Killer Leopard

I expected far worse when I decided to watch a BOMBA episode, I mean a movie episode, because BOMBA, unlike JUNGLE JIM, was never adapted for the small screen. This story and acting are not as lousy as you could expect. I don't know exactly why, but there is something better, more serious, less lousy than usual in this poor man's TARZAN, in the line of JUNGLE JIM. The plot is closer to the first TARZAN films, in the thirties, than to the other jungle features of this period. Of course, it will remain a B picture, ambitionless, except entertain young audiences. I won't necessarily recommend it to you, but it's not a so bad film.

There's a lot of "King Solomon's Mines" to this "Bomba" adventure, only this time it's Hollywood legend "Linda" (Beverly Garland) who has turned up looking for her husband "Fred" (Donald Murphy). She's sort of panic-stricken which encourages the commissioner "Barnes" (Leonard Mudie) to ask our hero (Johnny Sheffield) to help her go up-river to find him. This is all whilst the titular beast is marauding the countryside terrifying all it meats/meets/eats. When he does manage to track down the man, it appears that he's quite lukewarm about any sort of rapprochement with his wife - and for good reason. Indeed, it's such a good reason that he's prepared to kill or be killed - perilous for the fair-minded "Bomba" with just his spear and rather revealing loin-cloth for protection. I have enjoyed many of these series of films. Sure, they are pretty straightforward "Tarzan" rip-offs, but Sheffield has a bit of charisma and there's always something (predictably) decent about the plot, the rationale and the cheery - virtuous even, denouement. This one, though, really does demonstrate that the cow has now been well and truly milked. The acting and dialogue are almost as tired as the sets and the stock footage of the leopard is just devoid of any sense of menace. Sheffield looks too old for the part now, and perhaps it's time to find his own "Jane" and settle down?

What can you say about a jungle adventure wherein the best performance is given by a leopard via stock footage? Johnny Sheffield's penultimate "Bomba" vehicle has the teen Tarzan tracking a bloodthirsty black leopard through the African wilds while an American movie actress needs Bomba's help in finding her embezzler husband (in the country to illegally acquire some hot diamonds). Sheffield, his loincloth hiked-up to cover his navel, tussles with the titular beast but otherwise doesn't get any exciting scenes here. Cheapie is typically over-saturated with stock footage and stock villains. Pretty Beverly Garland brings the picture some class, though she isn't allowed any personality and literally treads water while following Sheffield's lead. *1/2 from ****

Beautiful blonde movie star Beverly Garland (as Linda Winters) is in Africa, looking for her handsome wayward husband, Donald Murphy (as Fred Winters). After embezzling some money, he wants to pilfer an African diamond mine. Her marriage may be "on the rocks," and Ms. Garland wonders whether or not she is still "in love." Bomba (Johnny Sheffield) meets Garland and becomes her guide during the search. A nasty black, cross-eyed "Killer Leopard" wanders around, causing extra danger for the cast. This penultimate episode of "Bomba the Jungle Boy" certainly reveals the series to be long in the saber-tooth (unless, like most, you knew that already). Mr. Sheffield appears more miscast than ever, reciting boyish dialogue to Garland after they take a swim. Garland wears a modest one-piece and she is the film's highlight.

** Killer Leopard (1954-08-22) Ford Beebe ~ Johnny Sheffield, Beverly Garland, Donald Murphy, Barry Bernard

KILLER LEOPARD (Allied Artists, 1954), produced and written by Ford Beebe, who also directed along with Edward Morey Jr., is the eleventh entry to the "Bomba" jungle adventures starring non-other than Johnny Sheffield. With the character created by Roy Rockwood in the "Bomba" books, this is the sort of material geared mostly for its juvenile Saturday matinee audiences. The movie itself sets its title character of the killer leopard as background material with more focus and extended scenes on its safari and a woman searching for her husband. The wife in question is played by the young Beverly Garland, best known for her television roles, mainly that as Barbara in the final three seasons (1969-1972) to the long-running sit-com, "My Three Sons" (1960-1972) starring Fred MacMurray. As much as Garland worked mostly on television dating back to the 1950s, she was a movie actress as well, something very few have realized in later years when she became a familiar television personality decades later.

Opening title: "On the fringe of the African jungle - Laghaso - a crossroads for adventures from the four corners of the continent." Linda Winters (Beverly Garland), is introduced as an American movie actress having come 8,000 miles to Africa searching for her missing husband, Fred (Donald Murphy), a former bookkeeper. She traces him down to the Café of the Three Dragons where he, earlier, had made arrangements with Charlie Pulham (Barry Bernard), to act as his guide to lead him to Sheridan's Compound to track down a batch of uncut diamonds to make him rich. The following morning finds Bomba, the jungle boy (Johnny Sheffield) riding his elephant. He then helps Jonas (Bill Walker), a native man just attacked by a dangerous killer leopard. Taking Jonas to the home cottage of his good friend, Deputy Andy Barnes (Leonard Mudie) to attend to his wounds, Bomba soon meets with Linda at his front door where she comes for further assistance. Bomba offers to track down her husband alone to Belden's Landing while she and Eli (Smoki Whitfield) travel through the jungle by jeep. Bomba finds the camp where Winters is staying to give him the news about his wife, but is told he wants nothing to do with her. Bomba runs back to tell Linda the news, only to spare her feelings by his blunt message. He agrees to guide Linda to the place where Winters is staying, but upon their arrival, they find Winters and his guide have moved on after their raft was cast adrift. As they journey further, all get themselves involved in individual segments with the killer leopard on their trail. Further danger soon awaits after Pulham leads Winters to Saunders (Harry Cording) a diamond smuggler, and his tough assistants.

A standard jungle adventure Bomba style, featuring typical stock footage of Bomba's animal friends. The killer leopard gets his share of several extreme close-ups as a reminder that this dangerous animal should not be overlooked in favor of the extended story involving both safari and jungle boy's guidance and assistance to the visiting characters. Highlights include Bomba and Linda swimming in the river, to find crocodiles resting on the surface on one side, and leopard and dangerous water buffalo on the other; and Bomba's one-on-one encounter with the killer leopard, but no threat to Johnny Weissmuller's similar nature in his earlier "Tarzan" series. Naturally there is betrayal amongst the greedy hunters to stir up some excitement. There's also in the cast including Russ Conway (Sergeant Maitland); and Rory Mallison (Officer Deevers), men of the law also searching for Fred Winters involving his crisis back in the states; Roy Glenn (Jonas); Milton Wood (Conji); and Martin Wilkins (Gambi). With Beverly Garland working more alongside Sheffield's Bomba, there are moments seen in her eyes where she seems more romantically interested in him than in her husband search. At 70 minutes, KILLER LEOPARD reaches its level agreeably to its point of interest.

Commonly presented on broadcast television dating back to the 1960s, notably a decade later on New York City's WOR, Channel 9's during its weekly Saturday morning "Jungle Adventure" series (1977-1979), this, and other "Bomba" adventures can be seen on cable television's Turner Classic Movies, where it premiered March 10, 2013. Next and last in the series: LORD OF THE JUNGLE (1955). (**)