The Naked Jungle (1954)

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

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Philip Yordan (screenplay), Ranald MacDougall (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker, Abraham Sofaer

Cast

Complete credited 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)

Storyline

It's 1901. At 19, tough, stubborn Christopher Leiningen came to South America and built levees to claim thousands of acres of Rio Negro river land for a chocolate plantation. Now 34, with no knowledge of women, he recruits a mail-order bride in New Orleans. She's beautiful, independent, and arrives ready to be his stalwart helpmate; however, no one has told him she's a widow. He rejects her. During the next week, as she awaits the boat to take her back to the US, they learn that legions of army ants will strike in a few days' time. She joins the fight to save the plantation; their courage and his probable loss of all he's worked for may crack his resolve to send her away.

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Plot Keywords:

insect attack | plantation owner | psychotronic film | mail order bride | swarm of ants | 

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Taglines:

He dared the dreaded MARABUNTA - DEADLIEST FORCE IN ALL OF NATURE!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

A remake was once in development in 2004 with Jonathan Hensleigh hired to write and direct the project but according to Hensleigh himself, once the regime change happened at Paramount, there was no longer any interest in making the film and has been since abandoned.

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Goofs

When Heston goes to blow the sluice, it is quite apparent that the water is the same height both sides of it. Blowing that sluice couldn't possibly cause a flood of any kind.

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Quotes

Christopher Leiningen: Go ten miles in any direction from here and it's civilized. But go ten paces beyond where I stopped, and you're in the bush, the living jungle. Where no man has a name, and the only law is to stay alive - even if you live like a beast. In the jungle, man's just another animal.

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Connections

Featured in Top 10 Dumbest Indiana Jones Moments (2009)

User Reviews

Real good adventure in the Brazilian Jungle

"The Naked Jungle" is the story of a wealthy owner of a big coffee plantation in Brazil's jungle, menaced by an army of warrior ants on the move covering several square miles of ground and eating everything on their way (the Marabunta). The man's unknown mail-ordered wife has just arrived too but something in her past annoys him and a conflict between them is taking place when the ants arrive.

The picture was really original back in 1954 and is very entertaining too. This was probably Byron Haskin's best work as a director with an uneven carrier that included also "I Walk Alone", 1948, and "The War of the Worlds", 1953. The Special effects of Naked Jungle are really good for its time and the fine performances of Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker as the main couple surely helped to raise the final product. Heston went on to full stardom and Parker continued to keep up her interesting carrier (she had been in some good movies before as "Scaramouche", 1952, and "Detective Story", 1951, and went to good ones too like "The Man with the Golden Arm", 1955). You will also find a good color photography and well designed settings.

A very amusing and enjoyable film with sort of a "B" structure but a real "A" outcome.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bushmaster

Filming Locations:

Florahome, Florida, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1