''Voodoo Tiger'' is a 1952 American
adventure film
An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...
directed by
Spencer G. Bennet
Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more film serials than any other director.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Benne ...
and starring
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 ninth performance as the protagonist adventurer
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 ...
. It was written by Samuel Newman and 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 James Seay as the film's antagonist.
Jean Byron
Jean Byron (born Imogene Audette Burkhart; December 10, 1925February 3, 2006) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for the role of Natalie Lane, Patty Lane's mother in ''The Patty Duke Show''. She was also know ...
also stars.
The plot concerns Jungle Jim battling a team of art thieves in an African jungle inhabited by tiger god worshippers. The film was theatrically released in the United States in November 1952.
Plot
Adventurer Jungle Jim (
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 ...
) and Sergeant Bono (Rick Vallin) are taking the British Museum's Phyllis Bruce (Jean Byron) on a tour around an African jungle. They come to witness a sacrificial ritual about to take place. Jungle Jim hurriedly prevents chief religious official Wombulu (Charles Horvath) from slaughtering an African native as an offering to the tiger god Tambura. The furious voodoo practitioner lunges for Jungle Jim with a knife, only to be shot by hunter Abel Peterson (James Seay). Peterson invites Jim, Bono, and Bruce to stay at his lodging. However, Jim receives a last-minute notification that Major Bill Green of the United States (Robert Bray) has come with Commissioner Kingston (Richard Kipling) to meet businessman Karl Werner (Michael Fox). The two army personnel are looking to recover a stolen collection of artworks. Werner, who operates in the jungle, is believed to possess knowledge of the artworks' whereabouts. Jim is assigned to lead the way to Werner.
Werner claims to not know anything about the looted art pieces; Green rebuts him by labelling him as a "Nazi" who aided the looters. Just then, Green spots Peterson and his men, who happen to be passing by. The army major informs Jim that they are actually notorious thieves specialising in artworks. The two camps battle and at last it is Peterson's team which prevails. Werner, Green, Kingston, and Jim are locked up in a cupboard. Werner somehow breaks loose and makes his way to the airfield. He dashes up the plane Peterson and his henchmen are planning to escape on. After overpowering the pilot, he captains the plane himself and flies back to the jungle. The plane catches fire just as it is reaching the destination. Werner courageously jumps out, along with an exotic dancer who happens to be on board too. Her tiger also lands in the jungle. The natives, who are about to massacre Jim, see the tiger and kneel on their knees, believing it to be Tambura.
Meanwhile, Wombulu and Peterson have started an alliance. They hatch a plan to kidnap Werner. At the same time, Jungle Jim and his acquaintances have escaped. Jim's eagle-eyed pet chimpanzee, Tamba, spots an obscure dynamite trap laid out for them; Jim defuses it. From afar they see the dancer's tiger on a wild rampage. As more natives get killed by the tiger, Peterson grabs Werner and runs away. Jungle Jim stops Peterson in his tracks and rescues Werner from the hunter's clutches. The enraged African natives run towards Peterson and his men, killing them. Jim and the rest barely manage to escape. The jungle explorer quick-wittedly resets the dynamite trap. It explodes and kills the natives. With the voodoo tribe dissolved, Major Green professes his love for Bruce.
Cast
*
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 ...
as Jungle Jim
*
Rick Vallin
Rick Vallin (born Eric Efron; September 24, 1919 – August 31, 1977) was an actor who appeared in more than 150 films between 1938 and 1966.
Early years
Born in Feodosia, in the Crimea, Russia, Vallin came to the United States at age there ...
as Sgt. Bono
*
Charles Horvath
Károly "Charles" Horváth was a soccer player who played in the National Professional Soccer League, International Soccer League, and German-American Soccer League. Born in Hungary, he earned one cap for the United States national team.
Club ...
as Wombulu
*
Jean Byron
Jean Byron (born Imogene Audette Burkhart; December 10, 1925February 3, 2006) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for the role of Natalie Lane, Patty Lane's mother in ''The Patty Duke Show''. She was also know ...
as Phyllis
*
James Seay
James Seay (September 9, 1914 – October 10, 1992) was an American character actor who often played minor supporting roles as government officials.
Early years
Seay demonstrated an interest in acting at an early age, as he and his mothe ...
as Abel Peterson
*
Michael Fox as Karl Werner
*
Richard Kipling
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
as Commissioner Kingston
*
Robert Bray
Robert E. Bray (October 23, 1917 – March 7, 1983) was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series '' Lassie'', He also starred in ''Stagecoach West'' and as Mike Hammer in the mo ...
as Major Green
Production
The film was the first of a new three-year deal between Sam Katzman and King Features.
Johnny Weissmuller returned as Jungle Jim for the ninth time. The film marked Jean Byron's film debut. She played Phyllis Bruce. The film was directed by Spencer G. Bennet with assistance from Charles S. Gould. Sam Katzman was in charge of production for Columbia Pictures, while Samuel Newman wrote the screenplay. William Whitley signed on as cinematographer. The set decorator was Sidney Clifford. Mischa Bakaleinikoff headed the musical direction, and
Gene Havlick
Gene Havlick (March 16, 1894 in Enid, Oklahoma, USA – May 11, 1959 in Los Angeles, California) was an American film editor.
He was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning one.
He worked on over 100 films during his 30-year career.
Early ...
edited the film. Filming began on June 9, 1952, and ended on June 17, 1952. Scenes were filmed at
Corriganville
__NOTOC__
Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothil ...
. The film incorporated archived footage from ''
Bring 'Em Back Alive'' (1932) for scenes involving tigers.
Release and reception
The film was officially released in North American cinemas in November 1952. ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' found the film to be "
avingmovement and suspense in spades", while ''
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), ...
'' opined that it "stacks up okay as a program filler". ''The Columbia Story'' described the film as "moribund".
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
*
*
Film reviewat Variety
{{Sam Katzman
1952 films
Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
1950s action adventure films
American action adventure films
Columbia Pictures films
Jungle Jim films
American black-and-white films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films