Search - Savage Girl on DVD

Old B picture brightened by Rochelle Hudson

William R. Ray | Arden, NC USA | 07/16/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The DVD transfer is fair but shows the signs of age. It's actually better than I expected.

3 Americans travel to Africa to trap wild animals. They start the journey by bringing their New York cabbie and his cab! They hire a German(?) guide and several natives, one of whom (Floyd Shackelford) turns out to be from Harlem looking for a way back to the states. While trapping, our group finds a wild girl (Rochelle Hudson). There is an instant rivalry between the guide and our fearless American expedition leader (Harry C. Meyers). The savage girl is attracted to the American and spurns the guide. The guide convinces the local native villagers to capture the American. Our American African becomes the hero when he alerts the others to the situation and rushes to free the leader.
We do have a happy ending.

This film is most definitely a B with low production values and a weak plot. However, I was very impressed with how lovely Rochelle Hudson is in this film. Her dialogue is very limited (her character does not speak English) but she certainly is the high point of this movie. The scenes of wild animals (a leopard and a lion) are obviously stock footage but we do see Rochelle cuddling with 2 leopard cubs and walking with a very young chimpanzee.

While this film was made in 1932, it cannot be called as a "pre-code". There are none of the adult oriented themes or skimpy clothing associated with that classification of film. Instead, this is more of a Saturday matinee adventure film. "The Savage Girl" is for collectors only but the price is right. The 3 stars are for the antique nature of the production and the fact that this film is the fore runner to later films about jungle goddesses.

Recommended for: all ages but teens won't make it 5 minutes."