Customer Reviews

Nyoka and the Tigermen [VHS]

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Once again Republic has produced an excellent serial. This one is jam-packed with action, death-defying stunts and breathless cliffhangers. Our heroine the attractive Kate Aldridge (Nyoka) is one tough lady. She rides, shoots, and packs a real wallop. She handles her fight scenes very well. Clayton Moore makes a dashing and swashbuckling Larry, Nyoka's partner. Also a fine performance from Lorna Gray as Vultura the evil one. The brilliant stunt work and fight scenes are very well staged (plenty of them). This has everything a serial lover would want. Ranks with "Spy Smasher", "Captain Marvel" and "G Man vs. Black Dragon" as one of the best serials ever made. An added benefit is the copy and sound quality which is very good. All serial lovers, this is a MUST for your collection. - Serial Lover

"Perils of Nyoka" (the original title) gave former models Kay Aldridge and Clayton Moore their first starring roles, in one of the best serials ever made. A viewing of it will reveal sources of many gimmicks from both the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" movies. It even features a female villainess (Lorna Gray, later to be known as Adrian Booth), a dog who seems smarter than some of the humans, a comic monkey, and a killer ape. The supporting cast is top-notch, as is the direction of William Witney. Republic made the best serials and this has to be near the top.

Oh lord, how I enjoyed seeing this again. It's amazing what I remember of it from when I saw it at around age 12. It has stood up over the years, with all the gimmicks that make these cliffhangers so lovable. The killer ape is superb...there's a "ham" inside that suit, I swear! He's a natural scene stealer. Then there's the dog, a match for Rin Tin Tin any day! And the heroine! The chapter endings, especially when she falls into a fiery pit, and the "pit and the pendulum" ending... This definitely is a gem among cliffhanger serials!

I've never been a huge fan or collector of the old serials.I've only seen two or three in my time and I'm too young to remember them firsthand...so mine is a novices review,but even I know better than to judge one by modern standards.If one were to go into "Nyoka.." with a cynical modern day attitude they would be in for a world of disappointment.Don't expect any kind of cultural or historical authenticity, or shakespearean acting...Do expect a whole lot of fun,excitement and some pretty decent stunt work for the time period.Its lots of fun watching the achingly cute Nyoka go from heroine in peril to jumping out of trees and taking out two bad guys on horseback single handedly.The expression on her face when that rope bridge breaks on her is priceless...I had to rewind it 3 or 4 times... again,not shakespeare caliber acting by any stretch..but great silly fun.This kind of stuff was obviously made for 12 year old boys (and there's nothing wrong with that)....but Nyoka will make you long to be 12 years old again anyhow.Enjoy!

Who said they didn't use to have feminist role-models in the movies? Kay Aldridge as Nyoka doesn't take any guff of the bad guys, whether male, female, or simian--she just decks 'em and moves on to the next peril. She even, on occasion, saves the hero, who is played by The Lone Ranger himself, Clayton Moore. Add the villainy of the wicked Vultura, Charles Middleton (AKA Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials), and Satan, the ape (actually the great Ray "Crash" Corrigan in an ape suit), and you have a movie packed with the kind of goofy fun serial fans love. As good as it gets.

Republic Pictures present "NYOKA AND THE TIGERMEN" (1942) (261 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 15-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Kay Aldridge and Clayton Moore, 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 from one of my favorite Republic Serials, lost medical secrets is located in the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates ... only Nyoka Gordon can translate the papyrus into the land of the Tuaregs, standing in Nyoka's way is Queen Vultura of the Desert whose only goal is to steal the treasure and riches for themselves.

Under William Witney (Director), William J. O'Sullivan (Associate Producer), Ronald Davidson (Screenwriter), Norman S. Hall (Screenwriter),William Lively (Screenwriter), Joseph O'Donnell (Screenwriter), Joseph F. Poland (Screenwriter), Mort Glickman (Original Score), Reggie Lanning (Cinematographer), Tony Martinelli (Editor), Edward Todd (Editor), Russell Kimball (Art Director) ------ the cast includes Kay Aldridge (Nyoka Gordon), Clayton Moore (Dr. Larry Grayson), Lorna Gray (Vultura), Charles Middleton (Cassib), William 'Billy' Benedict (Red Davis), Forbes Murray (Prof. Douglas Campbell), George Pembroke( John Spencer), Tristram Coffin (Benito Torrini), Robert Strange (Prof. Henry Gordon), Kenne Duncan (Abu, expedition headman), Georges Renavent (Maghreb, Vultura's high priest), John Davidson (Lhoba, Tuareg high priest), Ken Terrell (Ahmed, Arab henchman), George J. Lewis (Batan, Arab henchman), Herbert Rawlinson (Maj. Reynolds), Ace (Fang, the dog), Professor (Jitters, the monkey), Yakima Canutt (Tuareg), Iron Eyes Cody (Arab), David Sharpe (Tuareg), Jay Silverheels (Tuareg), Tom Steele (Arab Warrior), Duke Taylor (Arab/Tuareg/Guard), Forrest Taylor (Translator) ------ our plot line has Nyoka (Aldridge) and Dr. Larry Grayson (Clayton Moore) an American doctor searching for the tablets of Hippocrates which would provide many cures of diseases ... Professor Campbell's (Forbes Murray) expedition in Libya obtains a papyrus which might reveal the hiding place of the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates, containing lost medical secrets ... can Nyoka Gordon, locate her father who was lost on a previous expedition ... is she the only one who can translate the papyrus ... will the beautiful Vultura (Lorna Gray), Queen of the Desert, and her Arab ally Cassib (Ken Terrell) both greedy for the treasure stand in Nyroka's way and have their own agenda, only for selfish reasons ... great screenplay with top notch directing from Bill Witney, the fight scenes with Clayton Moore are exceptional and believable ... great stunt work by the Republic stunt personnel David Sharpe (stunt double: Kay Aldridge), Tom Steele (stunt double: Tristram Coffin), Helen Thurston (stunts) ... don't leave the theater until the final chapter "Satan's Fury" ... another winner from the vaults of Republic Serials --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Desert Intrigue
2. Death's Chariot
3. Devil's Crucible
4. Ascending Doom
5. Fatal Second
6. Human Sacrifice
7. Monster's Clutch
8. Tuareg Vengeance
9. Burned Alive
10.Treacherous Trail
11.Unknown Peril
12.Underground Tornado
13.Thundering Death
14.Blazing Barrier
15.Satan's Fury

