The Human Jungle

A great noir-crime thriller. Such a great cast of character actors. Regis Toomey (Guys & Dolls), Emile Meyer (countless westerns), James Westerfield (on the Waterfront, Hang 'em High), Chubby Johnson, Chuck Conners (The Rifleman), Claude Akins. But it doesn't take a genius to recognize Merrill's role is almost a mirror image of his wonderful performance in 12 O'Clock High where he got kicked out of his job, replaced by Gregory Peck. In Human Jungle he replaces Westerfield. Leading up to Merrill's promotion and in the immediate aftermath dialogue is almost identical to 12 O'Clock High. The film could be a case study in personality types and leadership styles.

"The Human Jungle" (1954), directed by Joseph M. Newman, who would go on to make the classic science fiction film "This Island Earth" (1955) is film noir starring Gary Merrill, Jan Sterling and Regis Toomey.

The screenplay is nothing out of the ordinary: a cop turned lawyer (Gary Merrill) is offered to become chief of police in a hard inner city neighbourhood and he attempts to crack down on a large mobster (Florenz Ames).

After achieving stardom in films like "All About Eve" (1950), Gary Merrill's film career seemed to slowly die during the middle of the fifties in movies like this. Having seen him quality productions, one blames the script rather than he for the arrogant, bull-headed and plain unlikable persona he has here. In fact, by the end of it, you want him to die. The limp direction does the motion picture no favours and only Jan Sterling, Florenz Ames and Paula Raymond come out of the acting department with much dignity. It's a shame really that Ellis W. Carter, the cinematographer, and Hans J. Salter's music are found too far below what their talents deserve and manage to make this banal and film noir just about watchable.

Gary Merrill plays Captain Danforth, the new head of the police department in a corrupt little town where law and order have disintegrated. He just earned his law degree but agrees to take the job IF he's allowed to run the department the way he likes. This means that crimes, even petty ones, will be prosecuted and his plan is to put the fear of the police in the criminal element. Much of this element, it seems, frequent a sleezy roadhouse and the Captain is sure that if he puts the pressure on the crooks there, someone will spill their guts.

This film stars a lot of character actors and no real big names. Now you might think this would be a detriment, but the actors really did well and the material they were given is excellent noir...tough, uncompromising and exciting. Overall, a nice little hidden gem. If you like film noir, you really have to see this one.

The Human Jungle is a fairly mediocre crime thriller that combines police procedural with noir to limited effect. Clearly made on the cheap (by Allied Artists, the 'high-budget' arm of the – by-then defunct – Poverty Row studio, Monogram) the film is populated with a number of actors who were either never more than second-string or were still in the early stages of their careers. Gary Merrill was as famous for being the toy-boy squeeze of Bette Davis as he was for his acting skills, and in this one he wears a permanent scowl and is nearly always angry – presumably to show the righteousness of his crusade; Lamont Johnson as the police department's hot-head never really cut it as an actor and would find more success as a director. He's OK here, and certainly had the looks to go further, but his character seems to have been inserted for no reason other than to flesh out a short running time. Claude Akins and Chuck Connors, both in the early years of their careers, also appear as a pair of tough guys. Highlight of the film, though, is Jan Sterling as a brassy bottle-blonde, callously used by the cops as bait to catch the villains. In fact, the cast is by far the most interesting thing about this ordinary b-movie.

Gary Merrill is the leader in charge of the operation, coming to a station that has let everything down in apathetic hopelessness, in which Merrill stirs everyone up and gets everything done at once. The result is naturally some awful mistakes, which they just bypass and carry on head on with full speed, ready to drive over anyone in the way, risking human lives when necessary. The pace is hot, the action is constantly bolting and getting worse in the end, the final chase is the highlight of the film, and the two ladies don't get much chance of getting heard or noticed in the fury of the manhunts. Gary Merrill is always a guarantee for a film worth watching, but this noir is particularly dark in every way, maybe especially cinematographically. It is a wild rush all the way, you have to hold on to your hat, and when it is all over you don't remember much of what really happened and still try to get some hang of the mess of intrigues. It is a film for noir fans of a more exclusive category, preferring fast action to dialog and characters, and you never get an idea of where all this happened - unless it was just any city.