Tam-tam sur l'Amazone

I have had the GREAT JOY of FINALLY locating this film after not seeing it in about 30 years! Like some of the earlier comments,this haunting film has stayed with me since and just in the last few weeks,after persistently looking on the web to see if ANYONE had it on video for purchase,I FOUND a company named learmedia in Canada..I'm still pinching myself to believe that I have it at last! Angel on the Amazon is a film that still evokes romantic fantasy,psychological tension and a very satisfying ending.A must for those film collectors who find the needle in the haystack...Vera Hruba Ralston is a minor actress who gives a stellar performance and is backed by noted Brian Aherne,George Brent and Constance Bennett

This is a haunting story about a woman who goes on a safari with her husband, had a traumatic occurrence and ceases to age and all the problems that occur as a result. Wish I could find this film to see again!!

American Jim Warburton (George Brent) crashes his plane in the Amazon jungle and promptly falls in love with Christine Ridgegway , a mysterious huntress who rescues him and his passengers. However, Christine determinedly evades Jim's courtship and advances, making Dr. Karen Lawrence suspect she has a tragic reason for fleeing to Rio to escape Jim.

Karen and Jim follow her to Rio de Janeiro and, while dining in a restaurant, see a man named Sebastian Ortega greet Christine. She screams, faints and falls into a long illness. Later, Ortega tells Jim that he knew Mrs. Ridgeway, whom he assumes was Christine's mother, when she was honeymooning in the jungle -a couple of decades ago - with her adventurer-husband, Anthony Ridgeway. Although terrified of animals, Mrs. Ridgeway had saved her husband's life when a panther attacked him in the same jungle where Christine was hunting when Jim's airplane crashed. She plunged into hysteria, following the incident, and returned to the United States.

Jim fails to comprehend why a bad experience in the Brazilian jungle should make Christine fear falling in love. In order to learn more he meets Anthony Ridgeway and is told an incredible tale; The Christine that Jim has fallen in love with is not the young girl Jim thinks she is.

Angel on the Amazon is one strange film, but quite a gripping one with sharp characterisations and a gliding plot that never fails to engage - now this isn't a jungle adventure film but a combination of fantasy, noir, thriller and mystery. Vera Ralston usually gets a lot of stick for her acting but personally I find her charming, love her accent and she's adequate in the acting department, however here she's quite good and emotes quite well. That distant look in her face is quite haunting.

I saw this movie as "Drums Along the Amazon" when I was a boy of about 15 to 17 in England. I am 66 now and I have never had the opportunity to see it since and neither have I ever forgotten it. Why? Because it is a haunting film that captured the imagination....maybe looking for that certain something in the jungle of life that always seems to just elude us.

As I remember, Vera Ralston played an excellent part as Christine Ridgeway. She definitely commanded the film more so than George Brent.

Genre films of the late 40's are particularly interesting to me. Many of them have strong elements of film noir (i.e. snappy dialogue, moody settings, diabolical villains, etc.) and they often had offbeat plot lines.

"Angel on the Amazon" is quite entertaining with a competent cast, jungle thrills, love triangles, and a haunted femme fatale. One surprisingly intense flashback scene was that of a panther that was stalking sleeping members of a safari (complete with well staged high angle shots).

I recommend that any fan of vintage genre films to seek out this B+ film title out.