Diamante negro

Don't let the cast credits fool you. This is actually a Jungle Jim picture. Although Weissmuller is credited as playing himself, he is dressed in his Jungle Jim outfit. Moreover, the plot follows much the same formula as previous entries. Indeed it rather resembles Mark of the Gorilla, with crocodiles substituting for the apes. But though the dialogue is stilted and the situations familiar, the juvenile audience this movie is intended to please, will probably not notice. In fact the story moves at such a fast clip, it makes for a reasonably exciting diversion. Naturally, production values are helped along by a few stock shots from previous Jungle Jim entries (such as the eagle, and the underwater fight with the croc), plus quite a few clips from Columbia's library of ancient stock footage (the elephants). It all makes for plenty of action, including a fairly exciting climax. Johnny Weissmuller is his usual competent self whilst the heroine, an attractive lass, will fascinate the older boys in the audience. Unfortunately, the rest of the support players are an undistinguished lot, easily outclassed by that talented chimp, Kimba (even if he obviously doesn't really cut the prisoners free). Sholem's direction is reasonably proficient, though it provides only an occasional flash of imagination (such as the menacing crocodile shadow in the cave). The sets, however, are mighty impressive.

In 1948, Johnny Weissmuller was signed by Columbia Pictures to make a series of films starring him as "Jungle Jim," the character originated(in 1934) and drawn (through the 30s and early-40s) by Alex Raymond but owned outright by King Features Syndicate.

From 1948 into 1954, Columbia house-producer Sam Katzman made 15 films starring Weissmuller as "Jungle Jim" Bradley, while Columbia paid royalties to the King Features Syndicate (owner of the comic script)for the use of the character. Universal Pictures Corporation, via their in-house Adventure Serials Inc., setup produced a 12-chapter serial featuring the character in 1937.

Columbia Pictures Corporation, with Sam Katzman as the producer made the following 15 "Jungle Jim" films, starring Johnny Weissmuller: "Jungle Jim (1948); "The Lost Tribe" (1949); "Captive Girl" and "Pygmy Island" (1950);"Fury of the Congo" and "Jungle Manhunt" (1951); :Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land," "Voodoo Tiger" and "Savage Mutiny" (1952); "Valley of the Headhunters" and "Killer Ape (1953)and the last "Jungle Jim" film in the series, "Jungle Man-Eaters" in 1954.

Following "Jungle Man-Eaters" Columbia chose not to renew their rights to the "Jungle Jim" character, but still had Weissmuller on a contract that had three films to go. Ipso facto, make three more films exactly like the previous 15 "Jungle Jim" films but have Johnny Weissmuller playing a character named "Johnny Weissmuller." And those three non-Jungle Jim films starring Johnny Weissmuller (playing a character named "Johnny Weissmuller") were: "Cannibal Attack" (1954) and "Jungle Moon-Men" and "Devil Goddess" in 1955.

And, no Izzy the Himself-Role Names Lover, Johnny Weissmuller did not play HIMSELF in those three films.

Violence Follows The Former Jungle Jim, While The Film Sacrifices Good Sense For Nonsense.

When the long-running syndicated publication of the popular Jungle Jim comic strip ceased in 1954, the series of movies that had been made since 1948, starring Johnny Weissmuller as Jim, had stretched to a total of 13. Weissmuller had contracted for 16 films, and as a result Columbia Pictures moved the series to its Screen Gems subsidiary, with the Olympic Games gold medal winning swimmer of 1924 and 1928 slated to continue as lead player, his character to be known as Johnny Weissmuller instead of Jungle Jim. Such is the case with this work that is number 14 of the entire group, all of which are aimed at a callow and non-discriminating audience. Although one of the greatest of all swimmers, Weissmuller could not claim to be skillful at the craft of acting, but here his studio employs methods to make his assignment an easy one, by utilizing a good deal of stock footage that includes proxies for Johnny: stunt men battling purportedly wild animals. These are readily recognizable clips that appear within the narratives of others in the Jungle Jim series: MARK OF THE GORILLA (vs. eagle) - 1950; THE LOST TRIBE (vs. crocodile) - 1949; JUNGLE JIM (vs. leopard) - 1948. Additionally, Africa and its jungles are performed by the familiar lush grounds and lagoon at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in suburban Arcadia. Action opens with Weissmuller leisurely paddling down a stream and discovering upon its bank a dead and apparently murdered man. Following his report of this crime to a local representative of The Government (whichever that may be) his investigation into the affair reveals that agents of an unidentified nation are pilfering valuable cobalt ore from a jungle-based mine owned by John King (Steve Darrell) who actually is selling the ostensibly stolen ore to the spies, and turbulence ensues as Weissmuller delves deeper into the activities of sundry plotters. Accompanied only by Kimba, a chimpanzee that supplants Tamba, from the Jungle Jim group of movies, as his regular sidekick, Johnny, when he enters The Jungle, has his invulnerability challenged by King henchmen disguised as crocodiles, and who are under the direct supervision of a Tribal Leader, a white man called by the exotic African name of Rovak, who is one of the many representatives of the Forces of Evil that saturate this completely featherbrained affair. Yet another is Luora (Judy Walsh) described as King's ward, a white woman who states that she is a half-caste Cannibal Princess. As one might infer from all of this, the film is intended to be enjoyed by a juvenile audience, and one not composed of the particularly quick-witted. There is considerable footage of swarming crocodiles that are in reality alligators, and The Natives of this Dark Continent adventure have plainly been assembled from many other locales, as they are an aggregation of Hispanics, Asians and whites with an occasional Negro included for authenticity. Although this may be somewhat disorderly to some viewers, it makes perfect sense as an integral part of a storyline that is consistently confusing. An extended fight episode pitting Weissmuller against a tubby Hispanic Native is run repetitively for our pleasure, showing the hapless villain punched from a boat into the lagoon a comically inordinate number of times during the altercation. Walsh, who cannot act at all, in her final cinematic appearance, must rely upon post-production voice-overs to permit her monotonic delivery the benefit of being comprehensible. Those who are more than three years of age and mentally sound might be better occupied with watching cement harden than with viewing this bilge. The movie has been pointed out to this viewer as a hilarious example of something so bad that it's good. If there is some form of logic there, it has escaped me.

I have just obtained a copy of Cannibal Attack and rather enjoyed it.

In this one, a ship load of cobalt is ambushed by people disguised as crocodiles and they try to pinch it. Jungle Jim (Johnny Weismuller using his own name) and some others investigate this and face several dangers in the process including crocodiles, a big eagle and a leopard, which Jim kills. He and somebody else are then caught by unfriendly natives and are fed to the crocodiles, but are rescued at the end and the thieves are caught or killed.

Joining Weismuller in the cast are Judy Walsh and David Bruce.

I obtained this movie from the same source as I get the Bomba movies. This is worth watching if you get the chance as it is quite rare. Great fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

I desperately try to find a lousy JUNGLE JIM film, forgetting that all those movies are genuinely lousy from the beginning, you must not watch them seriously. Useless to point it out. I mean finding a bad JUNGLE JIM movie is not that easy, because all of them are enjoyable, fun, and never boring to watch. Here, the cobalt issues mixed up with crocodiles must be seen to be believed. This episode - movie actually - is as efficient as the others. Sam Katzman the producer, for once, succeeded in cheap B movies. Of course young audiences of 2023 would laugh in front of such material, but for old timers as me, it's really worth.