Jungle Menace | |
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Directed by | |
Written by | |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | |
Edited by | Earl Turner |
Music by | Lee Zahler |
Color process | Black and white |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 15 chapters (308 min) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Jungle Menace (1937) is the first serial released by Columbia Pictures.
Based on the success of Republic Pictures's 1936 serial Darkest Africa , starring real-life animal trainer Clyde Beatty, Columbia made this exotic jungle serial starring real-life animal collector Frank "Bring 'Em Back Alive" Buck. Set in the fictional land of Seemang in Asia, Buck plays the role of Frank Hardy, a soldier of fortune who intervenes in and investigates attempts to run a rubber plantation owner and his daughter off their land.
It was directed by Harry L. Fraser and George Melford, and filmed in black and white in Stockton, California, USA.
In 1946, material from this serial was re-edited into the 70-minute feature film adaptation called Jungle Terror.
In the Asian province of Seemang, where the Bay of Bengal meets the jungle, Chandler Elliott (John St. Polis) owns a large and prosperous rubber plantation. His attractive daughter, Dorothy (Charlotte Henry), is engaged to neighboring planter Tom Banning (William Bakewell), but troubles are brewing for both plantations. They ship a cargo of rubber on a riverboat to be taken to an ocean port, but the boat is hi-jacked by river pirates. They kill the crew and steal the shipment. This is part of a plot by Jim Murphy (LeRoy Mason), Elliott's plantation manager, and others to force Elliott to sell his plantation. Local explorer Frank Hardy (Frank Buck) determines to find out who is behind the plot.
In his autobiography, director Harry L. Fraser described filming the scene in Jungle Menace during which a boa constrictor attacks the heroine Dorothy (Charlotte Henry). The villain has tied Dorothy hand and foot and she thrashes wildly, terrified when she suddenly sees the huge snake:
"The snake was in no hurry. Slowly he slithered across the girl's body, while she screamed and struggled. He turned, looking for a spot to slip under her to make his first wrap. I motioned to the reptile crew to get ready, and a split-second later gave them the signal to move in. But now, the maddened snake fought them and did its best to coil around one of the men. Before that happened, however, I had cut, and we had a good cliff-hanger with our terror-stricken heroine to close the episode." [1]
Buck drank heavily on set and was not always sober during filming. Fraser recounts Buck justified it saying “I’d die in the jungle just drinking coffee. I drink martinis, Harry. Keep me going. Now, my problem is where can I get a thermos filled with martinis at six o’clock in the morning?” [1]
Each of the fifteen chapters was 20 minutes long and contained plenty of action: "One man defying a thousand deaths in a green hell of creeping horror! The fearless Frank Buck in his most hair-raising role! Merciless killers...a beautiful hostage...a cargo of wild animals run loose when the typhoon strikes! Terrifying adventures torn out of the heart of cruelest Asia!" The chapter titles are:
Source: [2]
Film critics enjoyed the show: "Kids will love Jungle Menace for its harem-scarum adventure and for the presence of Frank Buck, with his Wild Animals Associates, Inc. Frank Buck plays the hero, Frank Hardy, when gangdom invades the rubber business and river pirates grab off plantation cargo. Plenty of old-time names are in the cast: Reginald Denny is a plantation foreman, Esther Ralston an owner, Charlotte Henry and William Bakewell play young lovers; also featured are Clarence Muse, Willie Fung, Leroy Mason, Richard Tucker, and Duncan Renaldo." [3]
Later critics would question the treatment of animals in the film: "Shifts in public perception of the increasingly threatened wild and the growing controversy over the practice of keeping wild animals in captivity have recast many of these former heroes into villains." Joanne Carol Joys said that a kind of Orientalism was implicit in the film's display of "masculine superiority and dominance over the wilderness with the capability of rendering it submissive and orderly". [4]
Bring 'Em Back Alive is an adventure television series starring Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, and Ron O'Neal.
