Voodoo Tiger (1952)

Jungle Jim helps an attractive research writer for the British museum clear up the mystery of a tiger cult in Africa while thwarting art thieves and bringing to justice a Nazi war criminal.

Director:

Spencer Gordon Bennet (as Spencer G. Bennet)

Writers:

Samuel Newman (story), Samuel Newman (screenplay)

Stars:

Johnny Weissmuller, Jean Byron, James Seay

Cast

Cast overview:
Johnny Weissmuller	...	Jungle Jim
Jean Byron	...	Phyllis Bruce
James Seay	...	Abel Peterson
Jean Dean	...	Shalimar (as Jeanne Dean)
Charles Horvath	...	Wombulu
Robert Bray	...	Maj. Bill Green
Michael Fox	...	Karl Werner, aka Heinrich Schultz
Rick Vallin	...	Sgt. Bono
Tamba	...	Tamba the Chimp

Storyline

Jungle Jim is assigned to track down a former SS Officer, who alone knows the locale of an art collection stolen during World War II by the Nazis. There is also a trio of crooks who desire to know where the paintings are hidden. The SS Officer, fleeing U.S. Army agents, commandeers an airplane carrying night-club entertainer Phyllis Bruce and her trained tiger, who is also not exactly what she appears to be. The plane crashes in the jungle, where the local natives are voodoo tiger-worshipers, especially those who fly in on a great bird. Jungle Jim, aided by an American army officer, swings into action, and, after doing in a lion with is knife, tracks down the crooks, or what's left after the tiger-worshipers get through with them, and they themselves are killed in a dynamite blast.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | spreadeagled | interrupted sacrifice | rescue | witch doctor | 

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Taglines:

SEE Weird Witch Doctor Rituals!

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the film is set in "darkest Africa", the actors playing the natives are mostly Hispanic, and their chief is played by Charles Horvath, who is Hungarian.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Jungle Jim and his party hear the sound of jungle drums nearby]
Phyllis Bruce: What's that? What does it mean?
Jungle Jim: Sounds like a ritual. Someone's being sacrificed.

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Connections

Followed by Valley of Head Hunters (1953)

User Reviews

Stay away from Voodoo Voodoo bad medicine!

**SPOILERS** Jungle Jim, Johnny Weissmuller, gets involved with a fugitive Nazi Karl Werner aka Col. Heinrich Schultz, Michel Fox, as well as a gang of hoodlums out to get him. Not because of Schultz's war record but because of him having hid over $2,000,000.00 in art works that he smuggled out of Europe after the war and hid somewhere on the African Continent.

Before we ever even get to know about Schultz there's this Voodoo jungle cult headed by their witch doctor and head man Mr. Wombulu,Charles Horvath, worshiping a magical Voodoo Tiger in darkest Africa. The natives and Wombulu himself looking as if their from the Amazon Jungle of South America instead of native Africans looking more Hispanic or native South American Indian then dark and indigenous African warriors and tribesmen. That has you so confused at times that you don't exactly know just what part of the world the film is supposed to be taking place in? The movie "Voodoo Tiger" has a tiger escape from a plane that crash-landed in the jungle that was part of a act with it's master the beautiful exotic dancer Shailimar,Jean Dean. The confused natives thinking that she's some kind of Voodoo Goddess who then uses her influence with them to keep Jungle Jim and his fellow white-men and one woman museum curator Phillis Bruce, Jean Byron, from being killed by them. For once Jungle Jim isn't upstaged by his pet chimp Tamba with Tamba being given very little screen time by the films director. He doesn't what his big star former Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller to end up, like in most of the movies with Tamba co-staring in. Having Weissmuller looking like a monkey with Tamba not only getting the best lines, and laughs, but in many cases the girl as well.

Being taken prisoner by Wombulu's Voodoo men as well as the local head hunters Jungle Jim & Co.are slated to be sacrificed to the Voodoo Tiger but to gave Jungle Jim a chance to strut his stuff he's put into a lions cage and given the choice to live if he can defeat the wild and savage beast or end up as it's supper if he loses. The lion, who was obviously drugged to keep him from mauling the jungle man, in his fight with Jungle Jim looks as if he'd rather go to sleep and doesn't even try to put up any fight at all. Jungle Jim easily puts the lion away, like an alligator wrestler puts away the big reptile by rubbing it's stomach, in no time at all. Wombulu going against his word, by not letting Jungle Jim and friends go free, has Jim makes a run for it together with the white captives held by the Voodoo head hunters into the open jungle. The tiger meanwhile is always getting into fights with local jungle animals, like crocodiles buffalo's and leopards, before he just gets so sick and tired of being used by the Voodoo men and head hunters that he attacks them. The tiger has the entire Voodoo cult run for their lives thus giving Jungle Jim & Co. a chance to escape.

Everything turns out right for the good guys, Jungle Jim & Co., in the end with the bad guys getting caught by the natives and run through with spears and Schultz being captured by Jim and friends and being forced, or obliged, to reveal where the stolen art works and painting are. The big hero of the flick after Jungle Jim of course Maj. Bill Green, Robert Bray, ends up getting the girl Phillis but Jungle Jim does him one better he ends up getting the monkey; Tamba.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

De heilige tijger

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sam Katzman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1