Jungle Jim

Animals, natives, guns, quicksand, and the inevitable damsel in distress...what else could you want? When I was a kid in the 1960s I thought this show was as exciting as it got. I remember watching it every week, although I was a bit confused about when Tarzan turned into Jungle Jim. (And where were Jane and boy?) Johnny Weissmuller was unshakably cool, whether threatened by poachers, hungry natives or wild animals. Plus, he had a great safari suit and hat. A 70s fashion plate 20 years early.

I remember when the series Daktari premiered I got all excited thinking it would be like Jungle Jim, and was really disappointed at how bland the scripts were by comparison.

I guess today this series would be viewed as a monument of inaccuracies and racial stereotypes, but I will always remember it as an exciting and exotic escape into wonder for a small boy from Brooklyn.

As a child of the early Fifties, I caught the last few years of the Saturday matinée double features. I missed Weismuller as Tarzan. Lex Barker had taken over the loin cloth by then. But I knew Weismuller had played Tarzan, based on stories I heard from my father. I knew him as Jungle Jim in the Columbia Pictures series. These were low budget action features, but they had the speed and the excitement of a serial. Lex Barker was more of a jungle lothario, fooling around with Jane or some other actress, only to be interrupted at a crucial moment by Cheeta. Weismuller was usually a no nonsense hero always ready to help out the Commissioner in tracking jungle renegades, hostile natives, or whatever. But when he came on television, the action content slowed down and he became more of a father figure with his son Skipper. While it was enjoyable, the TV version lacked the excitement of the theater versions. When AMC finally got around to re-running them, it was usually on Sunday mornings about 8 a.m. Nevertheless, my VCR was set and ready to go. The Ramar of the Jungle films were exciting, but their stereotyped natives and the overuse of the word "Oomgowa" got more laughs than cheers. Jon Hall, who had been Maria Montez' main squeeze in a long running Universal series in the Forties, played Ramar and I believe, owned half interest in the series. Similar to Weismuller's arrangement. While TV's Jungle Jim could probably be run today and attract some attention, I don't think Ramar of the Jungle and its' image of African natives would get a good reception.

When Screen Gems' "Jungle Jim" television series made its initial appearance in 1955, I found it as enjoyable as other adventure programs of its era, but it otherwise made no strong impression. Today, I regard it as a thoroughly delightful, exceptionally entertaining package - and I am astonished that, although some industry publications in the 1950s alluded to a full 39-episode set of "Jungle Jim" half-hour programs being available, only 26 were released. It is remarkable that the series had a lively and profitable syndicated run, reintroduced several times, with such a small number of episodes - yet excellent episodes they indeed are.

Upon re-discovering "Jungle Jim," many years after its first run, I was immediately charmed by the performance of Johnny Weissmuller, so understated as to appear refreshingly artless. As a guide in the African jungle (and everywhere else on the globe where a script may take him), he is capable of surmounting all obstacles - as do all protagonists in 1950s adventure programs - but he does so in such a quiet, offhanded, poker-faced manner as to render even the most far-fetched plot development acceptable. As the jungle-savvy guide and advocate for fair play and integrity, Weissmuller is outstanding.

Norman Fredric (later performing as Dean Fredericks) is Jungle Jim's loyal friend and assistant, Kaseem, playing the role with quiet dignity and resolve. Martin Huston, formerly the title character in NBC's short-lived radio series, "My Son Jeep," is excellent as Jungle Jim's teenage son, and Paul Cavanagh is splendid as the British commissioner. Supporting casts are uniformly good and feature some fine character players.

What makes this such a satisfying series for those who either remember or have learned to love the Saturday Matinee-style entertainment of long ago? Good triumphs over evil, and even unacceptable plotlines are made believable through the earnest enactment of the well-directed cast. Jungle Jim - firm friend to the people of the jungle, compassionate handler of wild animals, loving and strict parent, and nemesis of all lawbreakers and mountebanks - is a memorable "good guy" from a time when people aspired to incarnate goodness and to heed their better angels. Unfortunate it is that only 26 episodes of this classic series were produced!

As Johnny Weissmuller got older and a bit flabbier the Tarzan loincloth didn't quite fit his figure any more. Still he was a box office draw, but he knew he couldn't continue in the series. In the late Forties he signed with Columbia Pictures to do a series of films based on the King Features Cartoon character Jungle Jim.

In the films Weissmuller's only friend was a chimpanzee named Tamba, shades of Chetah from Tarzan. But when the film series ended, Columbia which had by now gone into the television business, put Weissmuller in a half hour series as the intrepid jungle guide who got into all kinds of adventures.

In the Jungle Jim television series Jim got some human co-stars in the persons of Martin Huston as his son Skipper and Dean Fredericks as good friend and assistant Kaseem. Jim was not confined to Africa, some of the shows had Indian, South Sea, and even South American locations, depending on who wanted him to guide.

Weissmuller was real particular, no hunting expeditions, no shooting of animals except with a camera. Apparently he was that good a guide, because that sure cut his income considerably.

Though there were female guest stars, I never recall any romantic plots in any of the episodes. The show ran for one season, but it was in syndication for several years.

My guess is that with all of his marriages, Weissmuller had considerable alimony to pay out to his numerous ex-wives. It's why he took the series. After that he was in demand for a lot of personal appearances, he was still the most well known Tarzan of them all and set the standard for Olympic swimming champions down to today.

Jungle Jim was a good kid's show and even as got into his Fifties Weissmuller still looked better than most fifty somethings.