Jivaro

Shamelessly, this DVD loses its image/sound synchronism abot 20 minutes after the film starts, and never recovers it. Unwatchable. To avoid. Miguel Marías

1953's "Jivaro" was shot in color and Widescreen 3-D on location in Brazil as "Lost Treasure of the Amazon" or "Valley of the Winds," produced by the Pine-Thomas unit at Paramount, remembered for their frugality as 'The Two Dollar Bills.' Fernando Lamas toplines as Rio Galdez, a tradesman and bar owner dealing in the upper reaches of the Amazon while discouraging talk of vast riches deep in Jivaro country, the land of headhunters, as a shrine to their victory over the Spaniards. Into this heated background comes Rhonda Fleming as Alice Parker, expecting to wed her long absent fiancee after two years of waiting in California, instantly an object of desire for fortune hunting Tony (Brian Keith), who also covets the hidden treasure. 3-D thrills are plentiful, enough to offset the expected love triangle, with spears, arrows, and other objects hurled at the camera, saving the dangerous trek through the jungle for the final third (the 'Valley of the Winds' certainly earns its nickname). Apart from the handsome leads, supporting cast members are only on screen a short time, including Richard Denning as Alice's doomed beau, Marvin Miller in brown makeup as a native chief, and Lon Chaney as trader Pedro Martines, around just long enough for some good natured sparring with Rio over a worthless crate filled with rocks. This was easily the least of Chaney's films for Pine-Thomas, previously doing major villains opposite Randolph Scott in "Albuquerque" and John Payne in "Captain China."

A pure little jewell from Paramount Studios which it was the speciality, adventure, exotic, colourful yarns full of action, romance, that were never boring. Edward Ludwig and Lewis Foster were the more iconic directors, and Rhonda Fleming, Arlele Dahl or Yvonne De Carlo- though the latest was more involved with Universal Pictures - the usual lead females. The charm contained in those films is now totally lost, that's the reason I will never get tired of watching them. Nothing special to say about this one, except it's one of the best of Edward Ludwig. If you don't know anything about this period, in the fifties, try this one to begin, you won't be deceived.

At Rio Galdez's remote Brazilian trading post live assorted outcast Americans and Europeans, including Jerry Russell, ex-engineer (Richard Denning), who became obsessed with the Jivaro headhunters' treasure, quits his job, ends up a drunk, dilly-dallies with local girl Maroa ( Rita Moreno), but still has dreams to get that treasure.

And he still gets letters from his nominal fiancée (Rhonda Fleming) in California, and unexpectedly the shapely, glamorous Alice Parker arrives, expecting to marry a rich planter. Rio (Fernandez Lamas), a jungle guide and bar proprietor, restrains from telling her that he's not a rich planter, but is a drunk and has gone into treacherous territory of the headhunters to find gold ...

Disillusioned, Alice is almost ready to fall into Rio's arms when news comes that Jerry is missing in Jivaro country. She feels obliged to join the group to head there, and bad guy Tony (Brian Keith) is keen to come along and naturally causes trouble when he wants the gold ...

Jivaro is a colourful adventure yarn, however the adventure comes in the last thirty minutes where the group headed by the charismatic Fernando Lamas heads into the land of the headshrinkers and you get rope collapsing, bodies with arrows strewn along the foliage of the jungle and one of them is quite gruesome as he hangs on the vines, an arrow through him. There's some nice action, but the first hour is quite solid with character depth, a nice buildup of the romance between Lamas and Fleming - plus there's slimy villainy from Brian Keith who has designs on Fleming, and then the gold. There's an energy through out the plot, the dialogue is engaging and it's good fun throughout.

Fernando Lamas and Rhonda Fleming starred in this Pine-Thomas Production set in the Amazon tributary source country in Brazil. Jivaro is not about the Jivaro Indians who are the native inhabitants, but rather about the danger they are to anyone else. Clearly they are not a people to be messed with especially on their own turf.

It's on his turf that Lamas trades with the Jivaro, at his trading post on one of the Amazon tributaries. Lamas also owns a boat that makes The African Queen look like the Queen Mary. And on it he brings a passenger in the form of shapely Rhonda Fleming who has come unannounced to the area seeking her fiancé Richard Denning who 'owns' a big plantation.

Denning barely owns the clothes on his person. He's a dissolute drunk who came to the area seeking fame and fortune and he's still seeking it in the form of ancient Inca treasure in some lost city deep in the middle of Jivaro country. He's writing lies to Rhonda and taking up with native girl Rita Moreno.

And Denning has up and gone into the Jivaro country before Fleming arrived. Fleming also has Lamas and Brian Keith both panting hot and heavy after her, Keith a lot more crudely.

Jivaro is a competent well made action film with a dash of romantic pentagon in the mix. The credits don't list where Jivaro was shot and I doubt Paramount spent the money to go to the Amazon head water country. But Pine-Thomas did a very good job in recreating it, they were good that way, made competent pictures that looked good and never strained Paramount's budget.

I'd give this one a look.