Search - Jungle Girl - Serial on DVD

One of the 3 best Republic Serials

William J. Landis | ALBUQUERQUE,NM | 12/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I feel Republic Pictures cornered the market when it came to serials.Jungle Girl ,in my opinion , was one of the 3 best that this studio released.The other 2 were " Perils of Nyoka " and
" The Adventures of Captain Marvel " While all 3 have been released on tape,this DVD version of " Jungle Girl " released by VCI Entertainment is superior in quality to the " Jungle Girl " tape. It was remastered from a 35MM master positive print from the British Film institute.Even if you already own a VHS tape of this serial I would recommend that you add this DVD to your library not only for the picture quality but also for the extras.The scene selection brings you with a click to the start of each individual Chapter so when returning to see the film for the umpteenth time you can pick and choose your chapter rather than view the whole 15 chapters at once.The extras also include biographies of some of the cast members and a gallery of theatre posters and still shots.This DVD also has trailers of other serials released in the heyday of the serials ( mostly from Universal Pictures ) and a beautiful color photo of Frances Gifford riding her elephant on both disks.The menu treats you to a solo of Jungle Drums while you are waiting to click on your selection. My only negative thought is why did they put 10 chapters on the 1st disk and the remaining 5 on the second instead of the whole 15 chapters on the one disk."

Classic Cliffhanger -- Best Jungle Serial Ever!

Randy Jones | Newark, NJ USA | 03/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite my youthful age (over 40 / under 50), as a long-time fan of the sound motion picture serial, I've had the pleasure of seeing -- and now, thanks to video, owning -- virtually all of the greats from what was considered the "golden age" of movie serials.From Batman to Zorro, the Lone Ranger to Flash Gordon, or Dick Tracy to Captain Marvel, they all had their own special appeal and allure. Granted, although all too often there were signficant differences in quality and production values, every fan had a favorite. And, for me and millions of other fans, no serial ever made was more exciting, entertaining, or intense as the action-packed thrills and perils found in "Jungle Girl."Loosely based upon the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name and released in 1941 by Republic Pictures, the film starred beautiful Frances Gifford as Nyoka, the Jungle Girl. Unusal for the period, this was the first attempt (since the silent days of Pearl White) to feature a female as the lead in a movie serial.Doubled equally by Helen Thurston and stunt ace David Sharpe, Nyoka swung through the trees with an acrobatic skill unseen in the much higher budgeted Tarzan films. Fighting diamond hunting gangsters and savage natives, she successfully endures 15-chapters of some of the best cliffhanger perils ever filmed . . . from lethal fire traps, avalanches, drownings, poison gas, falls from cliffs, and quicksand, just to name a few.Opposed by "Slick" Latimer and Shamba, the Witch Doctor, (for me, one of the scariest villains in serial history) Nyoka barely survives to defeat her enemies and save the day. Universally considered one of the best serials ever made (and definitely the best jungle serial ever made), Jungle Girl was directed by the cream of action directors, William Witney and John English. It was so successful, the following year it spawned an even more popular sequel, "Perils of Nyoka."For an example of the motion picture serial at its best, you can't do much better than "Jungle Girl" or its sequel. It's influence is felt to this day by modern serial fans like Steven Speilberg and George Lucas and many of their films, particularly the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, owes a debt of gratitude to this long gone, but not forgotten, American art form."

Classic Cliffhanger!

Randy Jones (nyokaj@aol.com) | East Orange, New Jersey | 01/05/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a long-time fan of the old motion picture serials, I've had the pleasure of seeing (and now, thanks to video, owning) many of the greats from the "golden age" of movie serials.From Batman to Zorro, the Lone Ranger to Flash Gordon, or Dick Tracy to Captain Marvel, they all had their own special appeal and allure, although all too often there were signficant differences in quality and production values. Every fan had a favorite. However, for me and millions of other fans, no serial ever made was more exciting, entertaining, or intense as the action-packed thrills and perils found in "Jungle Girl."Loosely based upon the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name and released in 1941 by Republic Pictures, the film starred beautiful Frances Gifford as Nyoka, the Jungle Girl. Unusal for the period, this was the first attempt (since the silent days of Pearl White) to feature a female as the lead in a movie serial.Doubled by stunt ace David Sharpe, Nyoka swung through the trees with an acrobatic skill unseen in the much higher budgeted Tarzan films. Fighting diamond hunting gangsters and savage natives, she successfully endures 15-chapters of perils from lethal fire traps, avalanches, drownings, poison gas, falls from cliffs, and quicksand, to name a few.Opposed by Shamba, the Witch Doctor, one of the scariest villains in serial history, Nyoka barely survives to defeat her enemies and save the day. Considered one of the best serials ever made (and definitely the best jungle serial ever made), Jungle Girl was directed by the cream of action directors, William Witney and John English. It was so successful, the following year it spawned an even more popular sequel, "Perils of Nyoka."For an example of the motion picture serial at its best, you can't do much better than "Jungle Girl" or its sequel. It's influence is felt to this day by modern serial fans like Steven Speilberg and George Lucas and many of their films, particularly the Indiana Jones series, owes a debt of gratitude to this long gone, but not forgotten, American art form. END"

I flip whenever Nyoka does a swinging flip on the vine.

Randy Jones (nyokaj@aol.com) | 04/24/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I always view earlier films with a different mindset than when I am watching modern films. While watching Jungle Girl, I put myself back in the 1940's when I was a kid watching the Saturday matinees. I also stretched this serial out (as it was originally intended) by watching no more than one or two chapters at each viewing session.Under those conditons, I thoroughly enjoyed this serial. The resolution of the cliffhanger at the beginning of each chapter is handled in a credible fashion and the fist fights between the heroes and villains are well choreographed. (The gun fights aren't handled as well). Nyoka manages to appear unflappable even after several instances of being dunked in the water or tied to a pole. The key to this type of movie is the performance of the villains and here they are a credit to their class."