Jungle Girl (serial)
Encyclopedia
Jungle Girl is a 15-Chapter Republic Pictures
Serial
starring Frances Gifford
. It was directed by William Witney
and John English
based on the novel Jungle Girl
(1932) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
. It was the twenty-second of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic.
, Bradley, travels with his daughter
, Nyoka
, to Africa
. There his skills as a doctor
displace Shamba, the resident Witch Doctor
of the Masamba. Years later, Slick Latimer and Bradley Meredith arrive looking for a local diamond mine and team up with the disgruntled Shamba. Bradley kills his brother John and takes his place. Fortunately, they also brought along Jack Stanton and Curly Rogers, who promptly join Nyoka
in trying to stop the villain
s.
novel. Nevertheless, it bore almost no resemblance to the novel, which was about an Asian princess, not a white woman living in Africa. Like many Republic adaptations, the contract to use a character called the Jungle Girl meant that showings of the serial after a set date were banned.
Filming on Jungle Girl took place between 25 March and 9 May 1941. At forty-five days this shares the title of second longest shoot for a Republic serial with Secret Service in Darkest Africa
(1943
). The serial's production number was 1096.
The serial's production budget $171,415 but the negative cost
rose to $177,404 (over budget by $5,989, or 3.5%). This was the most expensive Republic serial of 1941.
Jungle Girl was the first sound serial to have a female lead.
The serial was successful enough that a semi-sequel, Perils of Nyoka
was produced in 1942. To avoid paying Edgar Rice Burroughs a second time for the rights, this sequel is only based on the original Republic Pictures-created elements of Jungle Girl.
Dave Sharpe only doubled for Frances Gifford in the vine-swinging scenes. According to director William Witney, when Gifford first saw Sharpe in her costume she commented that he looked prettier than she did. All of Gifford's non-vine swinging stunts were performed by Helen Thurston.
.
The serial was re-released on 19 April 1947 between the first runs of Son of Zorro
and Jesse James Rides Again
. It was the first Republic serial to be re-released in this way.
Source:
starring Phyllis Coates
as Jean Evans. This was essentially a low-budget reworking of the Jungle Girl character. Coates, who resembles Francis Gifford, wears an identical costume. This made it possible to reuse a significant amount of footage from the 1941 series, thus saving on production costs. Many of the stunts and action sequences (Panther Girl riding an elephant, swinging on vines, diving off a cliff, etc.) were taken from Jungle Girl.
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
Serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
starring Frances Gifford
Frances Gifford
Mary Frances Gifford was an American actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies.-Career:...
. It was directed by William Witney
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.He directed many Westerns during his career,...
and John English
John English (director)
John English was an American film editor and film director...
based on the novel Jungle Girl
Jungle Girl (novel)
Jungle Girl is an Edgar Rice Burroughs Lost World novel set in a forgotten kingdom in the jungles of Cambodia.It was begun in 1929-10-02 under the working title The Dancing Girl of the Leper King it was first run serially in five installments from May to September 1931 by Blue Book Magazine under...
(1932) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
. It was the twenty-second of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic.
Plot
Dr John Meredith, ashamed at the crime spree of his twinTwin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
, Bradley, travels with his daughter
Daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. The male equivalent is a son. Analogously the name is used on several areas to show relations between groups or elements.-Etymology:...
, Nyoka
Nyoka the Jungle Girl
Nyoka the Jungle Girl is a fictional character created for the screen in the 1941 serial Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. The character of Nyoka is often described as having been created by Edgar Rice Burroughs...
, to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. There his skills as a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
displace Shamba, the resident Witch Doctor
Witch doctor
A witch doctor originally referred to a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. It is currently used to refer to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine...
of the Masamba. Years later, Slick Latimer and Bradley Meredith arrive looking for a local diamond mine and team up with the disgruntled Shamba. Bradley kills his brother John and takes his place. Fortunately, they also brought along Jack Stanton and Curly Rogers, who promptly join Nyoka
Nyoka the Jungle Girl
Nyoka the Jungle Girl is a fictional character created for the screen in the 1941 serial Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. The character of Nyoka is often described as having been created by Edgar Rice Burroughs...
in trying to stop the villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
s.
Cast
- Frances GiffordFrances GiffordMary Frances Gifford was an American actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies.-Career:...
as Nyoka MeredithNyoka the Jungle GirlNyoka the Jungle Girl is a fictional character created for the screen in the 1941 serial Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. The character of Nyoka is often described as having been created by Edgar Rice Burroughs...
. Gifford was borrowed from Paramount for the lead. - Tom NealTom NealThomas Neal was an American actor best known for appearing in the critically lauded film Detour, a tryst with Barbara Payton and later committing manslaughter.-Career:...
as Jack Stanton - Trevor BardetteTrevor BardetteTrevor Bardette was an American film actor.He made over 172 movies and seventy-two TV appearances in his career. Bardette appeared in several memorable episodes in Adventures of Superman. In the 1951 show, The Human Bomb, he played the sinister title character...
as Dr John Meredith/Bradley Meredith - Gerald MohrGerald MohrGerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
as Slick Latimer - Eddie AcuffEddie AcuffEddie Acuff was an American actor. His best-known recurring role is that of Mr. Beasley, the postman, in the Blondie movie series that starred Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake....
as Curly Rogers - Frank LackteenFrank LackteenFrank Lackteen was a Lebanese-born American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1916 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. He was born in Kubber-Ilias, Lebanon and died in Los Angeles, California...
as Shamba - Tommy Cook as Kimbu
- Robert Barron as Bombo
- Al KikumeAl KikumeAl Kikume , born Elmer Kikume Gozier, was an American actor and stuntman of Hawaiian descent. He was born in either Honolulu or Kansas and died in Los Angeles...
as Chief Lutembi - Bunny the Elephant
- Emil Van Horn was the man inside the gorilla suit.