BIOS:
1. Kay Aldridge (aka: Katharine Gratten Aldridge)
Date of birth: 9 July 1917 - Tallahassee, Florida
Date of death: 12 January 1995 - Rockport, Maine
2. Clayton Moore (aka: Jack Carlton Moore)
Date of birth: 14 September 1914 - Chicago, Illinois (some sources say 1908)
Date of death: 28 December 1999 - Los Angeles, California
3. Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth (aka: Virginia Pound)
Date of birth: 26 July 1918 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Date of death: Still Living
4. William Witney (aka: William Nuelsen Witney) (Director)
Date of birth: 15 May 1915 - Lawton, Oklahoma
Date of death:17 March 2002 - Jackson, California,

Special Footnote, Clayton Moore was a circus acrobat at the age of eight and grew up in the Midwest (Illinois)...worked in the circus and traveled to New York and then Hollywood where he became a stuntman and bit player.. appeared in various serials "Peril of Nyoka" (1942), "The Crimson Ghost" (1946), "Jesse James Rides Again" (1947), "The Adventures of Frank and Jesse James" (1948), "G-Men Never Forget" (1948), "Ghost of Zorro" (1949), "Radar Men from the Moon" (1952), "Jungle Drums of Africa" (1953) ... .inducted into the "Stuntman's Hall of Fame" in 1982...also received the "Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame'" also the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" both in 1990...Clayton was once quoted "Playing him [the Lone Ranger] made me a better person.", "Once I got the Lone Ranger role, I didn't want any other. I was playing the good guy."..."I will continue wearing the white hat and black mask until I ride up into the big ranch in the sky." (On his costume as the Lone Ranger, February 4, 1985)...Clayton very much enjoyed quoting and lived by "A Ranger's Creed" which included this moral lesson "That God put the firewood there, but every man must gather and light it himself."

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: 266 mins on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (8/25/1997)

The original title of this was "Perils of Nyoka," which is more appropriate because it conjures up reminiscences of "The Perils of Pauline." It's the first serial William Witney directed alone.

It's excellent: Lots of action, terrific cliffhangers, good musical score. From what I've read, most people seem to prefer it to the original Nyoka serial, "Jungle Girl," but I beg to differ. I find it just a notch behind "Jungle Girl," mainly because Kay Aldridge ("Haunted Harbor") doesn't measure up to Frances Gifford, and Lorna Gray is a little over the top in her high priestess role. Gifford had been on loan to Republic for "Jungle Girl" and wasn't available for this one--Aldridge is a capable heroine, but she's no Frances Gifford. You'll note that they changed Nyoka's surname from Meredith to Gordon (in order to save on royalties to Edgar Rice Burroughs' estate) and the setting is now North Africa instead of the jungle.

This was Clayton Moore's first starring role. As everyone knows he became famous as the Lone Ranger, a role he carried on even after he left the movies and went around promoting the Lone Ranger's values. Moore starred in about ten serials, but never as the Lone Ranger. He died in 1999 at age 85.

Charles Middleton (Ming in "Flash Gordon") is exellent as a bad Bedouin, though he's not as dominating as usual because he's not the main villain. The stunts are done by Dave Sharpe and Tom Steele--Sharpe doubles Clayton Moore in all the fights (quite noticeably because he's not as tall as Moore), and he considered this serial among his best work. And inside that gorilla suit is Emil Van Horn as "Satan," though he's not even listed in the credits.

A compilation of a "chapter movie" that I saw on successive Saturday afternoons growing up in New York in the 40s. Perhaps, even at that early age, I was fascinated by the idea of an attractive, long-legged heroine and a similarly fascinating villainess. A cute, if implausible, adventure tale, set in North Africa, which today would seem almost a parody, but I'm enjoying the trip down memory lane which it's affording me at not too high a cost. One of the "bad guys" is an Italian, so identified, possibly because they were part of the Axis, w/ which we were (or were about to be) at war but not the object of pathetic ridicule that Italians became in the war movies that followed.