JUNGLE WOMAN (1944) Blu-ray Review

Jungle Woman (1944) d. Reginald LeBorg (USA) (61 min)

Paula Dupree (Acquanetta) is back… and killed in the first scene when she attacks Dr. Fletcher (J. Carroll Naish), who is then brought to trial for her murder (cue the flashback sequences). It seems that our glandular mishap survived her fate at the end of Captive Wild Woman and was nursed back to health by the good doctor, who had also acquired the late Dr. Walters’ sanitarium and continued in his research, thereby transforming Cheela/Paula back to her human form. In what amounts to a retread of Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People, we discover that whenever Paula is sexually aroused – as she is by Fletcher’s assistant Bob (Richard Davis), who has a thing going with his boss’ daughter Joan (Lois Collier) – she has a tendency to get a little hairier and homicidal.

October Movie Challenge 2012 (10/7)

Remember, if you would like to make a pledge toward Scare-A-Thon 2012 (benefitting FRIENDS OF CHILDREN) at any time, drop me an email at drach101@gmail.com to let me know how much you would like to pledge per film. Your donation is tax deductible, 100% of goes directly to aid the kids, and seriously, even a penny per film helps. Thanks in advance!

#22
Clownhouse (1989) (1st viewing) d. Salva, Victor (USA) 81 min.

Great kids-in-peril horror that earns double props for combining its realistic depiction of sibling relationships, rivalries and love with the inherent fright factor of killer clowns. Sam Rockwell already shows star potential in his film debut. Thanks so much to Gert for the hook-up.

#23
Clown at Midnight, The (1999) (1st viewing) d. Pellerin, Jean (Canada) 91 min.

Man, this post-Scream slasher is so by the numbers, I’m convinced they had them digitally removed in post. Worthwhile only for seeing paycheck-cashing Christopher Plummer running around in full clown regalia in the final scene. To be fair, I asked Gert for this one, but only because I had it confused with the 1976 John Candy killer clown movie, The Clown Murders. Still need to track that one down.

#24
Night Caller, The (aka Blood Beast from Outer Space) (1965) (1st viewing) d. Gilling, John (UK) 84 min.

Bizarre little Brit sci-fi flick about an interstellar flying globe and its extraterrestrial owner who come to town to kidnap attractive ladies. Slow, weird and occasionally unintentionally humorous. Via YouTube.

#25
Captive Wild Woman (1943) (1st viewing) d. Dmytryk, Edward (USA) 61 min.

I’ve been wanting to see this for literally as long as I’ve been able to crack open horror film reference books, having been dazzled for decades by Acquanetta’s ape-woman makeup. Finally caught up with it on YouTube yesterday and it’s a winner, with a great turn by John Carradine as the mad scientist. Funny/sad how the lion tamer circus footage (lifted from 1933’s The Big Cage) strikes my contemporary adult eyes as more inhumane than thrilling.

#26
Jungle Woman (1944) (1st viewing) d. Le Borg, Reginald (USA) 61 min.

The follow-up to Captive Wild Woman (also on YouTube) doesn’t even have the good taste to serve up a single scene of Acquanetta in ape-woman makeup, but it does let her have some dialogue this time around (for better or worse). J. Carroll Naish takes over the scientific gobbledegook role this time around, and Evelyn Ankers reprises her girl-in-peril turn, now hitched to dud Milburn Stone.

#27
Dead in 3 Days (2006) (1st viewing) d. Prochaska, Andreas (Austria) 97 min.

Jason Coffman hooked me up with this ages ago. Even had it on the roster for last year’s Challenge, but never got around to it. To call this an Austrian version of I Know What You Did Last Summer would save me a whole lot of typing, so let’s just call it that. Solid if unspectacular, although I call bullshit on the happy ending.

Total Movies: 27
First Time Views: 27
Money Raised for Friends of Children: $236.25