Montana Smith
Active member
Jungle Girl (1941)
I found this serial hard going after the wonders of Zorro's Fighting Legion, even though both were directed by William Witney, who also did Zorro Rides Again, The Perils of Nyoka and Spy Smasher).
It's set in Africa, yet I don't think there's a black actor in sight - just white guys in bad wigs. It didn't bode well from the start when Nyoka's elephant was clearly of the Indian variety. Yet, in an odd way that's the first of several connections to Temple of Doom.
Spotting the Indy-isms quickly became the main attraction, along with waiting for the moment when Frances Gifford's short skirt would finally betray her modesty!
Shamba, the native witch doctor with his painted face, skulls, and buffalo-horned headress, could well be the model for Mola Ram:
In the first episode Shamba uses a voodoo doll, an African element which was wrongly transported into India for TOD:
Shamba, like Mola Ram also uses a secret door in his temple as an escape route.
The next big similarity was the flooding of the tunnels. Nyoka and Stanton are chased by the water, like Indy, Willie and Shorty...
...until they find a 'back door' in the cliff face, through which the water rushes and they escape...
I was immediately reminded of this:
And the similarities don't end there, as there's also an ore crusher:
And some elements from TOD's Shanghai section. A large artificial animal maw...
...and a big gong...
Endnote:
As promised, the moment when Frances Gifford's short skirt finally betrays her modesty, courtesy of Curly!
___________________
Next up will be The Perils of Nyoka (1942), which from the first episode looks to be of much higher quality, in terms of picture, sets and story.
I found this serial hard going after the wonders of Zorro's Fighting Legion, even though both were directed by William Witney, who also did Zorro Rides Again, The Perils of Nyoka and Spy Smasher).
It's set in Africa, yet I don't think there's a black actor in sight - just white guys in bad wigs. It didn't bode well from the start when Nyoka's elephant was clearly of the Indian variety. Yet, in an odd way that's the first of several connections to Temple of Doom.
Spotting the Indy-isms quickly became the main attraction, along with waiting for the moment when Frances Gifford's short skirt would finally betray her modesty!
Shamba, the native witch doctor with his painted face, skulls, and buffalo-horned headress, could well be the model for Mola Ram:
In the first episode Shamba uses a voodoo doll, an African element which was wrongly transported into India for TOD:
Shamba, like Mola Ram also uses a secret door in his temple as an escape route.
The next big similarity was the flooding of the tunnels. Nyoka and Stanton are chased by the water, like Indy, Willie and Shorty...
...until they find a 'back door' in the cliff face, through which the water rushes and they escape...
I was immediately reminded of this:
And the similarities don't end there, as there's also an ore crusher:
And some elements from TOD's Shanghai section. A large artificial animal maw...
...and a big gong...
Endnote:
As promised, the moment when Frances Gifford's short skirt finally betrays her modesty, courtesy of Curly!
___________________
Next up will be The Perils of Nyoka (1942), which from the first episode looks to be of much higher quality, in terms of picture, sets and story.