Customer Reviews

The Naked Jungle

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I once had an unpleasant experience with some fire ants in Florida many years ago, involving my ill-fated decision to take a rest under the shade of a palm tree, only to discover I had sat squarely on a bunch of the red devils, and they seemed none to happy about that (I guess I can't really blame them, as I would probably be upset being squashed by a comparatively giant bottom myself). The lesson learned there was watch where you sit. Watching producer George Pal's The Naked Jungle (1954) brought back memories of my less than enjoyable experience, as soon I begin rubbing at welts long since gone. Wonderfully directed by Byron Haskin (Treasure Island, The War of the Worlds), The Naked Jungle stars an excellent Charlton Heston (Ben Hur, Touch of Evil), Eleanor Parker (Scaramouche), William (TV's Frank Canon, P.I.) Conrad and a whole lotta ants (imagine a column of voracious ants two miles long and twenty miles wide...we're gonna need the industrial size Raid)...or, Marabunta, as they're often referred to within the movie.

The film, which takes place deep in the South American jungle, begins with a rather refined looking lady completely out of place on a funky river barge traveling deep in the heart of the jungle. The woman's name is Joanna Leiningen (Parker), and she's on her way to meet her husband, Christopher Leiningen (Heston), at his expansive cocoa plantation. They've never met before, as Christopher, who's spent the last fifteen years or so building his plantation so deep in the jungle has not had time to find a wife, so he arranged for his brother, who was stateside, to find an appropriate woman to which he could marry by proxy and then she would eventually travel to the plantation and set up residence. The newlyweds finally meet, and things don't go very well as Christopher, who's lived in the jungle for awhile (perhaps too long) has misgivings about his new wife, as certain details about her past are revealed. Joanna, a strong-willed woman, chaffs against Christopher's somewhat chauvinistic expectations, but does try to find her place, as she believes the choice to enter into this arrangement was right, but now seems for naught as Christopher decides she should return to the states, that is until it's learned that the Marabunta (normally content to dwell within their mounds, but every once in awhile, like 20 years or so, they organize and ravage the surrounding countryside) are cutting a swath through the jungle, with Christopher's plantation directly in their path, restricting any travel whatsoever, and problems of martial incompatibility become small potatoes against the approaching horde devouring everything they come upon, vegetation, animals, humans (death by hundreds of thousands of tiny, little bites? Seems a particularly nasty way to go...), etc.

I really enjoyed this film. The characters were well written, and are presented in an intelligent, engaging manner. The level of development of the characters of Christopher and Joanna was interesting and fills out pretty much the first half of the film. The second half is mostly comprised of the arrival of the ants, and the feeble efforts to stop this seemingly unstoppable force, first protecting the plantation, but soon for their own survival. Heston is excellent as Christopher, a man dedicated to realizing his dream, wrenching it (respectfully) from the living jungle, and the unquestioned master of his world, forced to contend with someone who isn't meant to be controlled (Joanna) and a menace that can't be controlled (the ants). He's basically a good man, but given his inexperience with women, his isolation from the outside world, and his accustomed complete authority over most all things within his domain, he's completely unprepared for a woman the likes of Joanna, even though it may be the thing he needs most. I thought Eleanor Parker did extremely well (and she certainly ain't bad to look at). Before this film, I was unfamiliar with her work, but she presented a wonderful character in Joanna, a stubborn woman with a past who believes she's found her purpose, even if it means living isolated from everything she knew, working to change the seemingly simplistic and maybe even unrealistic attitudes of her new husband (apparently he was looking for a trophy wife, but got a whole lot more than he bargained for with Joanna). It was really wonderful to see these two clash within character, and I really can't imagine anyone else in their roles after seeing the film. The threat of the ants was done very well, and appeared very realistic, especially through the use of matte paintings depicting the destruction caused as they scoured the landscape. It's hard to visualize something as small as an ant causing so much damage, but when you see billions of them swarming over everything and anything, it certainly seems possible. Haskin's direction really kept my interest throughout the film, and he was certainly helped by having highly professional and experienced actors involved in the project. All in all, an excellent feature with a climatic and satisfying conclusion.

