Cameron save the world and prevail once again, certainly a cliffhanger if ever I saw one ... the suspense is riveting inclusive with exciting scenes as everyone is having fun with this classic ... don't leave the theater until the final chapter "Nazi Treachery Unmasked" ... another winner from the vaults of Republic Serials --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. North African Intrigue
2. The Charred Witness
3. Double Death
4. The Open Grave
5. Cloaked in Flame
6. Dial of Doom
7. Murder Dungeon
8. Funeral Arrangements Completed
9. Invisible Menace
10.Racing Peril
11.Lightning Terror
12.Ceremonial Execution
13.Fatal Leaf
14.Victim of Villainy
15.Nazi Treachery Unmasked

BIOS:
1. Rod Cameron (aka: Nathan Roderick Cox)
Date of birth: 7 December 1910 - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date of death: 21 December 1983 - Gainesville, Georgia

Special Footnote, Rod Cameron Canadian-born leading man entered films as a stunt man and stand-in, doubling for such actors as Fred MacMurray and Buck Jones ... whose movie career stretched from the 1930s to the 1970s ... In 1943, Cameron would rise to starring status in a pair of fifteen chapter serials: "Secret Service in Darkest Africa" and "G-Men vs. The Black Dragon" for Rebublic Pictures .... He spent the rest of the 1940s as a western leading man at both Republic and Universal. In 1953, Cameron and producer Richard Irving collaborated on the first of three syndicated television series, "City Detective". The 65-episode series was sold to 117 markets, a record at the time, and made more money for Cameron than any of his movie endeavors. The second Cameron/Irving TV project, 1956's "State Trooper", was even more successful, clocking in at 104 episodes. Cameron's third syndicated series, "Coronado 9", was released in January of 1960 --- Recently, Cameron was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)
5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)
8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)
9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)
11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)
13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 243 min on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (5/30/1995)

This breathlessly paced, action-packed serial represents the Republic serial at its apogee! After this one, it was all downhill, especially if you watch the horrendous "King of the Carnival." This last one makes "Plan Nine From Outer Space" by that marvelously inept Ed Wood, look like Spy Smasher, the greatest of all Republic's serials. Rod Cameron is the dashing, courageous hero of "Manhunt". Assisting him is petite but fiery Joan Marsh, whose screams rank with those of Fay Wray. Especially the episode where she is locked up in a metal coffin and nearly burned alive. She can also handle that gun nicely, too. The fight sequences, and serial climaxes are done with great elan and imagination. Rod Cameron proves within just a few scenes why he became such a world favorite of action films. He's also dynamite in another fast-paced Republican serial, "G-Men Versus the Black Dragon" and once more he's lucky in having an unforgettable female sidekick: cool, plucky, voluptuous Constance Moore. Wow, you oughta see that gal handle a machine gun. "Manhunt" is probably the last great serial from Republic. You should see this one and then the miserable "King of the Carnival" and see how fast the movie serial had degenerated because of the advent of television. A real tragedy.

I was four years old when I saw my first serial. That serial was The Masked Marvel. In my opinion is that this was one of my close second favs. I really enjoy the plots in the classic movies that to put it bluntly the ones today lack. I personly think that if our movies now a days had characters like Rex Bennet or Chang or Piar (sp) Our movies would do twice as much as they are now.

This is a typical cliffhanging serial with plenty of action and even good creativity, but "someone forgot the jungle". Its painfully obvious this was shot in the foothills surrounding L.A. and unfortunately every episode winds up in in the same old fistfight, usually between "wolf" the Nazi spy and Rod Cameron, the American hero, not to mention the spear chucking arabs, who also become routine and who are dispatched by the dozen, usually accidentally, by their own kind, during the struggle for the gun during fist fights. Okay, but no prize!