Queen of the Amazons (1947)

Director:

Edward Finney

Writer:

Roger Merton (writer)

Release Date:

15 January 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

White Goddess of the Dark Jungle... She offered ECSTASY and DEATH!

Plot:

A woman's husband has disappeared on an expedition into the jungle. She hires a guide to take her into the jungle to find him. However, they discover that he has been captured by a savage female tribe.

Plot Keywords:

Jungle | Amazon | Ivory | Africa | Camp

Cast

Robert Lowery	...	Gary Lambert
Patricia Morison	...	Jean Preston
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Gabby
John Miljan	...	Narrator / Colonel Jones
Amira Moustafa	...	Zita, the Amazon Queen
Keith Richards	...	Wayne Monroe
Bruce Edwards	...	Greg Jones
Wilson Benge	...	Professor
Jack George	...	Commissioner
Cay Forrester	...	Sugi (as Cay Forester)
Vida Aldana	...	Tondra
Hassan Khayyam	...	Moya (as Hassam Kayyam)

Runtime:

61 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Unrated (2005 DVD release) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved

Company:

Screen Guild Productions

Quotes:

Zita, the Amazon Queen: ...Greg has promised to marry you, and men are stupid when bound by such promises. All I know is that he loves me, and if he were free, he'd marry me.
Jean Preston: As far as his promise goes, don't think I would hold him for one instant if he really wanted to be free.
Zita, the Amazon Queen: Do you really mean that honestly?
Jean Preston: Of course, I mean it!
Zita, the Amazon Queen: I'm glad you're inclined to feel so sensible about it because I would have had you keeled rather than give him up. You see, here in the jungle such things are easily managed, and I'm not bound by the conventional laws of society that hamper you. Greg says that I'm more than half savage, and maybe I am. All I know is that I'm willing to fight for what I want.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Planet X: (#2.1)" (2006)

Some old fashion brain fodder.

It called Queen of the Amazons, its in black & white, and its shot in 1947. You should know exactly what you are about to watch.

And if you watch to the end, you get to see a wonderfully bad stunt double replacement. In fact, one suspects on the day of shooting, they realized the mistake of booking two stunt doubles for the hero, and none for the baddie, but we still went ahead anyway with the shoot.

OK - there is lots of stock footage, and plenty of time devoted to filming tricks performed by the monkey and bird, and any logic test would fail the plot; yet, its not a 'bad' film.

I strangely enjoyed Queen of the Amazons, its much like the comfy Saturday afternoon black and white films I use to watch on TV 25yrs ago - it has a secret appeal to the 12 year old inside. It has a good pace, which stops you dwelling too long on the improbable of how they managed to justify the next piece of stock footage, or that the lion attacks involve the person holding onto the lion so he doesn't get away.

But, I think my main reason for enjoying this was Patrica Morison; the feeling you are watching someone who is better than the material she has been given, but still gives the best within crippling limitations.

I saw this on the TreeLine 50 SciFi DVD boxset - - so, invite a few like minded friends over for drinks and nibbles, sit back, and enjoy some old fashion brain fodder.