Jungle Mystery

Last updated

Jungle Mystery
The Jungle Mystery.jpg
Poster of chapter 1
Directed by Ray Taylor
Written by Ella O'Neill
Basil Dickey
George H. Plympton
George Morgan [1]
Based onThe Ivory Trail (a novel) by Talbot Mundy
Produced by Henry Mac Rae
Carl Laemmle
Starring Tom Tyler
Noah Beery Jr.
William Desmond
Cecilia Parker
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • September 12, 1932 (1932-09-12)
Running time
12 chapters (240 min)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Jungle Mystery is a 1932 American pre-Code Universal 12-chapter movie serial directed by Ray Taylor. The serial was based on a book called The Ivory Trail by Talbot Mundy. [2] A 1935 feature version was also released, edited down to 75 minutes.

Contents

Plot

Various expeditionary parties head to Zanzibar to search for a legendary cache of ivory and a missing explorer named Jack Morgan. Tom Tyler played the hero, Kirk Montgomery, and Cecilia Parker played the heroine, Barbara Morgan, who is searching for her missing brother Jack. Boris Shillov and his henchman Comrade Krotsky are also searching for the ivory. The "jungle mystery" pertains to a half-man, half-ape creature named Zungu.

Cast

Production

The film is noteworthy for its extensive use of stock footage of various jungle animals, many of them repeated frequently throughout the serial. (There's even a shot of tigers, which are not native to Africa.) Apart from one sequence filmed in Bronson Canyon, it was shot entirely on the Universal backlot and soundstages.

Although it had been believed lost for many years, the original nitrate negative was in fact still in the Universal vaults. It was preserved in 2016 (along with the edited 1935 feature version which ran only 75 minutes) and officially re-premiered at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, CA during the 2016 Labor Day weekend.

Chapter titles

  1. Into the Dark Continent
  2. The Ivory Trail
  3. The Death Stream
  4. Poisoned Fangs
  5. The Mystery Cavern
  6. Daylight Doom
  7. The Jaws of Death
  8. Trapped by the Enemy
  9. The Jungle Terror
  10. Ambushed!
  11. The Lion's Fury
  12. Buried Treasure

Source: [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Phantom</i> (serial) 1943 film by B. Reeves Eason

The Phantom is a 1943 15-chapter cliffhanger superhero serial, produced by Rudolph C. Flothow, directed B. Reeves Eason, and starring Tom Tyler in the title role. It is based on Lee Falk's comic strip The Phantom, first syndicated to newspapers in 1936 by King Features Syndicate. The serial also features Jeanne Bates as the Phantom's girlfriend Diana Palmer, and Ace the Wonder Dog as the Phantom's trusty German shepherd Devil.

<i>Perils of Nyoka</i> 1942 film by William Witney

Perils of Nyoka is a 1942 Republic serial directed by William Witney. It stars Kay Aldridge as Nyoka the Jungle Girl, a character who first appeared in the Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired serial Jungle Girl.

<i>Haunted Harbor</i> 1944 film by Wallace Grissell, Spencer Gordon Bennet

Haunted Harbor (1944) is a Republic serial, based on the novel by Ewart Adamson.

<i>Fighting with Kit Carson</i> 1933 film

Fighting with Kit Carson is a 1933 American pre-Code Mascot Pictures film serial. It was edited into a feature film by Al Dezel Productions in 1946 and released to theaters as a movie. Johnny Mack Brown starred as Kit Carson, and Betsy King Ross played his love interest, Joan Fargo. The film also starred Tully Marshall and both Noah Beery Sr. and Noah Beery Jr.

The Jade Box (1930) is a Universal movie serial. It was a partial sound film with long silent sequences. Only an incomplete version survives today in Universal's vault, with incomplete footage and some missing sound discs.

The Lightning Express is a 1930 American pre-Code Universal film serial, featuring the adventures of "Whispering Smith". This serial is considered a lost film.

<i>Detective Lloyd</i> 1931 film

Detective Lloyd (1931) is a 12-chapter Universal movie serial. A co-production between the American company Universal and the British company General Films, it was filmed entirely in Britain with British and Commonwealth actors. It was the only sound serial ever produced in the UK. Although a print was shown on British and Swedish TV as recently as the 1970s, the film is now considered lost.

<i>The Lost Special</i> (serial) 1932 film

The Lost Special is a 1932 American Pre-Code Universal movie serial based on the 1898 short story "The Lost Special" by Arthur Conan Doyle. This adaptation deleted all references to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes character, and moved events to the American Old West.

<i>The Roaring West</i> 1935 film

The Roaring West is a 1935 American Western film serial starring Buck Jones as Montana Larkin. It co-stars his horse, Silver, and Frank McGlynn Sr. as his trusty sidekick Jinglebob Morgan. The film was released by Universal.

<i>The Adventures of Frank Merriwell</i> (serial) 1936 film

The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936) is a Universal movie serial based on the Frank Merriwell books by Gilbert Patten.

<i>Radio Patrol</i> (serial) 1937 American film

Radio Patrol is a 1937 Universal movie serial based on the comic strip Radio Patrol.

<i>Tim Tylers Luck</i> (serial) 1937 American film

Tim Tyler's Luck (1937) is a Universal movie serial based on the comic strip Tim Tyler's Luck.

Flaming Frontiers (1938) is a Universal movie serial starring Johnny Mack Brown. It was a remake of Heroes of the West (1932). It was re-edited into a TV series in 1966. Much of the material was reused in Lon Chaney Jr.'s 1942 serial Overland Mail.

Gang Busters is a 1942 Universal movie serial based on the radio series Gang Busters.

<i>Jungle Queen</i> (serial) 1945 film by Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins

Jungle Queen (1945) is a Universal movie serial. This serial was later re-edited into a feature film for television called Jungle Safari (1956).

<i>The Shadow</i> (serial) 1940 film by James W. Horne

The Shadow (1940) was the ninth serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was based upon the classic radio series and pulp magazine superhero character of the same name.

<i>The Valley of Vanishing Men</i> 1942 American film

The Valley of Vanishing Men is a 1942 American Western film serial. It was the 20th of 57 released by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, it stars Bill Elliott, Slim Summerville, and Carmen Morales.

<i>The Monster and the Ape</i> 1945 American film

The Monster and the Ape was the 26th serial released by Columbia Pictures and was released in 1945.

<i>Pirates of the High Seas</i> 1950 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr

Pirates of the High Seas is a 1950 American adventure serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr and starring Buster Crabbe, Lois Hall and Tommy Farrell.

<i>Mysterious Island</i> (serial) 1951 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Mysterious Island is a 1951 American 15-chapter movie serial from Columbia Pictures, the studio's 46th, that stars Richard Crane, Marshall Reed, Karen Randle, and Ralph Hodges. It is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 1874 novel, The Mysterious Island. As in the original story, which was Verne's follow-up to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, this serial is set in 1865. However, Columbia's screenwriters added alien Mercurians as an additional set of villains. The serial has been labeled a space opera version of Verne's novel.

References

  1. ↑ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. pp.  206. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
  2. ↑ Cline, William C. (1984). "2. In Search of Ammunition". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. pp.  11. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
  3. ↑ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. pp.  206. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
Preceded by Universal Serial
Jungle Mystery (1932)		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.