Jungle Girl (serial)

Infobox Film
name = Jungle Girl


director = William Witney
John English
producer = Hiram S. Brown Jr
writer = Alfred Batson
Ronald Davidson
Norman S. Hall
William Lively
Joseph O'Donnell
Joseph F. Poland
Edgar Rice Burroughs"(novel)"
starring = Frances Gifford
Tom Neal
Trevor Bardette
Gerald Mohr
Eddie Acuff
Frank Lackteen
cinematography = Reggie Lanning
distributor = Republic Pictures
released = Flagicon|USA 21 June 1941 "(serial)"cite book
last = Mathis
first = Jack
title = Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement
origyear = 1995
publisher = Jack Mathis Advertising
isbn = 0-9632878-1-8
pages = pp. 3, 10, 54-55
chapter = ]
Flagicon|UK1941
Flagicon|France3 September 1947
19 April 1947 "(re-release)"
Flagicon|Finland25 March 1949
Flagicon|West Germany13 July 1951
runtime = 15 chapters (265 min)
country = USA
language = English
followed by = Perils of Nyoka (1942)
budget = $171,415 (negative cost: $177,404)
imdb_id = 0033776
amg_id = 1:144535

"Jungle Girl" (1941) 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.

Plot

Dr John Meredith, ashamed at the crime spree of his twin, 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 villains.

Cast

*Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. Gifford was borrowed from Paramount for the lead. [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 93
chapter = 5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines) ]
*Tom Neal as Jack Stanton
*Trevor Bardette as Dr John Meredith/Bradley Meredith
*Gerald Mohr as Slick Latimer
*Eddie Acuff as Curly Rogers
*Frank Lackteen as Shamba
*Tommy Cook as Kimbu
*Robert Barron as Bombo
*Al Kikume as Chief Lutembi
*Bunny the Elephant
*Emil Van Horn was the man inside the gorilla suit.cite book
last = Harmon
first = Jim
coauthors= Donald F. Glut
authorlink = Jim Harmon
title = The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury
origyear = 1973
publisher = Routledge
isbn = 9780713000979
pages = pp. 10, 12, 14, 17
chapter = 1. The Girls "Who Is That Girl in the Buzz Saw?" ]

Production

The serial was based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Jungle Girl" novel.cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 11
chapter = 2. In Search of Ammunition ] Like many Republic adaptations, the contract to use the Jungle Girl character 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 the 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 of the original Republic Pictures-created elements of "Jungle Girl".

Republic's last female lead wore the same costume as its first. This was to make it possible to use significant stock footage from Jungle Girl to cheaply pad out Panther Girl of the Kongo.

tunts

*Yakima Canutt - Ram Rod/Stunt Coordinator
*Dave 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 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) ISBN 0786422580] All of Gifford's non-vine swinging stunts were performed by Helen Thurston.

pecial effects

The effects in this serial were, as with all Republic serials, produced by the Lydecker brothers.

Release

Theatrical

"Jungle Girl"'s 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". 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: [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 230
chapter = Filmography ]

ee also

* List of film serials by year
* List of film serials by studio

References

External links

*
*
* [http://www.videodetective.com/trailer-preview.asp?customerid=97135&publishedid=609477 Jungle Girl Trailer] at Video Detective

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Republic Serial
before=Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
years=Jungle Girl (1941)
after=King of the Texas Rangers (1941)succession box
title=Witney-English Serial
before=Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
years=Jungle Girl (1941)
after=King of the Texas Rangers (1941)