Jungle Heat (1957)
I have a thing for old B-movies. It's partly for the rawness, and the photography, and maybe discovering some actors in early (or late) performances. "Jungle Heat" is a dud. The writing and most of the acting is so bad it made me cringe. And I'm a sympathetic audience.
So skip that, skip the rest of this review, and give me a thumbs up for helping your day. (smiley face)
What recommends this at all? For one thing, the setting is interesting, and it's filmed where it's set: Kauai, Hawaii. (At least the crew and cast were happy. I've been there and it's about the most amazing place I've been.) The plot is meant to be hyper-dramatic, filled with dread as we know Pearl Harbor is looming. Yes, it's set right before December, 1941, and the story implies that Japanese enemies were at work in the backwaters of Hawaii. The locals, though portrayed as bimbos or selfish fools (mostly) eventually catch on to what's happening and put an awkward end to it.
But my goodness, what bad production values. The director (who I met once, in Woodstock where he had a place), is famous for being the "third" screenwriter (after the famous Epstein brothers) on Casablanca (which does have the most stunning script). But he never quite rose to his apparent promise. He ended up best as a producer, but unlike the great producers (name any of the keystones of the studio system era), he itched to be "more" than a producer.
What else? Ah, nothing. My review are too long anyway. Move on.
