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Such a frustrating disappointment

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Johnny Weissmuller (Jungle Jim), Carol Thurston (Shari), Burt Wenland (Ramada), Nestor Paiva (Andrews), Ray Corrigan (Norley), Rory Mallinson (Perry), Max Palmer (man ape), Paul Marion (Mahara), Eddie Foster (Achmed), Michael Fox (medical officer), Nick Stuart (Maron), Redro Regas (magi), Harry Wilson (Andrews' henchman).Director: SPENCER GORDON BENNET. Screenplay: Carroll Young, Arthur Hoerl. Story: Carroll Young. Suggested by the comic strip Jungle Jim by Alex Raymond. Photography: William P. Whitley. Film editor: Gene Havlick. Art director: Paul Palmentola. Set decorator: Sidney Clifford. Make-up: Clay Campbell. Music director: Mischa Bakaleinikoff. Unit manager: Herbert B. Leonard. Assistant director: Carter De Haven, jr. Sound recording: Josh Westmoreland. Western Electric Sound Recording. Producer: Sam Katzman. Copyright 1 December 1953 by Columbia Pictures Corporation. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: December 1953. U.K. release: May 1954. Australian release: 6 January 1955 (sic). 7 reels. 68 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Jungle Jim discovers that the Wazuli tribesmen are selling wild animals to hunters who are using the creatures to produce ingredients for bacterial warfare.NOTES: Number twelve of the sixteen-picture Jungle Jim series, all starring Johnny Weissmuller, and all produced by Sam Katzman. COMMENT: Like most of the movies in the "Jungle Jim" series, the credits are superimposed on a few snips of the interesting excitements to come. Then, as usual, the film itself starts off with very obvious and very ancient stock footage. Jungle Jim and his compatriots look on and most unconvincingly try to tie this bewhiskered material in with the main action. Even more of a possible letdown is that at first it seems that our killer ape is going to play but an incidental part in the story. However, he soon comes into his own. Director Bennet contrives a few nice thrill effects with menacing low angles and terrifying close-ups of the beast. Of course, Bennet reverts to routine for the rest of the movie, but there's still enough action to satisfy Jungle Jim's young fans. True, the picture could advantageously be trimmed of a fair swag of excess dialogue in which the characters just stand around swapping clichés. And, would you believe, here again is that familiar monkey stampede without which no Jungle Jim opus would seem complete. But at least our hero doesn't swim in this entry, so we are spared some of the tired underwater reprises.As for the acting here, it rates as no more than adequate, often less. Johnny is okay and Miss Thurston gets by, but even a disguised Nestor Paiva makes an inadequate villain. The rest of the players belong in amateur league. We could also do without a long dissertation by the wise man of the tribe on "Strange Animals", which is not even illustrated! Naturally, the topography, flora, fauna, and especially the native costumes, present a weird and bizarre mixture. Still, it all comes to a fair climax, though some fans will be annoyed that the actual apex of the action occurs off-camera!

Bring on the rubber crocodiles! They certainly the agitated ones seen in obvious stock footage in the very beginning. Something is agitating them and other wild life, although Tamba the chimp remains cute and cuddly. Esther Williams once commented on the rubber crocodiles that Johnny Weismueller wrestled in the Tarzan movies, and her remenence of that fact is proved here. A cute baby elephant is also examined to determine what is going on with mother nature's prized mammals and the fearsome reptiles, and the discovery leads to a horrifying discovery. Once again, it's the intrusive white man with his destructive ways, filled with an obsession of wealth, power and domination. There's silliness abound in this entry in the Jungle Jim series, showing a desperation for ideas and the need to stretch these stories out to feature film length rather than put them on TV in a half hour format. The creature itself is a silly looking caveman and any resemblance between it and an actual ape is strictly in the mind of its writers. Weismueller really just seems to be walking through these now, and the acting skills of professional wrestler Max Palmer is limited to unemotional grunts and wild arm movements. Next to him, Tor Johnson and Richard Kiel (not to mention Andre the giant) seems Shakespearean in comparison. This time around, Palmer gets the laughs, not Tamba, and I'm sure that was not intentional.

This lays claim to being the worst of the "Jungle Jim" series. Normally these films are mildly enjoyable escapism which compensate for a low budget with imagination. The best of the scribes is frequently Carroll Young, but this time his flair has deserted him. This film is just plain stupid. It is easily possible to lose track of the number of times characters have their back turned and are looking in the wrong direction when the ape man attacks. The story goes round in circles with characters being attacked, tortured, escaping and then being recaptured in ridiculous circumstances. Plot threads go nowhere such as the lynch-pin of the story which opens with crocodiles behaving oddly. Potentially this is quite an original idea (and was probably used because producer Katzman had some stock footage he wanted to insert), but after an early scene no further mention is made of this. Carole Thurston does one of her patented native girl characters. The title character does not look like an ape more like a big moron clothed in a dress from a charity shop. Best acting comes from the chimp!

Jungle Jim does battle with an evil band of scientists who are capturing wild animals for use in testing a mind control drug. Meanwhile the evil scientists have trespassed into the valley of "The Killer Ape"; a half man, half ape monster that kills all those that enters his domain.As far as these Jungle Jim movies go, this one is one of my favorites. It's probably the most watchable of all the films in this mostly dreary series. Max Palmer as the strange prehistoric apeman helps enliven this film.