Daughter of the Jungle (1949) User Reviews

Have I got a film for you!

[youroldpaljim · 6/10 · 2 February 2002]

A airplane carrying two policemen escorting a pair of criminals awaiting trial, crash lands over a remote region of the African jungle. Upon landing, the planes passengers are confronted by hostile natives whom seriously wound one of the policemen. In the nick of time comes along Ticoora, a white women whom the hostile native fear, and she drives them off. Years ago, Ticoora was flying over Africa with her Father when the plane she was on also crash landed in the jungle. Ticoora, her father and the pilot live nearby at a friendly native village. We soon learn Ticoora is an heiress, but nobody has found away out of the jungle so she can go back and spend her loot. The pilot has gone stir crazy and will give anything to get out of the jungle. So one of the gangsters plots with him to get out of the jungle and get back to civilization and steal the fortune Ticoora has waiting for her back in the states.

DAUGHTER OF THE JUNGLE is a ludicrous but lively low budget jungle adventure. Ticoora is something like a female Tarzan; she swings from vines and even gives a Tarzan like yell. However, unlike Tarzan, her yell doesn't seem able to summon up herds of elephants to the rescue when she is in trouble. Like Tarzan, Ticoora is actually pretty tough, she wrestles a crocodile and takes care of a savage gorilla that attacks her village. Although this film is set in Africa, most of the natives are played by caucasians or actors of some other ethnic type (like Al Kikume). Frank Lackteen, who often played American Indian chiefs in westerns, plays the evil witch doctor of the hostile tribe. Apparently, when Frank was handed his script, he wasn't told he was supposed to be playing an African witch doctor. The "voodoo" ritual he performs looks more like an American Indian war dance from a western. Its a hoot to watch and one of the films highlights.

Most of the cast consists of unknowns, and the performances are only at best adequate. Then again, in a film of this nature, I suppose adequate is the best one can hope for. However, Sheldon Leonard plays one of the gangsters. Sheldon Leonard never gave a bad performance when he was playing a mobster, and his performance here is no exception.

DAUGHTER OF THE JUNGLE is one of those films that is actually very entertaining when viewed in the right frame of mind. If your looking for a ludicrous but lively low budget Jungle movie, DAUGHTER OF THE JUNGLE is recommended.

Average Republic "B" movie

[vespatian75 · 6/10 · 31 August 2011]

I don't know why this movie made the list of the 100 worst movies of all time. It's an average or slightly above average B movie. You don't have to do much in a jungle girl film. You need a pretty actress to play the lead who is also reasonably athletic , and Lois Hall fits the bill nicely. Her costume is a brief but modest mini dress, an exact copy of the one worn by Frances Gifford in the entertaining serial " Jungle Girl", and she fills it very well. This allows Republic to use the excellent stunt work from the earlier serial to good effect. They will do the same in the 1954 serial "Panther Girl of the Kongo" with Phyllis Coates. The plot moves reasonably well with Ms.Hall taking turns rescuing and being rescued by the stalwart hero, a truly modern relationship. Frank Lackteen, from the original cast of" Jungle Girl", does his usual competent job of playing the menacing Witch Doctor,and Sheldon Leonard is fun to watch as the racketeer with the New York wise guy accent who shares the villainous duties with Lackteen. The film ends somewhat abruptly with the requisite happy ending. They may simply have run out of money. All in all, if you enjoy the sub genre of cheapo distaff Tarzan movies not a bad job, and if you don't why are you reading this review?

Average Jungle Yarn

[BrandB62 · 6/10 · 19 February 2024]

I expected something rotten. The trivia lists this as among the fifty worst movies of all time. Some reviewers called it a stinker here, too, but these people must live very sheltered lives. I have seen far worse.

The truth is that "Daughter of the Jungle" is an average jungle movie of the period with a few amusing moments. It finishes, leaving you pleasantly entertained. It appears to be a loose Tarzan rip-off - even down to the similar jungle cry. While this was unconvincing, it was immediately apparent where it came from.

Lois Hall was delightful as our female Tarzan and is having a great time with this. When someone enjoys themselves, it comes across on screen and helps. One problem with her character is that the writers seemingly could not decide whether to make her a strong Tarzan type or a fragile, helpless female. Both sides are presented in different scenes and make her character a bit confused. She always looks fantastic, but given the genre, a slightly shorter jungle outfit might have helped a little more at the box office.

Anyway, without giving any more away, if you like this sort of silliness (and I, for one, do), you wouldn't be wasting your time on this one. Those who say it's one of the fifty worst films have clearly led sheltered lives. It is average but not the worst and remains entertaining overall.

I saw this movie on Blu-Ray as part of the "Tales of Adventure Collection Part Two". Print quality was excellent.

It's a lovely stinker

[eissinger · 3 August 2004]

Yep, I've seen it. In fact, I even have a VHS copy, taken from a copy, taken off TV. This is one I'll grab on DVD the moment it becomes available.

It's a stinker. Ranked in some lists within the worst 100 movies of all time. Shots of Ms. Hall doing here Tarzan yell were included in "It Came from Hollywood".

Lois Hall is a friend of mine and she's both horrified and proud of this Monogram picture. It was her first starring role, at 19, and she found it to be tremendous fun, for her. As a Minnesota tom-boy she relished the chance to "play Tarzan", something she had often done, as a child. The yell was hers and she loved swinging from tree to tree. Many of the more "exciting" scenes were taken from an earlier flick, and Lois had to wear an old costume (pulled out of moth balls) -- the same one worn in the original picture -- to make it easier to match the footage. I think the crock and gorilla scenes were from the first movie, as well as some of the "swinging" scenes which were done by a stunt double, in the first film, and reused in "Daughter".

