SoTrumpBelieve
Must See Movie...
Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Tobias Burrows
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
JohnHowardReid
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!
malcolm-68
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!
Chris Gaskin
Despite reading a lot of bad reviews about this movie stating that it is the worst of the Jungle Jim series, I quite enjoyed it.A giant ape man kills somebody and Jungle Jim gets the blame at first. But the local natives finally believe him when they see the giant themselves. At the same time, mad scientists are experimenting on animals for a serum for drugs and the natives are supplying the animals. The giant is killed at the end.Joining Johnny Weissmuller as Jungle Jim are Nester Paiva (Tarantula, The Mole People), Ray "Crash" Corrigan (It! The Terror From Beyond Space, Unknown Island), Carol Thurston and Max Palmer as the ape man.Check this out if you get the chance. Great fun.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
John Seal
Just kidding. Anyone who's watched a Jungle Jim film--or, for that matter, an MGM Tarzan that isn't Tarzan the Ape Man or Tarzan and his Mate---know that Johnny Weissmuller was probably the worst actor to ever strut his stuff in Hollywood (well, until Keanu Reeves came along). Here he's outacted by a tall gentlemen wearing particularly poor makeup who plays the Killer Ape of the title. He really looks more like a caveman with fluffy boots, but whatever. Once again the natives are all white and there's plenty of stock footage courtesy Sam Katzman's penny-pinching ways.
