''Jungle Girl'' is a 1941 15-chapter

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

serial starring Frances Gifford. It was directed by

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film director, film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serial film, serials: ''Dick Tracy Return ...

and John English based on the novel '' Jungle Girl'' (1932) by

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

. It was the 22nd of the 66 serials produced by Republic.

Plot

Dr. John Meredith, ashamed at the crime spree of his evil twin brother, Bradley, travels with his daughter, Nyoka, to Africa. There his skills as a doctor displace Shamba, the resident

witch doctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor), or witchcraft doctor, is a kind of magical healer who treats ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is often misunderstood, and they could more accurately be called "anti-witch doctors ...

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. They also bring along Jack Stanton and Curly Rogers, who promptly join Nyoka in trying to stop the villains.

Cast

* Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. Gifford was borrowed from Paramount for the lead. *

Tom Neal Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor and Amateur boxing, amateur boxer. Between 1932 and 1934, he was an amateur boxer who fought in many fights. As an actor, he was best known for his co-starring ...

as Jack Stanton *

Trevor Bardette Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of ''Adventures of Su ...

as Dr John Meredith/Bradley Meredith *

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

as Slick Latimer * Eddie Acuff as Curly Rogers *

Frank Lackteen Frank Lackteen (born Mohammed Hassan Lackteen August 29, 1897 – July 8, 1968) was an American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1915 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. ...

as Shamba * Tommy Cook as Kimbu *Robert Barron as Bombo * Al Kikume as Chief Lutembi *Bunny the Elephant as Veela * Emil Van Horn was the man inside the

gorilla suit Gorilla suits are a type of creature suit resembling a gorilla. The gorilla suit is a popular Halloween and costume party costume, and is also used as a source of humour, while more realistic suits have been used both to represent real gorillas ...

Production

The serial was officially based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' ''Jungle Girl'' novel. Nevertheless, it bore almost no resemblance to the novel, which had no character named "Nyoka" and 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 March 25 and May 9, 1941. At 45 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 Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example '' The Blair Witch Project'', can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the ne ...

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 Burroughs a second time for the rights, the sequel used only the original material created by Republic Pictures for ''Jungle Girl'' (such as the name Nyoka). It did not use any of Burroughs' material or the title of his novel.

Stunts

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen performing them ...

Ram Rod/Stunt Coordinator * David Sharpe as Nyoka/Jack Stanton (doubling Tom Neal & Frances Gifford) *Helen Thurston as Nyoka (doubling Frances Gifford) * Tom Steele as Slick Latimer (doubling Gerald Mohr) *Duke Taylor as Curly Rogers (doubling Eddie Acuff) *

Ken Terrell Kenneth Jones Terrell (April 29, 1904 – March 8, 1966) was an American western and action film actor and stuntman best known for playing Joe Marcelli in the 1956 film ''Indestructible Man'' and Jess in the 1958 film '' Attack of the 50 Fo ...

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.Witney, William. ''In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door''. (McFarland & Company) 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 brothers Howard "Babe" Lydecker (June 8, 1911 – September 26, 1969) and Theodore Lydecker (November 7, 1908 – May 25, 1990), billed together as Howard and Theodore Lydecker, were a special effects team primarily working as contract staff members of Re ...

Release

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'' and ''

Jesse James Rides Again ''Jesse James Rides Again'' is a 1947 American Republic Western film serial. Plot Gunfighter Jesse James is framed for a Missouri bank job and murder by a black-cowled outlaw gang, known as "The Black Raiders". Unable to clear his name, he an ...

''. 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 Kongo'' 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''.

''Jungle Girl'' tribute/documentary

In 1984, filmmaker Richard Myers produced a documentary/experimental film, also titled ''Jungle Girl'', which included audio interviews with Frances Gifford in which she discusses her career and the shooting of the film. The visual part of the film is an impressionistic recreation of moments from the serial. Myers, as a child, was strongly influenced by this serial and he used this creative process to explore his own childhood and his love of movies.

References

External links

* {{William Witney Jungle girls Republic Pictures film serials 1941 adventure films 1941 films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Edgar Rice Burroughs Films directed by William Witney Films directed by John English Films adapted into comics American adventure films Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland 1940s American films English-language adventure films