Jungle Queen!

Jungle Queen is an unusual movie serial. It seems at once to be serious and silly. The plot of this 1945 flick is a somewhat heavy-handed one with the story actually set in 1939 before the Nazis have rolled into Poland and kicked off the second World War. The clear intention of the film is to slam the Nazis and I'm totally down with that, in whatever form it might appear.

Ruth Roman is the titular character and she's one of the oddest things in the movie. Clearly inspired by H.Rider Haggard's "Ayesha", "Lothiel" as she's called literally runs through uncanny flames to reach a portal which opens up and she delivers some warning or proclamation to the assembled tribes of the "Middle Jungle". She is presented as ubiquitous, showing pretty much anywhere she chooses when she chooses to aid the heroes as they try to uncover and put and quick stop to the Nazi schemes.

One of the strongest elements of this serial is that black actors are used exclusively as far as I can tell to play the part of African natives. After seeing some lame attempts in other B-grade movies to present such a population, this was a pleasant surprise. I wish the acting had been up to the effort and sadly there are a myriad of accents present, none of which indicate the "Middle Jungle".

One critic I read said the story is too convoluted, and I cannot disagree. You have to keep your head on swivel as the plot unfolds (sometimes in dismaying slowness) but just when you think the road is too twisted, the light shines and it goes again, if barely. This one is for big fans of the genre, and not casual viewers who would be turned off I suspect to the form.

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Nyoka And The Tigermen!

Nyoka and the Tigermen (or Perils of Nyoka) is a sequel to Jungle Girl. Sequels were relatively rare in the serial marketplace. Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy and Rocketman got two sequels each and there was one each for the Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, Batman, and Superman. Off hand I cannot think of anymore except Tarzan who got several silents and a few sound serials. So for the powers at Republic to go a second time to the well with Nyoka is remarkable in and of itself.

The sequel though bares little connection to the first serial aside from the name Nyoka itself. None of the notions or ideas from the first make any play here, but one thing that is relentless in this serial is action. I cannot recall a serial film in which the action was so non-stop. Kay Aldridge as Nyoka is joined by the future Lone Ranger Clayton Moore as "Larry" (a lot of these hero types are named Larry it seems) and the two of them are on the run incessantly in this movie which tumbles back and forth among several locations, many of them exteriors. Moore looks ideal as the swashbuckling hero, his handsome mug here shining for all the world to see.

The good guys here are looking for an ancient tablet which could cure cancer and the bad guys are of course seeking that same tablet, but for its ability to lead them to treasure. The baddies have a lovely leader in Lorna Gray as "Vultura" and her second in command is none other than Ming himself, the reliable Charles Middleton. The rest of the cast is familiar and capable. There's even an ape named "Satan" played by Emil Van Horn who gets some dandy screen time.

But the one thing which stood out while I enjoyed this serial was the sheer volume of the shooting. There are guns blazing nearly non-stop as the good guys chase the bad guys and later when the tables are turned. They shoot from horseback, from behind rocks, from trees, in crypts, and anywhere they can find a target. As for the eponymous "Tigermen", all I can figure is one tribe wears robes with some strong stripes so I guess that's them -- no direct mention is ever made. The logic of what happens in this movie is often suspect, but there is no denying the sheer pleasure of vintage movie action.

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Jungle Girl!

They claim that Republic's Jungle Girl  is the best of the jungle serials and I'm not going to argue too much with that assessment. It's certainly the best one I've seen with a female lead and lead she does, with gusto. Francis Gifford is a real stand out in this one and alongside Tom Neal made for a handsome adventure pair -- ideal in many ways. 

They also claim that this story is derived from the novel Jungle Girl by Edgar Rice Burroughs and on that count we can claim less success. While they do the boost of having Tarzan's creator in the credits, the movie has little if anything to do with ERB's yarn even including the name of the lead character Nyoka. 

Another strike against Jungle Girl is use of non-black actors to portray the natives. There's that Burroughisan sense that these folks are derived from other stock than that which lays claim to most of the continent of Africa, but here the lack of black faces seems weird. It does though spare us the humiliation of seeing black actors treated as lesser folk. 

This is a Republic serial and that means action. That's the primary virtue of Jungle Girl and why I think it is so well regarded by fans of the form, the action is hot and heavy and spread well between the leads. There are some really interesting cliffhanger endings and more than a few of them actually require wit and not blind luck to survive. The story is confined to a relatively small area and actually getting out on plane forms a substantial motivation for much of the action. This keeping the action contained helps with the clarity of the storytelling which in serials can become a bit fuzzy. 

All in all Jungle Girl is a winner and one I recommend. It did so well it spawned a sequel and I'll take a look at that next time. 

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Queen Of The Jungle!

Queen of the Jungle is a 1935 serial from Mascot which takes footage from an even earlier silent film and tries to bond some new scenes. It's not really a successful effort alas. As I watched this early serial unfold I was reminded of the television show Forged in Fire -- let me explain. On that show the contestants are required often to bond to different types of metal into a cohesive whole which will yield a working blade. All too often due to lapses in technique or lack of time or both the bond does hold and the metals spring apart. That seemed to happen in this movie.

We meet our hero and heroine as children when the young woman is swept away in balloon into the heart of unexplored Africa. Many years later the young man searches for her and finds her, the queen of a tribe of mostly friendly natives who worship her as well as many other fetishes. There are villains and heroes and much rambling through the jungle. The main goal though in the new sections film in 1935 Mascot serial is that it is slave to the somewhat dusty plot of the 1922 lost movie The Jungle Goddess used extensively to expand the yarn. It felt like they wanted to update the old movie and make proper for audiences adjusted for sound. But the differences between the set-bound 1935 scenes and the outdoor 1922 scenes were extensive and obvious. It didn't help either that the "Queen of the Jungle" spoke almost no English and instead the directors insisted on sort of gibberish that was later suggested to be Swahili but it didn't sound legit to me.

Ultimately, as in all these programmers, the heroes succeed and villains are put down, but the fun is always getting there. All too often the fun is absent in Queen of the Jungle. At least it does preserve in some fashion the lost 1922 film, which is one I'd really have preferred to see.

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Girls, Girls, Heike!

I've been on a jungle girls kick of late and while sorting some vintage Nyoka the Jungle Girl covers I was once again struck by this beauty as rendered by Mark Heike. I'll be attending to a bevy of jungle girl movies as the week progresses, but for today let's enjoy some finely rendered Indy artwork by a talent who currently runs AC Comics if I have my facts up to date.

I first ran across Mark Heike's name on the old Charlton Bullseye, the one from the 80's which was used to showcase amateur and new talent as the company wheezed its final few breaths before staggering out of existence. Then Heike's name showed up on the aforementioned AC Comics, material I really liked and Heike's talent for drawing a damsel was amazing. His earliest stuff has such a delicate sweet feel to it. Here are some of his early highly tasty covers for Bill Black's Florida-based outfit.

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A Day In The Anti-Life - The Racist!

The laws of gravity have been nullified, the sun rises in the west and words no longer mean what they meant. What we once knew as "up" is now relegated to "down", or such the sniveling cold-blooded defenders of the racist leader of the (for now) free world would have us believe. I listened for the inevitable and inadequate spin after Trump's latest tweet barrage (as I write this at least), knowing it would come and even still hoped that maybe some few more of his lackey dogs would break away, shaking the fleas if only for a moment. But too few. Hear that bell -- souls are being cashed in as we speak.  

"President Dumb Ass" (my late beloved wife's apt description of the ruthless lout) bellowed on his twitter box that four members of the United States Congress should just "go back" to the "crime infested places from which they came". This red-hot racist screed, a classic white-power taunt is what it is, and no amount of  syllable twisting by the toady class will undo it. I heard some wheezing nonsense about the fabric of the country and the something about patriotism and then something else as the quislings tried breathlessly to put this latest outburst in the arena with kneeling during football games. Then I heard "Socialist" and I guess we all fall down like well-tutored dogs. (The Republican message for the upcoming elections goes like this -- "Blah, blah, blah, Socialist, blah, blah, blah, Socialist, blah, blah, blah, Make America Great Again.")

But what I find most troubling is that still yet those in the mobs at Trump rallies who shout "Send Her Back!" are still yet somehow given a pass on whether they are racist or not. A racist is anyone who  says or does racist things. That's not difficult to parse, yet every day excuses are found to explain behavior which would get us all reprimanded sternly in grade school. The election of Barrack Obama did not put to bed the long-lurking multi-generational racism which in many respects defines the worst of America, it simply put it front and center and focused the attention. Republicans have been playing with these tropes forever and a day, but they kept it generally in the shadows. One time it famously got loose was when the vaunted George Bush Senior launched his Willie Horton ad in his contest with Dukakis way back when such grim tactics were deemed ugly but effective. It's that effectiveness that should scare us all -- this vile stuff works in America and long has done so. It was not so much that Hitler delivered a speech which threatened the fabric of German society and the world, it was that so many eagerly listened. 

I admit I have found the President to be often a ludicrous figure, hapless and foolish, but as he fits himself into the seat of power with increasing comfort, the cold unfettered darkness in his soul emerges and takes dominance. There is much blame to sling around for allowing this demagogue to ascend. The Republican Party is largely responsible and in reward has been swallowed whole by the monster they refused to kill in the crib and now they can only pretend to stand for something other than individual greed and advancement. The party of family values has eaten of the heartily of the Tree as the viper sings. The Democratic Party is responsible and has been timid and slow to respond even when given the tools to do something about it -- they seem meek and mild and unequal to the task at hand. They see too much of themselves across the aisle perhaps. The media (Fox and MSNBC and all of them) has been responsible as they always are eager to present the daily drama which might get the title "The Fall of the United States of America" on their omnipresent chyrons.  Me and people like me who haven't yet taken to the streets in protest are equally to blame. We are all of us to blame for not taking it more seriously sooner, but mostly to blame is the Racist himself.

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Repose!

The Dojo is taking a little break for just a few days in the swelter of summer so that yours truly can get some necessary things done out in the real world and maybe reflect on a few projects for upcoming months here. Another hard truth is that my back bedroom full of mighty tomes is in  dire need of a wholesale organization. I have long passed the point when I cannot find something, now I cannot even effectively look for it. Change is in the offing and God herself only knows what I'll discover in those boxes. In times past when I've taken these breaks I showcase and possibly freshen some old posts, but none this time alas. If perchance you are one of those who venture into the Dojo regularly, take heart (or possibly dread) because sooner than you'd like these virtual doors will swing wide once again for business as usual.

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