The Naked Jungle

Deep in the jungles of South America, there are many ferocious animals which are feared by the mention of their very name. The jaguar, the anaconda and of course, piranha fish. However, none causes a room full of talking people into silence as does the word, . . 'Marabunta.' Anyone who has ever seen, heard or encountered them, know what a vast marauding monster they are. In point of fact, the term marabunta, means "Soldier Ants." Therein lies the basis for the story enclosed in the book, 'Leiningen's Woman.' The tale involves a solitary man, living deep in the South American jungle who decides to marry a woman by proxy. He sends a letter to his brother, living in New Orleans, for a mail order bride. What he receives is a beautiful, sophisticated, accomplished female who is everything, the man wants, but so fears. No sooner does she arrive, when they and the surrounding area are threatened by a vast hoard of Army Ants. No one has ever been able to stop them, but the stubborn man, admonishes the natives by telling them, ". . . . run is you wish, or stay and be brave, like Leiningen's Woman." Had it not been for Charlton Heston as Christopher Leiningen, Eleanor Parker as his wife, Abraham Sofaer as Incacha and William Conrad as the Commissioner, the film might have melted into obscurity. As they did however, the movie has become a Classic. Well done. ****

"The Naked Jungle" is the story of a wealthy owner of a big coffee plantation in Brazil's jungle, menaced by an army of warrior ants on the move covering several square miles of ground and eating everything on their way (the Marabunta). The man's unknown mail-ordered wife has just arrived too but something in her past annoys him and a conflict between them is taking place when the ants arrive.

The picture was really original back in 1954 and is very entertaining too. This was probably Byron Haskin's best work as a director with an uneven carrier that included also "I Walk Alone", 1948, and "The War of the Worlds", 1953. The Special effects of Naked Jungle are really good for its time and the fine performances of Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker as the main couple surely helped to raise the final product. Heston went on to full stardom and Parker continued to keep up her interesting carrier (she had been in some good movies before as "Scaramouche", 1952, and "Detective Story", 1951, and went to good ones too like "The Man with the Golden Arm", 1955). You will also find a good color photography and well designed settings.

A very amusing and enjoyable film with sort of a "B" structure but a real "A" outcome.

George Pal was the ideal producer for a melodrama set in the South American jungles, wherein 20 miles of soldier ants overtake the villages and plantations. Also a perfect fit, Charlton Heston is right at home playing the stubborn, consistently-irritated coffee plantation owner who takes on the ants--and his mail-order bride, a New Orleans widow with a temper of her own! Colorful nonsense has some sloppy editing and dubbing, but plenty of florid dramatics and a tense final reel. As the "proxy bride", Eleanor Parker uses her cool-fire beauty and glinting eyes to good effect; her character (as written) is thinly-conceived, yet Parker's solid acting helps fill in the blanks and we understand a great deal more about this perplexing woman simply from the performance alone. Heston looks good with Parker on-screen, though happy, hairy-chested government official William Conrad looks like he might want to scoop Eleanor up at any moment (and he's so congenial, she may not mind!). The film might have benefited from a longer running-time (this scenario seems condensed, though not distilled), and as a result the love story is rushed along, yet it's a fast-paced, atmospheric, faux-exotic piece of Hollywood escapism, and quite enjoyable. *** from ****

This fine drama is as much about unhappy newlyweds as it is about savage soldier ants that threaten a South American plantation. The killer ants cover a wide area, sweep everything before them and naturally are headed straight for Leiningen's cocoa plantation. The dislike between bride and groom nearly upstages the approaching army of ants. Eleanor Parker and Charlton Heston make a handsome couple but she seems to be everything he is not. Parker is confident, poised and self-assured while Heston is insecure, inadequate and out of his depth in her company. Perhaps this explains why he spends so much time trying to diminish her. The film leans heavily on the verbal sparring between Parker and Heston while building tension for the showdown with Marabunta. William Conrad is good in an early role as a jungle commissioner.

The Naked Jungle is directed by Byron Haskin and based around the short story Leiningen Versus The Ants written by Carl Stephenson. It stars Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker, Abraham Sofaer and William Conrad. Music is scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo.

1901, South America, and mail order bride Joanna Selby (Parker) arrives at the plantation owned by her husband Christopher Leiningen. She is shocked to find life at the plantation is hardly idyllic, but not as shocked as Leiningen is when he finds out that Joanna was once married before. With his own hang ups gnawing away at him and he refusing to accept Joanna as his bride, the relationship appears to be heading nowhere. However, she's made of stern stuff, and when a swarm of soldier ants is known to be heading towards the plantation, Joanna and Chris might just find that love is actually there?

Filmed in glorious Technicolor by Laszlo and produced by George Pal (Destination Moon/The War of the Worlds/The Time Machine), The Naked Jungle seems to be a forgotten movie on the CV's of Pal and Heston. A crying shame since it's very well mounted and carries a uniqueness worthy of further delving. Perhaps it got lost in the slipstream of Them! The other Ant movie out that year? What transpires is an hour of interesting character build up, where Heston & Parker's characters take centre stage and benefit from literate writing (Philip Yordan). The sweaty backdrop of the jungle plantation keeps things on the simmer, but it's the dialect and emoting of the performers that really holds the interest. True, Heston does at times over do it with some "woe is me" acting as he looks off into the distance (he has major issues we learn), but it works because it bounces off of Parker's (a Technicolor treat for the eyes) intelligent and stoic performance.

Film then shifts to creature feature territory for the last third. Once the army of Marabunta are spied off in the distance, laying waste to everything in their path, picture has become a war involving man against nature, where if man wins? He may not only save his life, but more pertinently his soul. Heston stops the tortured emoting and sticks out is lantern jaw, squares up his shoulders and stands firm in the face of such a hostile and intelligent enemy. By his side, the wife, multi talented and brave of heart, they make quite a couple. The chemistry between the two is simmering with sexual tension, and thanks to the writing the characters are fabulously engaging and make us care about the outcome of picture. Director Haskin, too, utilises the scenery and plantation setting to frame his protagonists for maximum impact, his camera work airy and unobtrusive. While his crafting of the biblical fight against the ants is thrilling and boosted no end by marvellous effects work (John P. Fulton).

An oddity? Yes, for sure. But it's a smart and intelligent picture that successfully manages to blend the sci-fi and nature aspects with complex human characterisations. 8/10