Jungle Manhunt (1951)

Football player Bob Miller, played by an actual football player, is lost in the jungle. Who else to find him but Jungle Jim.

Director:

Lew Landers

Writers:

Samuel Newman (screenplay), Samuel Newman (story)

Stars:

Johnny Weissmuller, Bob Waterfield, Sheila Ryan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Johnny Weissmuller	...	Jungle Jim
Bob Waterfield	...	Bob Miller
Sheila Ryan	...	Anne Lawrence
Rick Vallin	...	Matusa Chief Bono
Lyle Talbot	...	Dr. Mitchell Heller
Tamba	...	Tamba the Chimp

Storyline

After Jungle Jim rescues Anne Lawrence from deadly rapids, he learns that she is looking for one-time football hero Bob Miller who disappeared 9 years before when his military flight disappeared over the jungle. There are problems in the area and tribes are being attacked and enslaved by the Skeleton Men. They learn that a white man with a gun is leading the Skeleton Men and Anne fears that it might be Miller. The tribesmen are being put into forced labor in a mine and Jim sets out to rescue them. Along the way they will meet strange creatures and eventually be taken prisoner themselves. Jim finds a way out.

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | jungle jim | signal mirror | rescue | underwater explosion | 

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Taglines:

SAFARI INTO SAVAGERY! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caccia all'uomo nella jungla

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

While planting a dynamite charge in a river, Jungle Jim sees a nurse shark and an octopus, and then watches as the two do battle to the death. In reality, a river in the heart of Africa would be unlikely to have sharks, and certainly would not have octopus inhabiting the shallow, fresh waters.

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Quotes

Dr. Mitchell Heller: This is igneous rock: a very rare and difficult substance to find.

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Connections

Followed by Devil Goddess (1955)

User Reviews

Jungle B.C.

Jungle Manhunt (1951)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Seventh film in the popular series has a football star (real football player Bob Waterfield) going missing in the jungle so a reporter (Sheila Ryan) hires Jungle Jim (Johnny Weissmuller) to go searching for him. Soon they find a wild skeleton man tribe as well as various dinosaurs. I wasn't expecting too much going into this film but I was still left disappointed because I've become of a fan of director Landers who is probably best remembered for the Karloff/Lugosi film THE RAVEN. The director has also directed films in series such as Boston Blackie, The Whistler and various other "B" movies. He can usually turn trash into good fun but that's not the case here. This is only my second film in the series and I'm already starting to get bored with it. There are still many campy moments here including one very embarrassing goof that happens towards the start of the film. After Jim rescues the reporter she goes to look at his profile and tells him to turn his head to the right but he ends up turning it to the left. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for ol' Johnny and this scene almost made you forget his bad but campy performance. Waterfield isn't too bad in his role and we've also got camp favorite Lyle Talbot playing a mad scientist. The dinosaur sequence, lifted from ONE MILLION B.C., is extremely silly as is another scene, lifted from yet another movie, where an octopus and shark fight in the middle of the jungle!