The film on this DVD is presented in the full screen format, which, I believe is as it was originally released, and then later changed to wide screen (the wide screen format became more popular as the 50's wore on, as theaters transitioned to accommodate it). The picture is clear and sharp and the audio is very good, but there are absolutely no special features included in this release, not even the usual theatrical trailer. Perhaps we'll see a special edition released at a later date, as it seems more and more (much to my annoyance) studios release a barebones version first, and then later release a `special edition', allowing them to increase their profits, that is if those of us who bought the original see fit to purchase the product again with the enticements of more features, essentially making us believe the `upgrade' is worth buying. Oh well...

Cookieman108

The 50's were the great time for Technicolor, exotic adventures and intense stories. This film has all of this ...and more.

A wealthy,dark, handsome plantation-owner, Chistopher Leiningen welcome his mail-order bride. She is sophisticated, elegant and to his great concern extremely beautiful. Sparks fly since the begining and after memorable dialogues, about pianos and perfumes , and second hand roses, our heros must face the ultimate danger: Marabunta.

This is not maybe a very famous film, and probably will never be considered one of the masterworks of the Seventh Art, but is one of those you always watch in delight.

The cast just suits perfectly. Charlton Heston is...well he is Charlton. He is good opening the waters of the Red Sea or fighting against a lot of Chinese in Pekin. As usual he exploits his natural masculinity to create this man who has created an oasis in the middle of the jungle, but about women is a virginal man.

Eleanor Parker is probably one of the most elegant actress of her generation. Only she is able to pass though the jungle with a white gown and look perfectly well. She matches Heston with a woman who has little to lose but only will accept her terms of "surrender".

And William Conrand is excellent. Showing the temperance a good commisioner requires and acting as the amused witness in the developement of the situation.

This one of those films you always enjoy and that proves that a good story and good dialogues are basic to create a film.

Lydia Heston, Charlton Heston's wife, once identified many of his most successful roles as being "heel with a heart" characterizations. "The Naked Jungle" is an excellent example of this theory . . . and also a damn fine movie, adapted from the classic short story, "Leningen vs. the Ants." Christopher Leningen is a determined and very lonely young man who has carved out a plantation (product: cocoa beans) and now is looking for a wife. Through his brother (who we do not see), he finds a wife and marries her by proxy, then has her brought to the plantation. As played by Eleanor Parker (the fine actress of "Caged," known by "Sound of Music" fans as Elsa the arch-villainess), Joanna is just as strong-willed as Christopher . . . resulting in a considerable psychological war-of-the-sexes. The excellent script, superb direction, and wonderful production values all add to make this a terrific viewing experience . . . and don't look now, but there's William Conrad, the classic radio actor and television star! "Elephant Walk," with an also excellent cast of Peter Finch, Elizabeth Taylor and Dana Andrews, was coincidentally released the same year and has a similar theme, but "The Naked Jungle" remains the better movie, not just for the reasons mentioned, but also because the physical enemy is far more unlikely. (Hint: You'll get the urge to itch before the end of "Naked Jungle"!) Don't be mislead by the title; this is not a cheesy, exploitational film, although some nice metaphoric language in the script, plus the tremendous physicality of Heston and Parker, create some obvious erotic tension. Not exactly the ultimate movie about South America, as one reviewer claimed, and not the imperialist fantasy that another reviewer stated, but a great adventure yarn featuring two strong people going up against the elements . . . and themselves.

The Naked Jungle is a surprisingly likeable movie. From the title, one either believes it's an erotic film or a comedy, both of which it is neither. The film is actually a mixture of romance and adventure, along with some doses of action and suspense and the combination is well done.

Eleanor Parker stars as Joanna Leinengen, a strong-willed, beautiful, and independent young woman who has been married via mail to Christopher Leinengen, played by Charlton Heston. He owns and lives in his plantation in South America so she travels by boat from the United States to meet him for the very first time. When she arrives, they don't get off to a very good start and Christopher ignores quite a bit and treats her without respect. However, as the time goes by romantic feelings begin to develop between them. But a problem is beginning to grow in the jungle. A 20 mile long, 2 mile wide line of soldier ants is headed for Christopher's plantation and is devouring everything in its path. Now, Christopher and Joanna must think quickly and defend their home from the tiny predators.

I honestly had no idea what this movie was about when I popped it into the VCR. It's truly a pleasant surprise as the romance in the film is well done with a lot of chemistry between Parker and Heston. Each deliver superb performances.

