This was my favorite serial when I was a boy and one I especially wanted to see again. While it wasn't quite as great as I remembered it, I still enjoyed it the second time around. It's certainly a fast-moving and action-packed film and the special effects are remarkable considering the year it was made. I was amused at how often the same footage was reused in the film (particularly the bat men flying and the ape swinging through the trees) but that didn't really detract from the action and suspense.
Not a whole lot is required of the actors. There's rarely much character development in action serials such as this, but Clyde Beatty is more than adequate in his role as the great white hunter attempting to help Baru (Manuel King) rescue his sister Valerie (Elaine Shepard) from a futuristic city deep in the jungle. The film seemed to have given a brief career spurt to Shepard, who went on to appear or co-star in several movies during the next few years. Beatty appeared in one other serial, The Lost Jungle, which also featured lions and tigers in the same jungle.
I believe the "goof" about the tigers being in Africa in this film may have been the result of watching the edited, feature-length version. The presence of the tigers is explained in the opening chapters of the full-length version.
Not a whole lot is required of the actors. There's rarely much character development in action serials such as this, but Clyde Beatty is more than adequate in his role as the great white hunter attempting to help Baru (Manuel King) rescue his sister Valerie (Elaine Shepard) from a futuristic city deep in the jungle. The film seemed to have given a brief career spurt to Shepard, who went on to appear or co-star in several movies during the next few years. Beatty appeared in one other serial, The Lost Jungle, which also featured lions and tigers in the same jungle.
I believe the "goof" about the tigers being in Africa in this film may have been the result of watching the edited, feature-length version. The presence of the tigers is explained in the opening chapters of the full-length version.