''Devil Goddess'' (1955) is the sixteenth and final

Jungle Jim 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 ...

film produced by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. It features

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

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 William Tannen (November 17, 1911 – December 2, 1976) was an American actor originally from New York City, who was best known for his role of Deputy Hal Norton in fifty-six episodes from 1956 to 1958 of the ABC/Desilu western television ser ...

as the film's antagonists, Leopold and Nels Comstock, respectively.

Angela Stevens Angela Stevens (born Ann Evelyn Allen, May 8, 1925 – March 17, 2016) was an American film actress and singer. Biography Stevens was born in Eagle Rock, California. She appeared in several Three Stooges films, such as ''He Cooked His Goose'', ' ...

also stars. The film was directed by Spencer G. Bennet and written by Dwight Babcock and

George H. Plympton George H. Plympton (September 2, 1889 – April 11, 1972) was an American screenwriter. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. A prolific screenwriter, Plympton collaborated in almost 300 films. His earliest known credits date back to 1912 a ...

. 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.

Plot

Adventure-seeker

(as himself) receives a request from Professor Carl Blakely (

Selmer Jackson Selmer Adolf Jackson (May 7, 1888 – March 30, 1971) was an American stage film and television actor. He appeared in nearly 400 films between 1921 and 1963. His name was sometimes spelled Selmar Jackson. Jackson was born in Lake Mills, Iowa an ...

) to collaboratively rescue a certain Professor Dixon (William Blakely) from the Mountain of Explosive Fire in Kirundi. Blakely's daughter Nora (

) 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 A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

, 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.

Cast

Frank Lackteen Frank Lackteen (born Mohammed Hassan Lackteen August 29, 1897 – July 8, 1968) was an American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1915 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. ...

* Vera M. Francis * Ed Hinton * William M. Griffith

Production

Johnny Weissmuller played himself, as the protagonist jungle adventurer. It was his third time doing so. After production for ''Devil Goddess'' came to a finish, Weissmuller quit acting in feature films though he made appearances in ''

The Phynx ''The Phynx'' is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Lee H. Katzin about a rock and roll band named The Phynx and their mission in foreign affairs. The group is sent to Albania to locate celebrity hostages taken prisoner by Communists. This ...

'' (1970) and ''

Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood ''Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'' is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Michael Winner, and starring Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr and Art Carney. Spoofing the craze surrounding Rin Tin Tin, the film is notable for the larg ...

'' (1976). The film was Paul Marion's final film too. The film was directed by Spencer G. Bennet with assistance from Leonard Katzman.

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. Ea ...

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. Not all of the footage in ''Devil Goddess'' is original. Archived footage from preceding

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.

Release

The film was officially released in the North American cinemas in October 1955. It was critiqued as a "silly jungle film" by the ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals'' Greenwood Press. p. 242. It was replaced by the ''QP Herald ...

'', while the magazine ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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".

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Sam Katzman 1955 films 1950s action adventure films 1950s English-language films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet Jungle Jim films American black-and-white films Films set in Africa American action adventure films Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton 1950s American films