''Female Jungle'' is a 1955

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

directed by

Bruno VeSota Bruno William VeSota (March 25, 1922 – September 24, 1976)Truitt, Evelyn Mack (1984). Who Was Who on Screen'. New York: R.R. Bowker Company. p. 407. . was an American character actor, director and producer who, between 1945 and 1974, ...

and starring

Kathleen Crowley Kathleen Crowley (born Betty Jane Crowley; December 26, 1929 – April 23, 2017) was an American actress. She appeared in over 100 movies and television series in the 1950s and 1960s, almost always as a leading lady. Biography Early life B ...

Lawrence Tierney Lawrence James Tierney (March 15, 1919 – February 26, 2002) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and "tough guys" in a career that spanned over fifty years. His roles mirrored ...

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later J ...

and

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...

. The production was Mansfield's first film, as well as the only

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

entry into film noir.

Plot

A cop (Tierney) is suspected of killing a gorgeous film star. Since he was extremely drunk at the time, even he suspects that he did it. The investigation leads him to Candy, an artist's mistress (Mansfield), as well as to a slimy '' Laura''-type gossip columnist (

) who spent time with the woman that night and becomes the main suspect. But he also becomes a red herring when a third man is finally found to be the real killer.

Cast

as Claude Almstead *

as Det. Sgt. Jack Stevens *

as Candy Price *

as Peggy Voe * Davis Roberts as George * Burt Kaiser as Alex Voe *

as Frank * Eve Brent (billed as Jean Lewis) as Monica Madison

Production

Producer Burt Kaiser and director Bruno VeSota (directing his first film), both have roles in the film. In 1954, Kaiser unsuccessfully tried to sell the distribution rights to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and Allied Artists before it was picked up by American Releasing Corporation (ARC), which later became

. It is rumored that Mansfield was paid $150 for her role in the film. The movie was shot in six days.

was the lead; one day with half the film to finish she turned up to filming three hours late claiming she had been raped. The script was rewritten to build up the role played by Jayne Mansfield and additional scenes were shot involving a double for Crowley.

Release

The movie was shown as a

double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

with

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

's ''

The Oklahoma Woman ''The Oklahoma Woman'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman. Plot The film involves the return of Steve Ward, a former gunslinger recently released from federal prison, to his hometown to claim a ranch he has inherited. Upo ...

'' in 1956 to ride on Mansfield's popularity which had risen dramatically due to her

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

films released at the time.

Critical response

In ''Death on the Cheap'', Arthur Lyons writes that the film, although "shoddily written, produced and directed", is significant for several reasons, including "It was American International's only foray into film noir ... The film also marked a return to the screen of noir icon Lawrence Tierney, whose off-screen bar brawls and numerous arrests during the 1940s had made him

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

in Hollywood." Film critic Dennis Schwartz, gave the film a mixed review and discussed the film's problems. He wrote, "A muddled but diverting

B film A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

noir melodrama from cheapie American International Pictures. Future sex queen Jayne Mansfield, known as the blonde bombshell, made her acting debut, costarring as a

nymphomaniac Hypersexuality is a proposed medical condition said to cause unwanted or excessive sexual arousal, causing people to engage in or think about sexual activity to a point of distress or impairment., according to the website of ''Psychology Toda ...

. Its attempts to be hard-boiled fall apart when it becomes apparent that writer Burt Kaiser couldn't get a handle on the plot line, and instead lets the narrative get mired in too much silliness. It also suffers from a weak directing effort by Bruno Ve Sota and cheesy production values."Schwartz, Dennis
''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', April 19, 2005. Accessed: July 20, 2013.

References

External links

* *
''Female Jungle''
informational site and DVD review at Digital Retribution * {{YouTube, kMineXOaf8s, ''Female Jungle'' film trailer 1955 films 1950s thriller films American International Pictures films American thriller films American black-and-white films Film noir 1955 directorial debut films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language thriller films