Waste of time

Memorable, crazy movie

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Johnny Weissmuller (Jungle Jim), Bob Waterfield (Bob Miller), Sheila Ryan (Ann Lawrence), Rick Vallin (Bono), Lyle Talbot (Dr Mitchell Heller), William P. Wilkerson (Maklee chief), and "Tamba", the chimpanzee.Director: LEW LANDERS. Screenplay: Samuel Newman. Based on the comic strip Jungle Jim by Alex Raymond. Photography: William Whitney. Film editor: Henry Batista. Art director: Paul Palmentola. Set decorator: Sidney Clifford. Music directed by Mischa Bakaleinikoff. RCA Sound System. Producer: Sam Katzman. Copyright 24 September 1951 by Columbia Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: October 1951. U.K. release: 31 December 1951. Australian release: 1 February 1952. 66 minutes. Censored to 64 minutes in Australia in order to qualify for a General or Universal exhibition certificate.SYNOPSIS: A woman photographer enlists the aid of Jungle Jim in her search for an American who was lost in an Army flight over Africa nine years before. — Copyright summary. The story's about a sinister doctor who recruits slave labour from neighbouring villages to make synthetic diamonds. — Picturegoer. NOTES: Number 7 of the 16-picture "Jungle Jim" series.COMMENT: Surprise! Surprise! This entry doesn't start with the usual parade of stock library footage which a pretentious off-camera commentary tries vainly to make seem relevant and pertinent to the Boys' Own Paper adventures that follow. Instead we are treated to a bit of smart action footage employing quite a few native extras in a brisk attack scene. And after that follows the stock material — fishing — with Jungle Jim looking on and even waving to the library fishermen. The heroine then canoes into the picture via a process screen. Naturally, she falls into the water, thus enabling the producer to use the same underwater shot of Jim swimming to the rescue that figures in at least four of his other adventures. Rescue completed, the action stops dead for a long dialogue scene in which our heroine bores us all silly with much tedious filling-in of background information.Fortunately, once all this is out of the way, the picture regains momentum. True, we do take time out for a slow fight between two lizards — supposedly huge prehistoric beasts, of course — plus a more interesting encounter between a giant squid and a shark. But at least we're spared extensive monkey antics.Aside from the vigorous handling of the action spots, the direction is not only thoroughly routine but over-uses close-ups. All the same, production values are bit higher than the series' average, though it's a pity more was not made of the intriguing skeleton men.Johnny Weissmuller is his usual reticent self, Miss Ryan rates as a mildly pretty but unappealing heroine — and the same could be said for Waterfield's hero (admittedly, he doesn't have much of a role). Lyle Talbot's villain seemed to me somewhat unnecessarily restrained.

The "Jungle Jim" series is apparently where Johnny Weissmuller's career went to die after he got too fat to play "Tarzan" anymore. He's actually in fairly trim form for this in his two shirtless scenes, but it's also pretty obvious that he's sucking in his gut. (I don't blame him; if I were over 30 and had to be shirtless on film, I'd suck in my gut too). But most of the time he still cuts a pretty dashing figure in his "Jungle Jim" outfit, so he has that going for him. One thing is clear from this: Weissmuller was no actor. When he can't hide behind the monosyllabic grunts of the Tarzan role, he can barely deliver his lines in a professional manner. But that's OK, because hardly any else here is an actor either. If you doubt this, just consider the part of the villain played by Lyle Talbot. Talbot, never more than a "C" list actor (he had some parts in Ed Wood movies if memory serves me) effortlessly makes absolutely everyone else in the move look and sound wooden and stilted by comparison, and Talbot has some of the most ridiculous dialog in the movie. The plot, such as it is, isn't bad. It offers action, intrigue, a little suspense, some disguised social commentary, and a typical "Quest". It even has an element of the fantastic. There's a totally gratuitous dinosaur fight, with stock footage lifted directly from "One Million B.C." and an even more superfluous octopus/shark fight which makes no sense at all, except as an excuse for Jim to show how tough he is. (I wasn't even aware that shark and octopus were enemies in the wild, and what are they doing in Africa??). And there's a jungle laboratory where enslaved natives dig in the mines for a villain who creates diamonds out of igneous rock. So no, it's not H. Rider Haggard or Edgar Rice Burroughs, but it is meaty Saturday afternoon matinée fodder. Jim defeats the villain by being manly and dashing (and judo throwing bad guys over his hip or shoulder over and over) , but he doesn't get the girl, because Jim don't play that - the other manly and dashing white guy in the film (a real life football player playing a missing football player; he's even more wooden than Johnny ) gets her while Jim beams approval. For what it was, it was a pleasant trip back to the matinées of my youth. If I had a chance to see another "Jungle Jim" movie on a slow weekend night, I just might.

This is one of the better Jungle Jim entries.Although still low-budget with the usual stock footage it has some good things goibg for it.First of all,Johnny Weissmuller looks quite fit and shows off his physique twice in the film.He looked better here,than in his last Tarzan film.Sheila Ryan as Ann the lady photographer is a beautiful and spunky co-star.She looks lovely in a sarong in a scene where she is getting cozy with the lost football player,Bob Waterfield.(a real-life player).Also along for the ride are Rick Vallin as Jim's native friend,Tamba the Chimp and that great B-actor Lyle Talbot as the villain.A predictable JIM adventure,but still a lot of fun.

I seen Jungle Manhunt around two or three years ago and quite enjoyed it. I obtained a copy of it from the same source as I get the Bomba movies from.A footballer is lost in the jungle and Jungle Jim and a party are sent to find him. Among the dangers they face along the way are prehistoric monsters fighting which are actually the usual stock footage from One Million BC.As usual, Jungle Jim is played by Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller and the rest of the cast includes real life footballer Bob Waterfield as the lost footballer, Sheila Ryan and Lyle Talbot (Plan 9 From Outer Space).Watching Jungle Manhunt is a good way to spend just over an hour one afternoon or evening. Enjoyable.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.