Although this film has a reputation as one of the "worst", it's really not any worse than dozens of other "jungle" pictures. The natives aren't PC or authentic. Well, there was never any attempt to come close to "reality" in most of these pictures. The story is far fetched, but no more so than the original Tarzan picture or ANY of the other "wild blonde beauty in the jungle" fantasy, such as "Liane, Jungle Goddess", "Blonde Savage" or "Queen of the Amazons". It's just as far from reality as well as a slew of "Tarzan" and "Jungle Jim" films or those made featuring Buster Crabbe. Even the "Ramar of the Jungle" TV series (in which Ms. Hall also appeared in at least one episode) was guilty of all the same problems.

In fact, can anyone name one jungle film (and the sub-genre of "jungle zombie films") from the 30's-50's that doesn't suffer from all the same flaws as "Daughter".

This one is worth the 70 minutes (or so) it takes to muddle through. If you're ready to suspend reality and have some fun, this one works. I've watched it with family, and with a dozen or so friends -- including Lois Hall and her late husband, Maurice Willows (and a big batch of popcorn) -- and we've enjoyed it, every time (well, I don't know how much Lois enjoyed it, but she did make it through).

One of MANY rotten jungle films from this era.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 6 May 2011]

From the 1930s through the 1950s, Hollywood made a ton of jungle films. Some, such as the Tarzan films made by MGM with Johnny Weissmuller, were very good. Most, however, were pretty dreary--filled with tons of bad stock footage (often with animals that weren't even African) and bad acting. So, it isn't surprising that a jungle film made Harry Medved's book "The Fifty Worst Movies of All Time". However, competition was fierce, as so many rotten jungle films were made--such as "Tarzan's New Adventure" (where the man of the jungle goes to Guatemala of all places) and "White Pongo". Yet, somehow, Medved chose "Daughter of the Jungle" to place on his infamous list. While I don't think I would have included it (Medved made his list in the days before videotapes and cable so his access to terrible films was more limited), it is pretty bad.

The film begins with some government men taking a gangster back to America to prison. How and why they ended up flying in a tiny plane above the most remote region in Africa is beyond me! And, not surprisingly, the plane has engine trouble and they are forced to land. Fortunately, they happen to land exactly next to where a white man and his daughter live. This daughter has lived in the jungle most of her life, yet she wears a dress that looks as if it were made by Gucci, she has nicely permed hair and her diction is perfect. The overall effect is as if she were a débutante from Wellesley, not a Tarzan-like jungle maiden! My assumption is that this is most of the reason the movie made the list--this character was just ridiculous.

Soon after landing, you learn that the gangster (Sheldon Leonard--playing a VERY stereotypical crook) is determined never to go back and will do anything to avoid it. First, he destroys their radio and then later he stirs up the natives. And, speaking of natives, it looks like Republic Pictures only had about 5 or 6 extras--and so the fierce tribe seemed amazingly tiny! Can our heroes and the jungle minx manage to avoid death and will Leonard get what's coming to him? And, will anyone really care?! Overall, this is actually not that terrible a film, as it's just another dumb low-budget B-movie--and Hollywood made a bazillion of them. However, this really isn't much of a reason to see it--just saying 'yes, it's bad but they made a lot of bad ones' isn't a glowing endorsement!! The acting isn't very good, the story predictable and clichéd and the production values only fair...at best.

By the way, this film marks a milestone for me. I finally have seen EVERY single film from Medved's list--each and every one. And, considering how difficult some of the films are to find (I could only get a few by buying Chinese and German copies of a couple films), this is an achievement--a dubious one, I'll grant you!! Wow...do I need to get a life!

Fun hokum with great editing of old stock footage.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 4 July 2022]

Republic studios had a great idea to make a new jungle film and edit invented footage from old serials to make people think that it was a new movie. Lois Hall is just fine as the American born heiress, stranded in the jungle with her father for over a decade, now short a month of her 21st birthday which would give her access to a trust fund. It just so happens that a police transport taking convicted felon Sheldon Leonard to prison crashes, and Hall comes to their rescue when dangerous natives approach. She knows the only way out, but it's not easy, and with Leonard in cahoots with William Wright (who was stranded along with Hall and her father), and dangerous natives and wild cats on their trail, getting out may be next to impossible.

James Cardwell is the surviving police officer who guides the group through the jungle with Hall's help, and that separate times, they save each other's life. As Republic made many cheap jungle or Island films and serials, they were able to match up footage from those to save time and money, and it's a clever device to get out a perfect Saturday matinee style film that didn't require lots of showings to make a profit. Leonard is at his most despicable here, and it's easy to cheer on the lions or the natives with spears as they approach the group to get him over the others. But at 67 minutes, it strangely seems about a reel too long as certain segments do seem to drag a bit.

A poor man's TARZAN rip-off

[searchanddestroy-1 · 25 December 2022]

For anyone who has seen several Tarzan films, this one will sound familiar. As you can guess it is lousy, laughable but a good fun time waster. A gorgeous Tarzan like gal, villains, fast dialogues and a phony jungle setting. Just be prepared to what you are going to see. George Blair was the chain worker for Republic Pictures, as Philip Ford, who, unkike RG Springsteen, Thomas Carr or Harry Keller - who finally proceeded in their career after Z productions - did not have any ambition in the business ; that's the reason why they remained in the far bottoms of the production. Enjoy if you have time, good little enjoyable stuff to clean up the brain.