Production
The serial was officially based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Jungle girlJungle Girl (novel)
Jungle Girl is an Edgar Rice Burroughs Lost World novel set in a forgotten kingdom in the jungles of Cambodia.It was begun in 1929-10-02 under the working title The Dancing Girl of the Leper King it was first run serially in five installments from May to September 1931 by Blue Book Magazine under...
novel. Nevertheless, it bore almost no resemblance to the novel, which was about an Asian princess, not a white woman living in Africa. Like many Republic adaptations, the contract to use a character called the Jungle Girl meant that showings of the serial after a set date were banned.
Filming on Jungle Girl took place between 25 March and 9 May 1941. At forty-five days this shares the title of second longest shoot for a Republic serial with Secret Service in Darkest Africa
Secret Service in Darkest Africa
Secret Service in Darkest Africa is a Republic movie serial. It was Republic's thirtieth serial, of the sixty-six produced by the studio....
(1943
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
). The serial's production number was 1096.
The serial's production budget $171,415 but the negative cost
Negative cost
Negative cost is the cost of actually producing and shooting a film. It does not include such costs as distribution and promotion.Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.The term comes from the costs up to the...
rose to $177,404 (over budget by $5,989, or 3.5%). This was the most expensive Republic serial of 1941.
Jungle Girl was the first sound serial to have a female lead.
The serial was successful enough that a semi-sequel, Perils of Nyoka
Perils of Nyoka
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."-Plot:...
was produced in 1942. To avoid paying Edgar Rice Burroughs a second time for the rights, this sequel is only based on the original Republic Pictures-created elements of Jungle Girl.
Stunts
- Yakima CanuttYakima CanuttYakima Canutt , also known as Yak Canutt, was an American rodeo rider, actor, stuntman and action director.-Biography:...
- Ram Rod/Stunt Coordinator - Dave SharpeDave SharpeDave Sharpe was an American actor and stunt performer.He was called the "Crown Prince of Daredevils" and ranks alongside Yakima Canutt as one of Hollywood's all time greatest stuntmen...
as Nyoka/Jack Stanton (doubling Tom Neal & Frances Gifford) - Helen Thurston as Nyoka (doubling Frances Gifford)
- Tom SteeleTom Steele (stuntman)Tom Steele was a stunt man and actor, best remembered for appearing in serials, especially those produced by Republic Pictures, in both capacities.-Early life:...
as Slick Latimer (doubling Gerald Mohr) - Duke Taylor as Curly Rogers (doubling Eddie Acuff)
- Ken TerrellKen TerrellKen Terrell was an American western and action film actor and stuntman best known for playing Joe Marcella in the 1956 film The Indestructible Man. He died March 8, 1966 from arteriosclerosis-Partial filmography:...
as the Meredith brothers (doubling Trevor Bardette)
Dave Sharpe only doubled for Frances Gifford in the vine-swinging scenes. According to director William Witney, when Gifford first saw Sharpe in her costume she commented that he looked prettier than she did. All of Gifford's non-vine swinging stunts were performed by Helen Thurston.
Special effects
The effects in this serial were, as with all Republic serials, produced by the Lydecker brothersLydecker brothers
-Partial filmography:*Darkest Africa *Women in War - Oscar nominated*Adventures of Captain Marvel *Flying Tigers - Oscar nominated*Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe...
.
Theatrical
Jungle Girls official release date is 21 June 1941, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.The serial was re-released on 19 April 1947 between the first runs of Son of Zorro
Son of Zorro
Son of Zorro is a Republic film serial. It was the 43rd of the 66 serials produced by that studio. The serial was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred C. Brannon...
and Jesse James Rides Again
Jesse James Rides Again
Jesse James Rides Again is a Republic film serial.-Cast:* Clayton Moore as Jesse James* Linda Stirling as Ann Bolton. It was during filming of this serial that Linda Stirling met her future husband Sloane Nibley.* Roy Barcroft as Frank Lawton...
. It was the first Republic serial to be re-released in this way.
Chapter titles
- Death by Voodoo (27min 53s)
- Queen of Beasts (17min 11s)
- River of Fire (16min 45s)
- Treachery (16min 43s)
- Jungle Vengeance (16min 44s)
- Tribal Fury (16min 55s)
- The Poison Dart (16min 39s)
- Man Trap (16min 50s)
- Treasure Tomb (16min 43s)
- Jungle Killer (17min 41s)
- Dangerous Secret (16min 41s)
- Trapped (16min 44s)
- Ambush (16min 40s)
- Diamond Trail (16min 53s)
- Flight to Freedom (17min 28s)
Source:
Remade as Panther Girl of the Kongo
In 1955 Republic's penultimate serial was the 12-part Panther Girl of the KongoPanther Girl of the Kongo
Panther Girl of the Kongo is a Republic movie serial. It used a lot of stock footage from the 1941 Republic serial "Jungle Girl". This was the penultimate serial produced by Republic...
starring Phyllis Coates
Phyllis Coates
Phyllis Coates is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, and during the first season of the Adventures of Superman television series.-Early life and career:After graduating from high...
as Jean Evans. This was essentially a low-budget reworking of the Jungle Girl character. Coates, who resembles Francis Gifford, wears an identical costume. This made it possible to reuse a significant amount of footage from the 1941 series, thus saving on production costs. Many of the stunts and action sequences (Panther Girl riding an elephant, swinging on vines, diving off a cliff, etc.) were taken from Jungle Girl.