A Marca do Gorila

There are good reasons why I watched the Weissmuller Tarzan films as a kid and not the Jungle Jim films. The television stations were too embarrassed to show them.

This film starts with stock footage of wild animals from Africa and Asia, I guess at the time most people did not notice the difference.

Jungle Jim investigates Gorilla attacks in an area where there should be not gorillas and although these gorillas look like men dressed up in a gorilla costume, it is because they are men dressed up as gorillas and trying to frighten other humans.

The reasons being that some dastardly Nazis are trying to retrieve some Nazi gold hidden during the war.

Weissmuller looked old and flabby, the plot is flimsy and silly. Even as a B film this is just bad.

The Jungle Jim series is getting a bit tiring at this point. This plot is just a bit ridiculous. A man, Onslow Stevens, hires a couple of men, to pose as gorillas (in really phony looking gorilla suits), to frighten the local natives from going near the site where there is a buried treasure left my the Nazi's. What the Nazi's were doing in the middle of the jungle is a mystery to this day. Of course Johnny Weismuller does what he can to foil the plot. Trudy Marshall and Suzanne Dalbert co star. Directed by William Berke. This was the fourth in the series. Outside of zoo's, I'd like to know where on this planet, panthers, lions, monkeys, elephants, lions and jaguars co-exist. Laughably bad at times.

This Jungle Jim advenrure flick is not better nor worse than the other ones. It is only the best example of what Sam Katzman's productions for Columbia are able to make. It is laughable without being funny, lousy, amusing under the condition you watch it with the proper glance, the proper spirit, state of mind. Don't expect too much, if you have never seen any Jungle Jim before. Concerning me, I prefer Tarzan movies, even the RKO ones. For those who already know Jungle Jim, I repeat, there is nothing special here, you can easily confound it with the other ones, they are all alike. Maybe the giant lizards struggle is worth watching and not predictable. Keep fun, that's all.

Johnny Weissmuller reprises his "Jungle Jim" character in this entertainingly dreadful drama that sees him having to face down some marauding gorillas. Except. Wait for it... Are they actually gorillas? Perhaps they are really people dressed up? Why? Well, it turns out that there is some long lost Nazi bullion hidden amongst the dense jungle of California. What's more, these creatures can throw a rock a mean distance and they have a top secret hideout too. Luckily (or not) "Jim" has two damsels to help him out on his quest to thwart this evil plan. "Barbara" (Trudy Marshall) and the local "Nyobi" (Suzanne Dalbert) but will they be enough against the menacing "Brandt" (Onslow Stevens) and his gang? It's so bad it's funny, this, with precisely no effort made to create the supposed leafy environment as these nimble furry critters clamber over the desert boulders trying to stop their heads coming off or knocking over the pot plants. There's an annoying little dog in here too, and by the denouement you almost want the baddies to win just because you know that despite their overwhelming cunning and firepower, good will prevail. The acting and writing merit no mention at all and basically it's just terrible.

This film begins with LOTS of stock footage--much like other cheap African films of the era. In addition, like these other cheap films, it intermingles footage of BOTH African and Asian animals! So, you'll see African and Indian elephants as well as lions and tigers! It makes no sense at all to anyone with passing familiarity with these animals and it's obvious they were cramming in any film they could find--whether it made sense or not.

The plot involves rogue gorillas doing evil things. It's obviously some guys in gorilla suits and they look little like gorillas. The only saving grace of this is that you learn that these are supposed to be guys dressed up like gorillas in order to fool the natives. But, judging by their outfits and Jungle Jim's difficulty noticing how phony they are, you must assume all these folks are amazingly stupid. But why? Why dress up like gorillas and kill people coming into this territory? What are these wicked men looking for and exactly who are they? Well, the answer is a bit silly--at least in regard to who they are. Tune in to this silly little film if you care....though I must admit that I really didn't the more I watched "Mark of the Gorilla".

All in all, this film is exactly what most jungle films were of this time--badly written adventure films that were made on a shoestring budget. Clearly these Johnny Weismuller films are NOT the same quality of his better Tarzan films. Aside from lousy stock footage, some very uneven acting and a remarkably silly plot sink this one.