The Naked Jungle (1954)

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Philip Yordan (screenplay) (front for Ben Maddow) and
Ranald MacDougall (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 March 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He feared only two things on earth...the MARABUNTA...Nature's deadliest force, and his fiery New Orleans bride!

Plot:

The Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants.

Plot Keywords:

Plantation | Ants | River | Widow | Mail Order Bride

Cast

Eleanor Parker	...	Joanna Leiningen
Charlton Heston	...	Christopher Leiningen
Abraham Sofaer	...	Incacha
William Conrad	...	Commissioner
Romo Vincent	...	Boat Captain
Douglas Fowley	...	Medicine Man
John Dierkes	...	Gruber
Leonard Strong	...	Kutina
Norma Calderón	...	Zala (as Norma Calderon)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pilar Del Rey	...	Indian Wife (uncredited)
Bernie Gozier	...	Gruber's Indian (uncredited)
Jerry Groves	...	Gruber's Indian (uncredited)
Leon Lontoc	...	Indian (uncredited)
John Mansfield	...	Foreman (uncredited)
Ronald Alan Numkena	...	Indian Boy (uncredited)
Rodd Redwing	...	Indian (uncredited)
Jack Reitzen	...	Fat Man (uncredited)
Carlos Rivero	...	Indian Husband (uncredited)

Directed by
Byron Haskin

Writing credits
Philip Yordan		(screenplay) front for Ben Maddow and
Ranald MacDougall		(screenplay)
Carl Stephenson		(based on a story by)
Ben Maddow		screenplay (front Philip Yordan)

Produced by
Frank Freeman Jr.	....	associate producer
George Pal	....	producer

Original Music by
Daniele Amfitheatrof

Cinematography by
Ernest Laszlo		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Everett Douglas

Art Direction by
Franz Bachelin
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Grace Gregory

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor
Charles Gemora	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert Coleman	....	assistant director
Arthur Rosson	....	second unit director

Sound Department
Gene Garvin	....	sound recordist
Harry Lindgren	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Charles Gemora	....	mechanical designer: ants (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Loyal Griggs	....	photographer: second unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	conductor (uncredited)
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Richard Mueller	....	technicolor color consultant
Reginald Lal Singh	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1965) (USA) (TV)
• Paramount Pictures (1988) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (Spanish)
• AFEX (1954) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:12 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16799)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

William Conrad, who plays the commissioner in this movie, played the lead role of Leiningen in the 1948 radio play, "Leiningen vs. the Ants", the original story upon which this movie was based.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: During the first meeting/"confrontation" between Joanna and Christopher there comes a point in the conversation when he asks her if she is 'laughing at him.' As she turns from the dresser to face him at the very upper left corner for approx. 35 frames the moving shadow of what may well be a boom mic can easily be seen as it follows the motion.

Quotes:

Joanna Leiningen:If you knew anything about music, you'd know that the best piano is one that's been played.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Después de los nueve meses (1970)

Marabunta! - when ants come, the monkeys run!

An old style Hollywood adventure taking place in the Amazon jungles circa year 1901, this is a favorite of mine from TV showings dating back 30 years ago. A portion of the jungles have been tamed by Heston's character as the story begins; he's carved out his own little kingdom with sweat and blood, with the help of local natives, and now his new wife (Parker), married by proxy, arrives. This is one of Heston's better characters: he's well-suited to play this proud, often arrogant male, driven to build a personal empire to perhaps compensate for the inherent failings of such men. His main weakness is he knows nothing about women, and Parker, almost regal in her bearing, represents a kind of strength and sophistication he is obviously not accustomed to. Their meeting and slowly building towards a mutual respect after a very rough beginning is in itself an interesting story, but this exotic adventure throws in a spectacular menace to add suspense to the whole thing. The jungle, as it turns out, allows Heston only 15 years of conquest before fighting back in 'nature-gone-amok' style similar to all the future eco-terror pictures of the later seventies.

By now, everyone knows that this menace is the soldier ant, or 'marabunta' as it's mysteriously referred to in the middle of the story. I think even audiences who saw this back in '54 were probably aware of what the threat was beforehand, as well. But it's not revealed during the film until after several ominous yet uninformative references by the main characters. It comes across as some huge monstrous threat - which indeed it is - billions upon billions of these ants merge together to form a monster 20 miles long and 2 miles wide. As the local commissioner (Conrad) states, with quavering voice, these ants actually think, in military fashion. Nothing stands in its way and we mean nothing. But, of course, if anyone is going to give it the all-American try, it's Heston (yes, he's a character who grew up in South America, but he's strictly the U.S.of A breed - the rugged individual). This builds towards a literal war between Heston's resources and the invading army of ants, and it's a grand finale. It's interesting that this came out about the same time as "Them," a sci-fi tale about giant ants. But the ants here are real - this may make them all the more terrifying. See also "Phase IV," twenty years later, for a different take on even more intelligent ants.