Devil Goddess | |
---|---|
Directed by | Spencer G. Bennet |
Screenplay by | George H. Plympton |
Story by | Dwight Babcock |
Based on | Jungle Jim 1934-1954 comic strip by Don Moore and Alex Raymond |
Produced by | Sam Katzman |
Starring | Johnny Weissmuller Angela Stevens |
Cinematography | Ira Morgan |
Edited by | Aaron Stell |
Music by | Mischa Bakaleinikoff |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 68 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Devil Goddess (1955) is the sixteenth and final Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his third and last performance as the protagonist adventurer Johnny Weissmuller (a character previously called "Jungle Jim"), and his final film as well. It co-starred Ed Hinton and William Tannen as the film's antagonists, Leopold and Nels Comstock, respectively. Angela Stevens also stars. The film was directed by Spencer G. Bennet and written by Dwight Babcock and George H. Plympton.
The film centers on jungle roamer Weissmuller and his team racing against a few looters for a mystical treasure located in a demon-worshiping land. Filming took place in December 1954. Devil Goddess was theatrically released in the United States in October 1955.
Adventure-seeker Johnny Weissmuller (as himself) receives a request from Professor Carl Blakely (Selmer Jackson) to collaboratively rescue a certain Professor Dixon (William Blakely) from the Mountain of Explosive Fire in Kirundi. Blakely's daughter Nora (Angela Stevens) comes along. The Kirundi natives belong to a religious tribe worshipping a demon thought to control fire. Pious in nature, they are willing to sacrifice humans just to appease the fire demon, who in fact is Dixon. They are also known to possess mystical items, including a jewel-encrusted sabre.
Notorious looters Leopold (Hinton) and Nels Comstock (Tannen), along with their criminal crew, are looking to steal the Kirundi folks' treasures. They arrive at the strange land the same time Johnny and Blakely do. Jim is tipped off by a contact that his lover Sarabna (Vera M. Francis) is next in line to be sacrificed by the natives. The brave explorer arrives in the nick of time, managing to halt the procession and at the same time finding Dixon. Meanwhile, the looters strike gold but are discovered and killed by the Caucasian-loathing tribesmen.
The Mountain of Explosive Fire, revealed to be an active volcano, erupts suddenly. Johnny evacuates the local people and flees to safety with Blakely, Sarabna, and the fire demon Dixon. In gratitude, the chief presents the team with their precious treasures. Dixon considers donating them to a museum.
Johnny Weissmuller played himself, as the protagonist jungle adventurer. [2] It was his third time doing so. [lower-alpha 1] After production for Devil Goddess came to a finish, Weissmuller quit acting in feature films [3] though he made appearances in The Phynx (1970) and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). The film was Paul Marion's final film too. [4]
The film was directed by Spencer G. Bennet with assistance from Leonard Katzman. Sam Katzman was in charge of production for Columbia Pictures, while George Plympton wrote the screenplay based on a story by Dwight Babcock. Ira Morgan signed on as cinematographer. The set decorator was Sidney Clifford. Mischa Bakaleinikoff headed the musical direction, and Aaron Stell edited the film. Principal photography was completed in about a week's time. It officially began on December 14, 1954, and ended on December 21, 1954. [2]
Not all of the footage in Devil Goddess is original. Archived footage from preceding Jungle Jim films, including Mark of the Tiger (1950), Pygmy Island (1950), Voodoo Tiger (1952), Killer Ape (1953), and Savage Mutiny (1953), is featured in the film. [5]
The film was officially released in the North American cinemas in October 1955. [2] It was critiqued as a "silly jungle film" by the Motion Picture Herald , while the magazine Variety wrote that it was an "almost amateurish attempt at making a formula theme pay off". In evaluating the film in his 2012 book Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926—1955: The Harry Cohn Years, Gene Blottner dubbed Weissmuller's acting in the film as "lack-luster", concluding that it "all life is gone from the series with this entry". [5]
Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr., known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably as Old Shatterhand in a film series by the West German studio Constantin Film. At the height of his fame, he was one of the most popular actors in German-speaking cinema, and received Bambi Award and Bravo Otto nominations for the honor.
Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers.
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Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began on January 7, 1934, as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle Jim. The character also trekked through radio, film, comic book and television adaptations. Notable was a series of films and television episodes in which Johnny Weissmuller portrayed the safari-suit wearing character, after hanging up his Tarzan loincloth. The strip concluded on August 8, 1954.
Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land is a 1952 American black-and-white adventure film directed by Lew Landers and written by Samuel Newman, and starring Johnny Weissmuller as the title character. This was the eighth entry in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series. Angela Greene and Jean Willes also star.
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Jungle Jim is a 1948 American adventure film directed by William Berke and starring Johnny Weissmuller. It is based on Alex Raymond's Jungle Jim comic strip and was distributed by Columbia Pictures. It is the first picture in the Jungle Jim series that consists of 16 films originally released between 1948 and 1955.
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The Notorious Lone Wolf is a 1946 American mystery film directed by D. Ross Lederman and starring Gerald Mohr, Janis Carter and Eric Blore. It is the twelfth Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures. The picture features Mohr in his inaugural performance as the protagonist detective Lone Wolf alongside Janis Carter and Ian Wolfe as Adam Wainwright, the film's antagonist. The screenplay was written by Martin Berkeley, Edward Dein, and William J. Bowers.
Jungle Moon Men (1955) is the fifteenth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his second performance as the protagonist adventurer Johnny Weissmuller. The film was directed by Charles S. Gould and written by Dwight Babcock and Jo Pagano.
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The Lost Tribe (1949) is the second Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. The film features Johnny Weissmuller in his second performance as the adventurer Jungle Jim, co-starring Myrna Dell and Elena Verdugo, along with Joseph Vitale and George J. Lewis as the film's antagonists. It was directed by William Berke and written by Don Martin and Arthur Hoerl.
Fury of the Congo (1951) is the sixth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his sixth performance as the protagonist adventurer Jungle Jim. The film was directed by William Berke and written by Carroll Young.
Voodoo Tiger is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Spencer G. Bennet and starring Johnny Weissmuller in his ninth performance as the protagonist adventurer Jungle Jim. It was written by Samuel Newman and produced by Columbia Pictures. It features James Seay as the film's antagonist. Jean Byron also stars.
Killer Ape (1953) is the twelfth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his twelfth performance as the protagonist adventurer Jungle Jim. Carol Thurston also stars. The film was directed by Spencer G. Bennet and written by Arthur Hoerl and Carroll Young.
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