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Bomba and the Hidden City
A nature photographer and his guide meet a corrupt emir with a dirty secret. Only jungle-dwelling Bomba knows the truth.
Release : | 1950 |
Rating : | 5.3 |
Studio : | Monogram Pictures, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Set Dresser, |
Cast : | Johnny Sheffield Sue England Paul Guilfoyle Damian O'Flynn Leon Belasco |
Genre : | Adventure Drama |
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Reviews
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Bomba has to help the beautiful Sue England (who has kind of a cute Bettie Page bangs thing going on), who is the rightful heir to the throne, but is instead forced to marry the dastardly Hassan who seeks to steal the kingdom. Silly, low budget, and completely unoriginal, but I will say I enjoyed this one slightly more than the other Bomba films I've seen.
The evil Emir Hassan tries to have Bomba killed. Although he's injured, Bomba manages to get away and is nursed back to health by a pretty village girl named Zita (Sue England). Zita develops a crush on Bomba and follows him into the jungle so she won't have to marry Hassan. Turns out Zita has forgotten her past. In an unbelievable twist, Bomba remembers some things that help him piece together who Zita really is.The fourth in Monogram's Bomba series starring Johnny Sheffield is a particularly plot-heavy entry. This is the first one to leave the set and film on location. No, not in Africa. Don't be silly. All the pennies in Monogram's piggy bank couldn't have paid for that. I'm not sure where they filmed at. If I had to guess, I would say the LA Arboretum. This one also has some good action scenes and less cheesy stock footage. Pretty Sue England is fun and has nice chemistry with Sheffield. But since these movies were aimed at little boys, they never allowed much "mushy stuff." It's probably the best of the Bomba movies, going solely by entertainment value and nothing more.
"Bomba and the Hidden City" is a slipshod chapter of a very cut rate series of adventure sagas. It was directed, however, by a master of the serial form, Forde Beebe. This kiddie clunker was the kind of thing Beebe could direct in his sleep and judging from what follows the title, that's where he spent most of his time, jungle hammock style, collecting a cool $150 salary while waiting for the bus to another part of the forest.The storyline follows our semi-intrepid jungle boy, by now really filling out his French cut Tarzan loin wrap. He galumphs and swings through the eucalyptus trees of the Santa Anita Racetrack Botanic Gardens, searching for some supposed hidden city. This "city" more of a couple of shacks with a forlorn palm-tree and a few added stumps,seems to be known by everyone especially the Arab suits, read villains. The plot is something like "Tarzan's Desert Mystery" or "Tarzan's Nazi Adventure" or "The Return of Somebody with a Name like Schnarzan". Forgive me, sometimes I get carried away with all the excitement. The city, hidden or not, has the sister of another member of the cast who may or may not have been there before. Nobody knows for sure. Also, in the village is somebody called "Ferengi", perhaps an escapee from a space opera, though that is probably doubtful. As can be expected, Bomba makes everything right while hardly having to fling his spear.The bad guys get their well deserved drenching and just when we are sitting on the edge of our thrones with the possibility of the jungle boy getting his first lady friend, the end comes. But one big thing we can be sure of, in the next outing of our titular hero, he still won't have any body hair, a true "child" until all the film runs out!
Although Bomba And The Hidden City has some oblique references to the real outside world when the late World War II is mentioned, this one has to rate as one of the lesser Bomba The Jungle Boy Features.This film finds Johnny Sheffield oddly enough the witness to an assassination in the jungle of the former rulers of the Hidden City which has a Moslem culture. The surviving daughter Sue England grew up like the other twin in The Man In The Iron Mask with no knowledge of her legacy. It's a case of jungle amnesia. If he knew the usurper veteran movie villain Paul Guilfoyle would kill her.A lot of the plot here really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, I blame that on the bad editing at Monagram Pictures. And Bomba also has a few escapes that should never have happened.