There's a switch in tone nearly 2/3's the way through this movie (it's 96 minutes long without end credits), from romance/drama to action/adventure and suspense when the ants begin to invade. The developing tension is taut and fast paced. One might get the feeling that a movie with this kind of plot might be rather cheesy but that's not the case with The Naked Jungle. Every moment is well-executed with competent direction and a good script to boot. For jungle adventure and romance, The Naked Jungle is a fine choice.

"The Naked Jungle' has always been a favourite of mine since the days when it used to pop up every six months or so on our local television late at night. Surprisingly it is still not a well known film and is largely forgotten as an early Charlton Heston vechicle. It has many similiarities in theme to Paramount's "Elephant Walk" starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch and even has a cross over of cast in the talented Abraham Sofaer who appears as an Indian manservant in both films. While the other film had elephants as its main point of interest the little creatures in this film are far more deadly and make for a much scarier scenerio whereby the dreaded South American soldier ants literally eat anything that moves, thus having a lot more potential for an exciting climax to the story.

Indeed exciting and well made are two terms best used to describe this film. It tells the story of an isolated and fairly anti social self made young man Christopher Leiningen who has carved out an empire for himself on a coffee plantation far up the Amazon river in South America. To continue his empire he seeks a wife and advertises for a bride. His brother in New Orleans finds him the perfect woman in the form of Eleanor Parker who is refined, well educated and spunky with a mind of her own. The first part of the film shows their clash of wills and their eventual growing respect for each other prior to the last part of the story where their whole existence is threatened by a moving mountain of deadly soldier ants that threaten to wipe out everything in their path. This makes for the really exciting finale to the film which I wont reveal for those of you who have not seen the film yet.

Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker make a great couple in this film and their screen chemistry is really electric here. Parker, still best known as the Baroness in "The Sound Of Music" brings to her role the rare combination of refinement and gutsiness which contrasts beautifully with Heston's no nonsense man of few words. During the more leisurely first half of the film the two alternately clash, in particular after Christopher learns that Joanna has been previously married and is thus in his mind soiled goods, and then develop feelings for each other while learning more about themselvesin the process.

The tone of the film changes dramatically in the second half and what we witness then are the really superb special effects and production values after the killer ants begin their march on the plantation. This part of the film contains some quite horrifying and disturbing scenes that even today are not for the squeamish. It is all done in a highly believable and vivid manner and the climax that sees the flooding of the plantation has rarely been equalled in terms of special effects.

"The Naked Jungle" benefits greatly from the beautiful on location photography employed and the vivid colour which really brings the South American locale alive. The film can be enjoyed on a number of levels, firstly as a well acted drama that for once shows a strong ,intelligent and self assured female lead bouncing off the lead male and secondly as a rivetting adventure tale filled with exciting and eye popping special effects that create quite a frightening vision. It has it all, action, romance, terror , and excitement which is often hard to find in current films. Enjoy "The Naked Jungle" and I can assure you you will never think of ants in the same way again!

Set in 1901 in the Amazon jungle, this fabulous "Insect Feature" has excellent special effects and atmosphere, with Charlton Heston as a mucho macho man who is at war with the dreaded marabunta, the killer red ants who threaten to take over his plantation. He is also at war with his heart, as he tries to stay aloof to his mail order bride from New Orleans, the beautiful Eleanor Parker. Parker is cool as a mint julep in her Edith Head gowns, and tough enough to stand by her man; the chemistry between them sizzles, and they look so very fine together.
William Conrad is also good as the Commissioner, as he warns them to escape the billions of approaching ants which are "forty square miles of agonizing death !".

One of the best things about this film is the soundtrack by Daniele Amfitheatrof, which owes a lot to Stravinsky and Darius Milhaud, and is perfect in the way it underscores the dialogue, and accentuates the action. It's really worth just listening to this film once, to fully appreciate the music and the sound effects.
Ernest Lazlo's Techicolor cinematography is marvelous, and the Byron Haskin direction fast paced, with Heston doing most of his own stunts, which included having those nasty ants crawling on him.
Some of this film is quite exciting, some of it hilarious, and it's always extremely entertaining, and is the absolute best of the bug genre films.
As the ants bare the jungle, Eleanor tries to bare Chuck's soul...will she succeed ? watch this superb jungle romance and find out !
Total running time is 95 minutes.

I still remember when I saw this movie as a teenager this absolutely otherworldly vision of a luxurious jungle mountain turning crimson red through a spectacular red ants invasion that was truly creepier than "Them". And of the ever-machismo Charlton Heston defying their multitudinous hordes all by himself (I'll let you guess who won)! I wonder why this fine jungle adventure is not on DVD yet! I, for one, look forward to it (in WideScreen please!).

