White Goddess

In an African jungle, American medical researcher Dr. Thomas Reynolds and his colleague, chemist Howard Ogden, make their way to a trading post owned and operated by Peter Vantyne and his daughter Trudy. Peter remembers Tom, whose missionary parents died when Tom was a boy, after which he was sent back to the U.S. Tom has returned to Africa in the hope of discovering new drug formulas from local medicine men. To this end, he has hired British guide Charley Smart to lead a safari to meet the legendary "White Goddess," an apparently ageless white woman living with a local tribe. When Peter sends his servant Jaba, the son of a local chief, to hire porters for Tom's journey, Jaba is attacked and wounded by a lion. He is brought back to the trading post where Tom saves his life, and as a result, Tom is given the honorary title of "Ramar," meaning white medicine man, from Jaba's father. The father extends his gratitude the next day by sending Tom porters for the safari. The porters abandon the group, however, after Tom, Howard and Charley cross a border into the forbidden Nalos territory, where the three men are captured and brought to the White Goddess. She surprises them with her cordiality and knowledge of English, which she claims to have learned from a missionary dictionary. However, when Tom asks for a sample of the herbs she uses to maintain her youth, she refuses and holds them prisoner. Tom, Howard and Charley escape after knocking out a guard and return safely to the trading post. That night, the White Goddess' warriors murder tribesmen from the Kramli tribe, with whom they are warring. In response, the Kramlis attack the trading post, knocking Peter out and kidnapping Trudy. Tom, Howard and Charley then return to the jungle to rescue Trudy. When they encounter the Kramli tribal chief, M'Tooma, he explains that he has been expelled from the tribe by his medicine man, who plans to make Trudy his "White Queen," believing she will give them the power to take back their land from the White Goddess and her tribe. After Tom convinces M'Tooma that he will be reinstated if they rescue Trudy, he agrees to lead them to the Kramli village, where the medicine man is performing Trudy's coronation ceremony. Tom, Howard and Charley watch in astonishment as Trudy, in a drugged trance, walks over a bed of burning coals. When they later attempt to carry her from her hut, she screams, and they abandon the rescue effort to save their lives. After returning at dawn when the warriors are asleep, Tom observes the witch doctor mixing an elixir for Trudy. After the medicine man leaves, Tom pours the leftover liquid into a jug, then rescues Trudy with Charley's help. Tom, Howard and Charley use their guns to fend off an attack by the awakened warriors until M'Tooma regains command of his people, after killing the witch doctor with a spear. Later, Trudy recovers at the trading post, where Tom and Howard package the drug sample to mail to the United States for testing. They then decide to try once more to obtain a sample of the longevity drugs from the White Goddess. Unknown to Tom and Howard, the White Goddess, an American whose real name is Irma Milliken, has been contacted by escaped convicts Nelson Vail and Henry Atkins, who knew her husband in jail and hope to share her secret treasure. Although saddened by the convicts' news that her husband died in prison, she agrees to split her treasure with them if they help her escape from the tribe. As part of the scheme, she agrees to meet with Tom and Howard and give them the herbs, but plans to disappear after their arrival so that the tribe will blame her absence on them. Upon their arrival, Tom, Howard and Charley, who recently saw wanted posters for Vail and Atkins, ask the White Goddess if she has seen the ex-convicts, but she feigns ignorance. Suspicious because she says they must wait overnight for the secret herbs, Tom, Howard and Charley stand guard throughout the night. Their suspicions are confirmed when Charley sees the White Goddess leaving the village in western clothing. He follows her to her meeting with Vail and Atkins, who are camping nearby, then returns to the village to make his report. Meanwhile, Vail and Atkins attempt to kill the White Goddess after they try to take an unfair portion of her treasure. Atkins is mortally wounded by her poison dart, but Vail shoots her and disposes of Atkins' body. Vail is then killed by the White Goddess' medicine man. Tom, Howard and Charley, who have been able to obtain some of the secret formula, escape across the river, after which they vow never to return to Nalos territory. Tom and Howard later leave Africa with many of the herbs they sought.