''Panther Girl of the Kongo'' is a 1955

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

that contains a great deal of

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

from the 1941 Republic serial ''

Jungle Girl A jungle girl (so-called, but usually adult woman) is an archetype or stock character, often used in popular fiction, of a female adventurer, superhero or even a damsel in distress living in a jungle or rainforest setting. An alternate depiction i ...

''. This was the penultimate of Republic's 66 serial films.

Plot

Mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...

Dr. Morgan wants sole access to secret diamond mines in the local area of Africa. He breeds giant

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

("Claw Monsters") to scare away any other inhabitants. Jean Evans, the Panther Girl and friend Larry Sanders encounter the plot while on a photo safari in the region.

Cast

Phyllis Coates Phyllis Coates (born Gypsie Ann Evarts Stell; January 15, 1927) is an American former actress, with a career spanning over fifty years. She is best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film ''Superman and the Mole Men'' and ...

as Jean Evans, the Panther Girl *

Myron Healey Myron Daniel Healey (June 8, 1923 – December 21, 2005) was an American actor. He began his career in Hollywood, California during the early 1940s and eventually made hundreds of appearances in movies and on television during a career sp ...

as Larry Sanders, a big game hunter *

Arthur Space Charles Arthur Space (October 12, 1908 – January 13, 1983) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was best known as Doc Weaver, the veterinarian, in thirty-nine episodes of the CBS television series ''Lassie''. Early years Born ...

as Dr. Morgan, a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...

* John Daheim as Cass, one of Dr. Morgan's

henchmen A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies prim ...

* Mike Ragan as Rand, one of Dr Morgan's henchmen * Morris Buchanan as Tembo *

Roy Glenn Roy Edwin Glenn, Sr. (June 3, 1914 – March 12, 1971) was an American character actor. Early life Glenn was born in Pittsburg, Kansas on June 3, 1914. Career In 1949, Glenn's radio career started in Rocky Jordan – The Adventures of Rocky ...

as Chief Danka * James Logan as Constable Harris

Stunts

* Tom Steele as Larry Sanders (doubling Myron Healey) * Helen Thurston as Jean Evans/Panther Girl (doubling Phyllis Coates) * David Sharpe as Panther Girl (doubling Phyllis Coates via stock footage from ''Jungle Girl'') * Fred Graham as Nick Burgass

Production

''Panther Girl of the Kongo'' was budgeted at $172,793, although the final

negative cost Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example ''The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural h ...

was $179,341 (a $6,548, or 3.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1955. It was filmed between August 16 and September 4 of 1954 under the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

''Panther Woman of the Kongo''. The serial's production number was 1939. In order to use significant

from the earlier ''

'' and cheaply pad ''Panther Girl of the Kongo'', a duplicate costume was used. As a result, Republic's last female lead wore the same costume as its first. The film's special effects were created by the

Lydecker brothers Howard and Theodore Lydecker, always known—and billed—as such, were Howard "Babe" Lydecker (June 8, 1911 – September 26, 1969) and Theodore Lydecker (November 7, 1908 – May 25, 1990), a special effects team primarily working as contract s ...

. They used real crayfish as the monsters, and employed scaled-down props to create the illusion of gigantic size.

Release

''Panther Girl of the Kongos official release date was January 3, 1955, although this was actually the date when the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. This was followed by a rerelease of ''

Jesse James Rides Again ''Jesse James Rides Again'' is a 1947 American Republic Western film serial. Plot Gunfighter Jesse James is framed for a Missouri bank job and murder by a black-cowled outlaw gang, known as "The Black Raiders". Unable to clear his name, him an ...

'' instead of a new serial. The last new serial, ''

King of the Carnival ''King of the Carnival'' (1955) is a Republic movie serial that contains a substantial amount of stock footage from the earlier Republic serial ''Daredevils of the Red Circle''. It is the 66th and final serial produced by Republic and is ofte ...

'', followed in the summer. The film was one of 26 Republic serials packaged for television broadcast as part of Republic's Century 66 in 1966. The title of the film was changed to ''The Claw Monsters'', and it was trimmed 100 minutes in length.

Chapter titles

# The Claw Monster (20:00) # Jungle Ambush (13:20) # The Killer Beast (13:20) # Sands of Doom (13:20) # Test of Terror (13:20) # High Peril (13:20) # Timber Trap/Double Trap (Double Trap is the title shown on screen in chapter 7 and at the end of chapter 6) (13:20) # Crater of Flame (13:20) # River of Death (13:20) # Blasted Evidence (13:20) ( recap chapter) # Double Danger (13:20) # House of Doom (13:20)

References

External links

* {{Republic serials 1955 films 1950s English-language films American natural horror films 1955 adventure films American black-and-white films Adventure horror films Films set in Africa Republic Pictures film serials Jungle girls Films directed by Franklin Adreon 1950s American films