A little romance entered Jungle Jim's life in Jungle Manhunt. Not for Johnny Weissmuller mind you at least in the Tarzan films he had Jane. No the romance came for Sheila Ryan who came with camera in hand as a news reporter looking for a football player who disappeared in a presumed plane crash several years earlier. And Ryan's in need of a guide.
The guy that Ryan is seeking is Bob Waterfield the Frank Tarkenton of his day. Waterfield was probably the best quarterback of his day, a very popular guy and also one of the first Christian athletes though he was far from Tim Tebow. At the time this film was made he was starring for the Los Angeles Rams. And Waterfield was also half of a very big celebrity couple of himself and Jane Russell.
Anyway rumors of a white man leading a native tribe on various raids to capture men and kill all the others in peaceful tribes bring Weissmuller into the local war. Ryan tags along to see if it could be Waterfield.
Instead it's Lyle Talbot playing a foreign scientist with a bit of cheesy accent who is enslaving the men to work in his uranium mine where they're prone to die real soon. Weissmuller finds the mine, finds Talbot and along the way finds Waterfield.
Jungle Manhunt was fascinating to watch various acting styles employed. Lyle Talbot did what was required of him and overacted outrageously for the kid trade the target audience was and for posterity because he knew how corny this film was and knew also it would be a camp classic. Ryan was a good actress and did what was required of her to look both feminine and competent in the man's world even though she did need rescuing by Weissmuller from drowning. Weissmuller who in his first Tarzan film just got a grunt or three and some jungle gibberish for dialog, graduated to where he could handle dialog if not great at least competently. Poor Waterfield as an actor, he was great quarterback.
I have to say this particular Jungle Jim feature was enjoyable even if I did laugh in the wrong spots.
The guy that Ryan is seeking is Bob Waterfield the Frank Tarkenton of his day. Waterfield was probably the best quarterback of his day, a very popular guy and also one of the first Christian athletes though he was far from Tim Tebow. At the time this film was made he was starring for the Los Angeles Rams. And Waterfield was also half of a very big celebrity couple of himself and Jane Russell.
Anyway rumors of a white man leading a native tribe on various raids to capture men and kill all the others in peaceful tribes bring Weissmuller into the local war. Ryan tags along to see if it could be Waterfield.
Instead it's Lyle Talbot playing a foreign scientist with a bit of cheesy accent who is enslaving the men to work in his uranium mine where they're prone to die real soon. Weissmuller finds the mine, finds Talbot and along the way finds Waterfield.
Jungle Manhunt was fascinating to watch various acting styles employed. Lyle Talbot did what was required of him and overacted outrageously for the kid trade the target audience was and for posterity because he knew how corny this film was and knew also it would be a camp classic. Ryan was a good actress and did what was required of her to look both feminine and competent in the man's world even though she did need rescuing by Weissmuller from drowning. Weissmuller who in his first Tarzan film just got a grunt or three and some jungle gibberish for dialog, graduated to where he could handle dialog if not great at least competently. Poor Waterfield as an actor, he was great quarterback.
I have to say this particular Jungle Jim feature was enjoyable even if I did laugh in the wrong spots.