Frank Howard Buck was an American hunter, animal collector, and author, as well as a film actor, director, and producer. Beginning in the 1910s he made many expeditions into Asia for the purpose of hunting and collecting exotic animals, bringing over 100,000 live specimens back to the United States and elsewhere for zoos and circuses and earning a reputation as an adventurer. He co-authored seven books chronicling or based on his expeditions, beginning with 1930's Bring 'Em Back Alive, which became a bestseller.
King of the Congo is a 1952 American 15 chapter movie serial, the 48th released by Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Wallace Grissell, and stars Buster Crabbe. The serial also co-stars Gloria Dea, Leonard Penn, Jack Ingram, Rick Vallin, Nick Stuart, William Fawcett, and Rusty Wescoatt. King of the Congo was based on the comic book character "Thun'da", created by Frank Frazetta, and published by Magazine Enterprises.
Harry L. Fraser was an American film director and screenplay writer.
Charlotte Virginia Henry was an American actress who is best remembered for her roles in Alice in Wonderland (1933) and Babes in Toyland (1934). She also starred in the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace (1937).
Clyde Ernest Elliott was an American motion picture director, producer, and writer. He is best known for animal films, especially Frank Buck’s first movie, Bring 'Em Back Alive (1932).
Edward Anthony was an American journalist and writer who co-wrote Frank Buck's first two books, Bring 'Em Back Alive, and Wild Cargo.
Louis Weiss was an American independent producer of low-budget comedies, westerns, serials, and exploitation films.
Tiger Fangs is a 1943 American adventure/thriller film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Frank Buck and June Duprez. It was distributed Producers Releasing Corporation. The film's sets were designed by the art director Paul Palmentola.
All in a Lifetime by Frank Buck, with Ferrin Fraser, is Buck’s autobiography.
The White Gorilla is a 1945 American film written and directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring Ray Corrigan, Lorraine Miller, and George J. Lewis. The film was made by re-editing Fraser's 1927 silent serial Perils of the Jungle, and adding new footage as a framing plot. This was done without regard to differences in film quality or speed. This film is in the public domain.
Bring 'Em Back Alive is a 1932 American Pre-Code jungle adventure documentary filmed in Malaya starring Frank Buck. The film was promoted with an NBC radio series of the same title. The film's copyright was renewed in 1959, meaning it will enter the public domain in 2028.
Wild Cargo is a 1934 jungle adventure documentary starring Frank Buck. Buck depicts the ingenious methods by which he traps wild birds, mammals and reptiles. Many scenes were photographed on the vast Malayan estates of Buck's friend, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor, who appears in person in the film.
Wild Cargo was Frank Buck's second book, a bestseller. Buck, was born on March 17, 1884, in a wagon yard owned by his father at Gainesville, When he was five, his family moved to Dallas. After attending public schools in Dallas, Buck left home at the age of eighteen to take a job handling a trainload of cattle being sent to Chicago. In 1911, he made his first expedition to South America. He eventually also traveled to Malaya, India, Borneo, New Guinea, and Africa. From these and other expeditions, he brought back many exotic species that he sold to zoos and circuses, and he ultimately acquired the nickname "Bring 'Em Back Alive". Buck continued his tales of his adventures capturing exotic animals. Writing with Edward Anthony, Buck related many of his experiences working with and transporting jungle creatures.
Nicholas Cavaliere was a cinematographer who filmed Frank Buck’s films Bring 'Em Back Alive (1932), Wild Cargo (1934), and Fang and Claw (1935).
George Michael Rosener was an American film actor and writer. He also wrote and acted in the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace.
Sherman L. Lowe was an American screenwriter. He was a writer of the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace.
George Martin Merrick was an American film editor, film director, film producer, and sceenwriter,
Dallas M. Fitzgerald was an American motion picture director and producer, primarily in the silent era. He is also known as the writer of the Frank Buck film serial Jungle Menace.
Earl Carver Turner was a film editor of the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace.