La Loi de la jungle

(Some Spoilers) Being stuck in the African jungle at this dive "The Traders Hole & Cafe" Brooklyn band singer Nora Brooks, Arline Judge,has been waiting for her passport so she can get back to civilization back in Brooklyn. But as you would expect the Post Office, even in the wilds of darkest Africa,is as slow as molasses in it's mail delivery. It turns out that it's not the Post Office fault but Nora's boss Simmons, Arthur O'Connell who been keeping her passport from getting to her, after first stealing it, in order to keep Nora at his joint to entertain the customers.

Simmons is also in the pay of the Nazis who's agents Grozman & Belts,Victor Kendall & Feodor Chaliapan, who are trying to stir up the natives against their British Colonial rulers and become unwitting pawns in helping Germany in winning the war against the allies. It's when British government agent Tony Hobson, Robert Strange, shows up to see just what's going on that things really start to unravel for everyone involved. Having a drink and watching Nora's stage act the lights go out and when their turned back on again Hobon is dead. Stabbed to death and the secret document that he has on him about the Nazis intentions, as well as Nora are both gone. Hobson's killer in a panic put the document in Nora's jacket.

On the run from the police thinking she's to be arrested for agent Hobson's murder Nora runs into in this camp in the middle of the jungle of what's we would call a digger upper, archaeologist Larry Mason, John "Dusty" King. Being a woman the natives on Mason's expiation are nervous since they tell him, through their head boss man Bongo(Martin Wilkins),that she's brought a Ju-Ju, an evil spirit, along with her and they want no part of it.

Not being able to throw Nora out into the jungle Mason agrees to take her along which has the two Nazi agents to get the local native tribe headed by their Oxford educated and Harlem born Chief Mojobo, Lawrence Criner. They want Chief Mojobo to attack and capture Nora and Mason and also his Harlem born & bread sidekick Jefferson "Jeff" Jones, Martan Moreland.

Funny only because of Martan Moreland being in the film who, as you would expect, steals every scene that he's in with the rest of the cast coming across like a bunch of wooden cigar store Indians.The Nazis are so inept that they can't even finish off Simmons, with a handgun and rifle at point-blank range. Simmons gives them up to the British because the Nazis were too cheap to pay him the 100 British Pounds that they promised him.

The lovable and adorable, as well as hilarious, Jeff Jones attracts both a big hairy guerrilla as well as the chief's over endowed and well-fed daughter. Who get's him and his friends Mason & Nora released just before they were to be the main course for Thanksgiving Dinner. The fact that Jeff and Chief Mojobo belonged to the same fraternity back in Harlem didn't hurt their chances to be able to survive intact and not be wolfs-down by the natives either.

HE ACTUALLY SAYS CANNIBALS to the right of me! CANNIBALS to the left of me! And I ain't got no health insurance!

CANNIBALS NOT CANNONS!

For a Monogram Picture that was obviously rushed out into production post Pearl Harbor, Law Of The Jungle does have some amusing moments in it, mostly provided by Mantan Moreland. Moreland plays a Rochester like character who is accompanying paleontologist Dusty King on a scientific expedition in Africa. Both of them get involved with Arline Judge, a stranded Maisie like showgirl and all of them get involved with some Nazi agents who are trying to foment trouble among the African tribes.

As it is a Monogram it also has some extreme plot holes no doubt due to some injudicious editing by Sam Katzman's cutters. Just why is Judge's passport worth stealing so she can't leave Africa by our villains is really never explained. Unless of course they had other obvious designs upon her.

Moreland has some funny moments however, but his Rochester like character is playing against Dusty King who is as stiff as those plywood jungle trees that Monogram was using as a set. No Jack Benny is movie cowboy Dusty King who is not as much home in the jungle as he is home on the range.

Mantan Moreland is the reason to see this film.

Arline Judge is a singer who's manager left her stranded in Duakwa. In reality, that's in Ghana, but in this movie, it's in Rhodesia. She's making do singing for room and board, but because her boss is a spy, she gets accused of murder and leaves town, hooking up with paleontologist John 'Dusty' King and his manservant Mantan Moreland as real and fake police agents trail her.

To say this is dire is an understatement. It's full of badly written lines, King offers a performance that has wood as its main component, and Moreland's efforts at comedy are hampered by a stupid script. There's a lot of wasted talent in the background, like Arthur O'Connell, C. Montaue Shaw, and Blue Washington, but director Jean Yarborough seems to have no interest in overcoming Monogram Pictures' lack of interest and budget.

Not the worst movie, but milks stereotypes of Africans and African-Americans with one or two surprises. The copy I saw on YouTube was so grainy, I did not recognize Arthur O'Connell.

The plot was actually pretty good, but I imagine the film played third after the A movie and first B movie. When I was young it wasn't unusual to go out for a night at the movies. This meant a reel of modern news events, a travelogue, at least one cartoon, and then the A movie followed by one other two B films. And sometimes the B movie turned out to become the real hit of the venue. Think Lilies of the Field with Sidney Poitier as an example.

Law of the Jungle is not a super B movie but it has its moments. The best is the meeting between Mantan Moreland and Laurence Criner aka Chief Mojobo who is not only the chief of the warrior tribe that captured the three leads, but is a lodge brother of Jeff Jones (Morland). To say more might give away an important plot point.