Product Description

During World War II, the Nazi High Command sends agents into the African jungle to stir up the local Tongghili tribes against the British Allies. This allows them to plant Commander Elise Bork, posing as a scientist, and her subordinate, Lang, within the Tambosa Experimental Farm. Along with the help of Maati, an evil rival tribesman, they search for the legendary "Secret Sword", which has mysterious powers. Two Americans, Bob Elliott (Edward Norris) and Chuck Kelly (Eddie Quillan) arrive to aid the Allies and meet Pamela Courtney (Lois Collier), who is looking for her father, an explorer who mysteriously disappeared. Bork and Lang feign friendship with the trio in order to find out what they know, before trying several ways to kill them. Their attempts always fail though, due to the well-timed appearances of Lothel (Ruth Roman), the beautiful and mysterious "Queen of the Jungle", Tongghili's spiritual leader. In desperation, the Nazis try to kill Lothel by letting loose wild animals, and setting fire to the jungle. Lothel, however, walks through the flames un-harmed and seems to tame even the wildest beast. And in the end, she helps our heroes end the Nazi terror and return peace to the jungle, before vanishing into a sheet of flame. Bonus Features: Scene Selection| Trailers Product Specs: 1-DVD9; Dolby Digital; 240 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1945; SRP - $19.99

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92286 in DVD
• Brand: VCI ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2008-03-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 240 minutes

Features

• During World War II, the Nazi High Command sends agents into the African jungle to stir up the local Tongghili tribes against the British Allies. This allows them to plant Commander Elise Bork, posing as a scientist, and her subordinate, Lang, within the Tambosa Experimental Farm. Along with the help of Maati, an evil rival tribesman, they search for the legendary Secret Sword , which has mysterio

Customer Reviews

very poor quality print
I love cliffhanger chapter-plays from this era and although this is entertaining, the quality of the print is terrible-it says on the cover "digitally restored"- what does that mean? What is the point of this spine quote when some scenes are unwatchable? I have paid alot of cash for a top of the range TV and do not expect to watch DVDs of such bad quality on it. In future, I will be very wary of buying DVDs that claim "digitally restored" from this era.

"13 Chapters of Savage Thrills ... Jungle Queen (1945) ... VCI Ent. (2008)"
VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "JUNGLE QUEEN" (23 January 1945) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Cliffhangers or Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials or Film serials, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film --- Known as "chapter plays," they were extended motion pictures broken into a number of segments called "chapters" or "episodes." --- Each chapter (a typical serial usually had as many as 15 of them) would be screened at the same theater for one week --- The serial would end with a cliffhanger, as the hero and heroine would find themselves in the latest perilous situation from which there could be no escape --- The audience would have to return the next week (and pay admission) to find out how the hero and heroine would escape and battle the villain once again --- Serials were especially popular with children, and for many youths in the first half of the 20th century, a typical Saturday at the movies included a chapter of at least one serial, along with animated cartoons, newsreels, and two feature films was the norm when we were kids growing up in Midwestern America.

Under the production staff of:
Lewis D. Collins - Director
Ray Taylor - Director
Morgan Cox - Screenwriter
Ande Lamb - Screenwriter
George H. Plympton - Screenwriter
Morgan Cox - Associate Producer
Ray Taylor - Associate Producer
Maury Gertsman - Cinematographer
William A. Sickner - Cinematographer
Irving Birnbaum - Editor
Jack Dolan - Editor
Ace Herman - Editor
Alvin Todd - Editor
Edgar Zane - Editor
Norman A. Cerf - Supervising Editor
Harold H. MacArthur - Art Director
Carey Loftin - Stunt Double for Edward Norris
Milton Rosen - Composer with Stock Music
Hans J. Salter - Composer with Stock Music
Paul Sawtell - Composer with Stock Music
Frank Skinner - Composer with Stock Music
Dimitri Tiomkin - Composer with Stock Music

The plot and story line with 13 Chapters of jungle vintage serial episodes loaded with action sequences --- Who is this mysterious girl Lothel the Jungle Queen (Ruth Roman), who arrives in the nick of time for the tribes to rescue them on the spot --- Are Nazi agents behind stirring up the local tribes in Africa to fight against our British allies --- Who is really behind all of the plots, Lang (Douglass Dumbrille) and Dr. Elise Bork (Tala Birell) seem to have everything under control as our key villains posing as dutiful scientists, or do they --- Can Bob Elliott (Edward Norris) and Chuck Kelly (Eddie Quillan) be of assistance before the final chapter "The Secret of the Sword" can be discovered --- What part does Pam Courtney (Lois Collier), niece of the explorer Alan Courtney (Boyd Irwin) play in this intriguing tale --- What strange power does the Sword have over the tribes and why is it so important --- Will the Jungle Queen once more walk through the sheets of flames as before and have the answers --- The Universal Studio stunt people leave no stone unturned with each cliffhanger episode --- Don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "The Secret of the Sword" --- Return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you glued to your seat.

the cast includes
Edward Norris ... Bob Elliot
Eddie Quillan ... Chuck Kelly
Douglass Dumbrille ... Lang
Lois Collier ... Pamela Courtney
Ruth Roman ... Lothel, Jungle Queen
Tala Birell ... Dr. Elise Bork
Clarence Muse ... Kyba
Cy Kendall ... Tambosa Tim [Chs. 6-8]
Clinton Rosemond ... Godac
Lumsden Hare ... Mr. 'X'
Lester Matthews ... Commissioner Braham Chatterton
Napoleon Simpson ... Maati
Budd Buster ... Jungle Jack [Chs. 4-6, 10-13] (as Budd L. Buster)
Emmett Smith ... Noma
Jim Basquette ... Orbon
Louis Adlon ... Weber, Nazi Radio Operator
Edmund Cobb ... Johann, alias Jack [Ch. 1]
John Merton ... Mine Henchman-Guard [Chs. 8-9]

13 THRILLING UNIVERSAL CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Invitation to Danger
2. Jungle Sacrifice
3. The Flaming Mountain
4. Wildcat Stampede
5. The Burning Jungle
6. Danger Ship
7. Trip Wire Murder
8. The Mortar Bomb
9. Death Watch
10.Execution Chamber
11.The Trail to Doom
12.Dragged Under
13.The Secret of the Sword

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Scene Selection
2. Trailers of "Jungle Queen" (1945) Ruth Roman and "Phantom Empire" (1935) - Gene Autry

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER:
1. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
4. Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
5. The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
6. Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
7. Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
8. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
9. Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
10.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)
11.Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
12.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
13.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
14.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)

Hats off and thanks to Robert Blair and his staff at VCI Entertainment --- VCI was named in Variety and Hollywood Reporter as the first company to produce and release motion pictures directly to the home marketplace --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- VCI are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector -- looking forward to more Nostalgic Collections --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 240 mins on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment 8531 ~ (3/25/2008)