The Jungle Captive

***S{POILERS*** Ape woman Paula Dupree, Vicky Lane, is back for the third time in "Jungle Captive" this time as a dead body that mad scientist Mr. Stendahl, Otto Kruger, plans to bring back to life. That with the help of blood and brain matter of his unsuspecting assistant Ann Forester, Amelita Ward, who foolishly worships the very ground that the "Great Man' walks on. It's with the help of his brutish like accomplish Moloch, Rondo Hatton, Stendahl plans to use Ann without her knowledge for his insane experiment but Moloch who took a shine to her is dead set against it. Strange Beauty and the Beast like movie with Moloch changing sides in mid stream and becoming the knight in shining armor in preventing the crazed Stendahl from doing his thing in resurrecting the dead ape woman Paula Dupree at Ann's expense.

There's also Ann's boyfriend Don Young, Phil Brown,who soon finds out what Stendahl is really up to and tries to get the police in the person of Insp. H.L Harrigan, Jerome Cowan, to stop him who's attempts comes up short in his by the book approach to the case. As for "Ape Woman" Paula Depree she's brought back to life as a normal human being but totally confused-and unable to talk- in what's going on around her. This leads to her checking out in the woods with Moloch running or driving all over town trying to retrieve her.

Predictable ending with Mr. Stendahl getting everything that he has coming to him with the hulking but sensitive Moloch saving the day as well as Anna's life at the expense of his own.With both Ann and Don Young, who can't afford to buy her an engagements ring, getting married by being stopped by a traffic cop who presented them with a $5.00 free of charge wedding certificate from city hall. Break out movie for Rondo Hatton who finally was given a chance to act as well as a few decent lines in the movie but his fame didn't last that long. Hatton suffered a fatal heart attack while taking a shower in his bathroom and died less then a year, in March 1946, after the films release.

The Jungle Captive (1946)

** (out of 4)

A mad doctor (Otto Kruger) has his assistant (Rondo Hatton) steal the body of Paula the Ape Woman (Vicky Lane) so that he can do experiments on her. This includes stealing another woman (Amelita Ward) for a blood transfusion to see if the ape woman can be cured.

THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE is the third and final film of Universal's trilogy dealing with Paula the Ape Woman. You have to think that the studio had rather low expectations going into the series and I'm going to guess that CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN didn't do a well at the box office, which caused the studio to really cut back on the second film, JUNGLE WOMAN, which was perhaps the studio's laziest movie. THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE is certainly a step up from that picture but it's still not all that good.

The best thing going for this film is the fact that they've actually got the ape woman running around quite a bit of the running time. It was great getting to see her since the make-up on her is actually excellent and having her appear in the film is reason enough alone to enjoy this more than the second film. Another plus is the fact that Hatton is so watchable here. I can't help but feel sorry for him and the fact that Universal was pretty much exploiting his disease but at the same time he has become a cult favorite over the years.

As far as the film's issues go, well, there are quite a few but the biggest is the simple fact that the story itself really isn't all that original and it's certainly something we've seen countless times before. Still, if you're a fan of the studio then there's enough good things here to make this worth watching.

1944's "The Jungle Captive" concluded Universal's Paula Dupree trilogy, a cut above the second, "Jungle Woman," neither as good as "Captive Wild Woman." Of the three, only "Jungle Woman" was not included in the 1958 Son of Shock television package, all three finally gathered together in MCA's massive 1972 collection 77 Horror Greats. "The Jungle Captive" made two appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater (9 years apart), unencumbered by the interminable stock animal footage that cluttered up previous entries, here a more straightforward mad scientist endeavor with Otto Kruger as pathologist Stendahl, whose assistant, billed in the ads as 'Moloch the Brute,' is played by Rondo Hatton, still a year away from his famous Creeper series (both produced by Ben Pivar). With Acquanetta having departed Universal, the role of Paula Dupree now went to unknown actress Vicky Lane, who had an even shorter career than her predecessor, having completed just one featured role before this, which ended up her final film. At least The Ape Woman (now mute again, unlike in "Jungle Woman") gets to briefly walk around in full bestial Jack Pierce makeup (lovely Vicky also gets a more skimpy wardrobe than Acquanetta, who wore less only for the posters). Aside from the catatonic Paula no other characters return, though the doctors played by John Carradine and J. Carrol Naish both get a mention; with a helpless heroine in Amelita Ward, hapless hero in Phil Brown, plus the absence of the 'Venezuelan Volcano,' the short series comes to a merciful end in a pointless sequel filled with padding that offers nothing but running time until the painfully predictable climax. Rondo's famous features and gravelly voice at least enjoy what must have been his largest role yet, Universal pleased enough to move forward with three more starring vehicles in 1945.

Pretty good and under-appreciated finale to Universal's "Ape Woman Trilogy". Otto Kruger plays an older and grandfatherly doctor who appears kind and respectable but has sinister plans up his sleeve to revive Paula the Ape Woman and transform her into Vicky Lane (since Acquanetta left the series). His perfect assistant is none other than Rondo Hatton, the actor who in real life suffered from the disease Acromegaly, which enlarged his face and hands. Rondo was never an actor, but he's better here than in any of his other films, with a generous helping of dialogue and emotions on display. We also get a little more time with the actual Ape Woman than usual and this is a short 60 minutes of typical mad doctor/assistant/monster nonsense that's fun, if not anything exceptional. A favorite line is when the doc looks at the deformed Rondo Hatton who's admiring the human female patient on the table and says to him: "No offense, but with that face you're not exactly a Casanova, you know". And then, pointing at the beastly Ape Woman on the next table: "This is more in your line". I wonder how Otto Kruger felt delivering an insult like that to the unfortunate Rondo? **1/2 out of ****

This is the third and final film in Universal's 'Ape Woman' series, which began with the entertainingly goofy Captive Wild Woman (1943), that film followed the year after by the dull and repetitive Jungle Woman. The Jungle Captive is a slight return to form for the series thanks to the fact that it actually delivers a mad scientist and an ape-woman, both of which were conspicuous by their absence in the second film. Otto Kruger is particularly entertaining as loopy Dr. Stendahl, who takes his experiments on reviving dead animals to the next level by operating on the dead body of Paula Dupree, the Ape Woman (Vicky Lane); it's a performance to rival the greats of the mad scientist sub-genre - Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco and Boris Karloff.

In order for his operation to be a success, Stendahl needs to perform a blood transfusion, and uses his pretty assistant Ann Forrester (Amelita Ward) as the unwilling donor; this troubles the doctor's hulking henchman Moloch (Rondo Hatton), who has feelings for the girl. After reviving the ape-woman, and successfully transforming it into Paula Dupree, it becomes apparent to Stendahl that his subject's brain is sub-normal. The scientist decides that the answer is to do a switcheroo with Ann's brain; meanwhile, Ann's fiance Don (Phil Brown, Uncle Owen from Star Wars) is frantically searching for his missing girlfriend.

While the The Jungle Captive admittedly treads very familiar ground, fans of the genre will no doubt appreciate the fact that it delivers precisely what is required to be a fun time.

6/10.