Her Jungle Love
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
George Archainbaud
Dorothy Lamour
Ray Milland
Lynne Overman
J. Carrol Naish
Dorothy Howe
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
While searching for lost aviator Roy Atkins for their air transport company, Bob Mitchell and Jimmy Wallace are caught in a typhoon and crash land on a Malayan island. Their plane and radio are destroyed and Bob suffers a minor head injury. They encounter Tura, a beautiful young native, who is escorted by her pet chimpanzee, "Gaga," and lion cub "Meewa." Bob and Jimmy live in a cave and are tended to by Tura. While Bob teaches her rudimentary English, he and Jimmy learn to enjoy their jungle life. Back home, newspaper headlines abound with stories of the missing aviators. J. C. Martin, Bob and Jimmy's boss, and his daughter Eleanor, who is engaged to Bob, are frustrated by their inability to help in the search. Meanwhile, Bob and Tura fall in love. Hostile natives from another island, led by evil Kuasa, arrive at Tura's island to conduct a ceremony honoring the "crocodile" god. They assemble in caves inside a volcano, where a hypnotized Tura participates in the ritual while Kuasa awes the natives with conventional magic tricks. Roy Atkins, who has been a captive of the tribe, is sacrificed and thrown to hungry crocodiles. Hidden from view, Bob and Jimmy witness the spectacle and comfort the distressed Tura when it is over. Kuasa returns to claim Tura and discovers her guests. He explains that Tura is the kidnapped daughter of an English woman who jilted him, and that he has reared her in isolation from the natives so she will appear as a goddess. Kuasa has vowed to seek vengeance on all white men, and tries to kill Bob and Jimmy with the help of his followers. Gaga, the chimpanzee, meanwhile, lights a signal fire after having watched Jimmy struggle unsuccessfully to light one. Inside the volcano, Kuasa plans to kill the three in another ceremony, but an earthquake strikes and the natives panic. Many are killed by avalanches or eaten by crocodiles, and Kuasa himself is killed by a falling statue. Tura, Bob and Jimmy escape through an opening in the cave and emerge from the jungle just as the Martins, who rented a yacht, alight on the beach. Bob and Eleanor are reunited, to the jealous dismay of Tura, who sadly returns to her cave. Eleanor releases the lovestruck Bob from his engagement, however, and he returns to Tura.
Director
George Archainbaud
Cast
Dorothy Lamour
Ray Milland
Lynne Overman
J. Carrol Naish
Dorothy Howe
Jonathan Hale
Archie Twitchell
Jiggs, Chimpanzee
Lion Cub
Edward Earle
Sonny Chorre
Tony Urchel
Bill Caldwell
Richard Denning
Philip Warren
Crew
Glenn Alden
George M. Arthur
Betty Becker
Hugh Bennett
John Cope
John Datu
Ruth Davis
Hans Dreier
Mel Epstein
Ralph Freed
A. E. Freudeman
Mickey Gentry
Gerald Geraghty
Gerald Geraghty
Duke Green
Earl Hayman
Lillie Hayward
Edith Head
Earl Hedrick
Frederick Hollander
Dev. Jennings
Gordon Jennings
Natalie Kalmus
William Lebaron
Alma Lockwood
Joseph Moncure March
Boris Morros
Morgan Padelford
Elaine Ramsay
Ray Rennahan
Kurt Siodmak
Kurt Siodmak
Gregory Stone
Eddie Welch
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to copyright records, technical advisor John Datu lived in the Malayan Archipelago for twenty years. The press book mentions six locations used in California, including Palm Canyon near Palm Springs; Eagle Canyon; Laguna Beach, behind Goff Island; Red Rock Canyon in the Mojave Desert; the Pacific Ocean; and Santa Catalina Island. To create a jungle atmosphere in Palm Springs, $20,000 worth of tropical plants were imported. In addition, thirty crocodiles were used, including a rare albino. Three tiger cubs were needed to portray "Meewa" because they grew so fast. The set depicting the cavern inside the volcano was 250 feet long and thirty feet high. The set was destroyed in the earthquake scene, during which thirty-seven extras were injured. Rather than use a stand-in, Dorothy Lamour herself threw a Malay knife at Ray Milland in one scene, having become an expert marksman. Thirty lifeguards were employed, including five former Olympic or national champions, to safeguard the occupants of the canoes during filming at Laguna Beach. Background melodies and chants heard in the production were based on Samoan music. According to Lamour's autobiography, one location for filming was an Indian reservation in Palm Springs. According to a news item in Hollywood Reporter, this was chimpanzee Jiggs's last film role. Jiggs, who was owned by Mrs. Jacqueline Gentry, died of pneumonia shortly after completing his last scene in this picture. The news item also notes that Jiggs was such a prominent animal actor that he had his own stand-in, who earned $100 per day. This was the second jungle film in which Milland and Lamour co-starred for Paramount (see The Jungle Princess below).