I remember my brothers taking me to this movie as a little kid. All that mattered was that people got eaten by red ants. I've never been fond of red ants since. In the 50's, this stuff was fodder for idiot kids like me. ("Them" and "Tarantula" were really cool.)I since discovered that the real title was "The Naked Jungle", after seeing it again on TCM or AMC, whatever."The Naked Jungle" is soap opera from beginning to end, with the "marabunta" as a catalyst. The stars are interesting. I was never a fan of Charlton Heston (as an actor), but Eleanor Parker was quite lovely, being gorgeous & tough at the same time, not unlike her magnificent performance in "Caged". The "marabunta" is, apparently, a force to be reckoned with, and makes the Amazon all that more intriguing. The beliefs of Amazonian natives is somewhat brought out, so much more brought out in Hector Babenco's "At Play in the Fields of the Lord". It's hard to make comparisons, since the sensibilities of the 50's and the 90's have been broadened. "The Naked Jungle" is really one of the first disaster films. All of the most famous disaster films were soap opera (Towering Inferno, Airport, Poseidon Adventure, etc.). In some ways, this is a trend-setter. I enjoyed it.

Charlton Heston plays a strong willed rancher in South America who carved out an empire through shear force of will. Eleanor Parker plays a mail order bride ordered by Heston to share his life with him. Things do not turn out as either expect. He is disappointed that she has been married previously. He cannot stand the idea of following someone else. Even so, he is an honorable person by his own standards. He wishes her no ill but, being socially inept, comes across as an ogre. He has his problems but is not as bad as he seems.

She, on the other hand, really wants the relationship to succeed. She is willing to put up with a lot but she does have her limits and her own conception of honor as well as right and wrong. Finally, when she thinks she can stand him no more, he decides to send her back. He is attracted to her but can't get over her past.

The relationship begins to change when they head upriver to investigate some strange happenings. Heston takes her along because he figures he can arrange return passage for her. It never happens. They find the source of the strange reports and it turns out that an army of ants is on the march. Parker's courage in the face of the natural disaster brings to two of them together. His stalwart defense doesn't hurt either.

The story is a credible if overblown dramatization of the fury of certain insects in South America. It does not rely on any "science fiction" gimmicks. The characterizations are creditable as well. That being the case, its hard to identify why this film is not better than it is. I suppose that this was one of Heston's earlier films. His intensity is almost overbearing. Still, it is worth seeing. There are better films out there but there are also many much worse.

I watched this movie last night, and all I can say is....WOW! This is a top adventure starring one of my favourite actresses, Eleanor Parker, teamed with Charlton Heston (and based on a story by Carl Stephenson). If you love movies like "King Solomon's Mines", "Mogambo" and especially "Elephant Walk", you'll adore THE NAKED JUNGLE.

The story follows mail-order bride Joanna (Eleanor Parker) as she travels deep into the jungle to meet prospective husband Christopher Leiningen (Charlton Heston), a successful plantation baron, grown embittered by too many years of solitude. Their marriage is stormy from the outset; headstrong Joanna constantly clashes with her belligerent spouse, but they soon have bigger problems on their hands. A terrifying army of soldier ants, on their twenty-year migration, are steadily approaching, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

With more than a passing nod to the similarly-themed "Elephant Walk" (also produced by Paramount around the same period), THE NAKED JUNGLE is part costume drama, part adventure epic and all-entertainment. The supporting cast even includes Abraham Sofaer (who plays a role not too dissimilar from the one he fills in "Elephant Walk").

Female co-stars who could successfully balance themselves opposite the imposing Charlton Heston were often very difficult to find, but Eleanor Parker is and was the perfect choice for Joanna. One of the rare actresses who was every bit as talented as she was stunningly-beautiful (as evidenced from her Academy Award-nominated performances in "Caged!", "Detective Story" and "Interrupted Melody"), Ms Parker provides a performance with equal parts heart and humanity. Her scenes with Heston are a complete joy. Costume designer Edith Head dresses Parker in some lovely late-Victorian clothes.

Filmed in glorious Technicolor, THE NAKED JUNGLE explodes off the screen with colour and high-adventure to spare. Sadly, the DVD offers no extras. (Single-sided, single-layer disc).