''The Naked Jungle'' is a 1954 American
adventure film
An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...
directed by
Byron Haskin
Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director, special effects creator and cinematographer. He is best known for directing '' The War of the Worlds'' (1953), one of many films where he ...
, and starring
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten ...
and
Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Jean Parker (June 26, 1922 – December 9, 2013) was an American actress. She was nominated for three Academy Awards for her roles in the films ''Caged'' (1950), ''Detective Story'' (1951), and ''Interrupted Melody'' (1955), the first ...
. Telling the story of an attack of
army ant
The name army ant (or legionary ant or ''marabunta'') is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limi ...
s on a Brazilian cocoa plantation, it was based on the
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...
short story "
Leiningen Versus the Ants
"Leiningen Versus the Ants" by Carl Stephenson is a classic short story published in the December 1938 edition of ''Esquire''. It is a translation, probably by Stephenson himself, of "Leiningens Kampf mit den Ameisen" which was originally publ ...
" by
Carl Stephenson.
Plot
In 1901, Joanna arrives from
at a
South American
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...
plantation to meet her new husband (whom she
married by proxy
A proxy wedding or proxy marriage is a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being united are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons. If both partners are absent a double proxy wedding occurs.
Marriage ...
), plantation owner Christopher Leiningen. This has been arranged by his brother in New Orleans. Leiningen is upset that she is a widow, as he wished to marry a virgin. She tells him a piano plays better if it has already been played.
Leiningen is cold and remote to her, rebuffing all her attempts to make friends with him. She is beautiful, independent, and arrives ready to be his stalwart helpmate. There is a strong sexual tension, which appears hard to resolve. Although there is mutual softening, he still decides to send her back to the US. Leiningen decides to advance this plan by a month when he hears from the local commissioner of a potential attack by an army of ants (marabunta), as he does not wish her to be harmed.
As she awaits the boat to take her back to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, they learn that legions of
army ant
The name army ant (or legionary ant or ''marabunta'') is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limi ...
s - the "marabunta" - will strike in a few days' time. Leiningen refuses to give up the home he fought so hard to create. Instead of evacuating, he resolves to make a stand against this indomitable natural predator. The ants take several days to arrive and during that time their joint effort brings them closer and love begins to blossom. Joanna joins the fight to save the plantation.
Leiningen's most drastic action is blowing up a timber dam to flood his own estate, washing the ants away.
Cast
Production
In November 1952, George Pal announced he would adapt the short story "
Leiningen Versus the Ants
"Leiningen Versus the Ants" by Carl Stephenson is a classic short story published in the December 1938 edition of ''Esquire''. It is a translation, probably by Stephenson himself, of "Leiningens Kampf mit den Ameisen" which was originally publ ...
" into a feature film, with Philip Yordan to write the screenplay.
In March 1953, Charlton Heston was announced as the male lead. In May 1953, Teddi Sherman was reportedly working on the script. The screenplay was co-written by
Ranald MacDougall
Ranald MacDougall (March 10, 1915 – December 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter who scripted such films as '' Mildred Pierce'' (1945), '' The Unsuspected'' (1947), ''June Bride'' (1948), and '' The Naked Jungle'' (1954), and shared screenw ...
and the
blacklisted
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...
writer
Ben Maddow.
William Conrad
William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he s ...
, who had starred as Leiningen in adaptations of Stephenson's story for the radio programs ''
Escape
Escape or Escaping may refer to:
Computing
* Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation
** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...
'' and ''
Suspense
Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being Decision-making, undecided, or being Doubt, doubtful. In a Drama, dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the wikt:outcome, outcome of a plot (narrative), plot or of the solution t ...
'', appears in the film as the
district commissioner (this was announced in July 1953).
The unique "sound" of the ants devouring everything in their path was created by swirling a straw in a glass of water with crushed ice, which was then amplified. Much of the
Rio Negro (Amazon)
The Rio Negro ( pt, Rio Negro, br ; es, Río Negro} "''Black River''"), or Guainía as it is known in its upper part, is the largest left tributary of the Amazon River (accounting for about 14% of the water in the Amazon basin), the largest ...
jungle riverscape, as well as the bridge dynamiting and sluice scenes, are second-unit stock footage shot in
Florahome, Florida
Florahome is an unincorporated community in Putnam County, Florida, United States, located on State Road 100. The town was established in 1899 by the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway
The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway , also known ...
.
Impact
The film was adapted for radio on the June 7, 1954 broadcast of the ''
Lux Radio Theatre
''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...
'';
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten ...
reprised his role as "Leiningen" and
Donna Reed played "Joanna".
A scene from the film was used in the 1971 film ''
The Hellstrom Chronicle
''The Hellstrom Chronicle'' is an American film released in 1971 which combines elements of documentary, science fiction, horror and apocalyptic prophecy to present a gripping satirical depiction of the struggle for survival between humans and i ...
''.
The film strongly influenced the 1985 ''
MacGyver
Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot.
In both p ...
'' episode "Trumbo's World", which also featured clips from the film.
In 1978,
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
listed the film as among his "100 Random Pleasures" in a section of films which "are not good. They're guilty. But there are things in them that make you like them, that make them worthwhile."
Trivia
In 1970, it aired on
WVUE-TV in
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
, as part of its highly publicized switch of channel positions with that city's
PBS member station,
WYES-TV
WYES-TV, virtual channel 12 (VHF digital channel 11), is a Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television station licensed to New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The station is owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Fou ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
Streaming audio
''Leiningen Versus the Ants''on
Escape
Escape or Escaping may refer to:
Computing
* Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation
** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...
: January 14, 1948
''The Naked Jungle''on
Lux Radio Theater
''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...
: June 7, 1954
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naked Jungle, The
1954 films
1950s adventure drama films
1954 romantic drama films
American adventure drama films
American romantic drama films
Adventure horror films
American romantic horror films
American horror drama films
American natural horror films
Arranged marriage in fiction
Fictional ants
Films about ants
Films based on short fiction
Films directed by Byron Haskin
Films produced by George Pal
Films scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof
Films set in 1901
Films set in Brazil
Films shot in Florida
Films with screenplays by Ranald MacDougall
Paramount Pictures films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films