Bomba and the Jungle Girl

This film in the Bomba series finds Johnny Sheffield both finding out his true identity and dealing with a usurper who has taken the leadership of the Masai tribe. The title is a real misnomer, what Sheffield has not done is find a sister.

It seems as though Bomba's real parents were government agents who knew the truth of the coup in the Masai tribe. Martin Wilkins is the usurper and he reals with help of Suzette Harbin who has the meatiest role in the film that of his daughter and chief enforcer. She's a real piece of work and goes out in quite the diva fashion.

Helping Bomba is Walter Sande who is in the Masai village on a survey and his daughter Karen Sharpe and of course that symbol of jungle authority Commissioner Barnes as played by Leonard Mudie, the other recurring character in the Bomba series.

Masai politics and Bomba's identity, makes for a nice film.

Writer-director Ford Beebe surprisingly didn't lose steam helming this, the eighth picture in Monogram's "Bomba" serial; rather, Beebe comes through with one of his meatiest scripts for the low-budget franchise, allowing Bomba to have normal thoughts, questions and emotions about his own history. It's springtime in the Congo, with Bomba taking notice of the circle of life happening all around him, yet feeling saddened by his own lack of family. After saving the daughter of a government agent from an alligator attack, Bomba learns his parents were killed many years ago and that a native nurse (presumed dead as well) knew the secret behind their mysterious fate. Like the previous "Bomba" movies, this installment's charm is of a strictly modest variety--only nostalgic grown-ups need apply--however, the film's villainess (the daughter of a phony village chief) is amusingly intimidating, and Johnny Sheffield's Bomba thinks clearly and acts cleverly. The production is predictably crude, though the stock footage is kept to a minimum and the dialogue (strong this time) carries the plot ably without being chopped up into staccato bits and pieces. **1/2 from ****

Bomba feels bad about being an orphan so he decides to find out who his parents are and what happened to them. The trail leads him to a village ruled by a corrupt chief and his ruthless daughter. Needless to say, the two don't like Bomba poking around and asking questions. This is a nice change of pace plot for the series, which usually had the standard 'evil white men come to the jungle to kill or steal and Bomba must stop them' formula. It only took seven sequels for them to think about following up on this plot thread from the first movie but I'm glad they finally did.

The Bomba series had its fair share of pretty ladies and here we have two. Karen Sharpe is the daughter of a government official and Suzette Harbin is the daughter of the village chief. I'm not sure which girl is the jungle girl of the title. I mean, Harbin is the only one of the two who actually lives in the jungle but Sharpe is the heroine. Neither is a 'jungle girl' in the same sense that Bomba is a 'jungle boy.' Both are attractive and well-written for young female roles at the time. When Bomba swims out to rescue her from a crocodile, Sharpe takes matters into her own hands and swims to shore, gets a gun, and kills the croc herself! Harbin is her father's right-hand and heir to the throne. She's in charge of the village guard and killing her father's enemies. It's one of the best Bomba movies, which isn't saying a whole lot I know. It's a juvenile adventure movie with a little more plot than most in the series and some strong female characters which deserves mentioning. The movie makes use of stock footage, as it always did. Maybe a little less than usual, though. There are some humorous moments with the chimps that I enjoyed. It does go on too long, as most of the Bomba sequels did for some reason. Nothing you can't live without seeing but a good way to pass the time if you're so inclined.

This could be called the origin of Bomba (Johnny Sheffield). As such, the story is more interesting than usual. Presently, in picturesque Africa, the jungle boy watches different animals with their children. Bomba is sad because every animal in the jungle has father and mother but him. This leads Bomba on a journey of self-discovery. We will finally see the fate of Bomba's parents, John and Laura Hastings. An entertaining "native" Suzette Harbin (as Baru) plays a large part. She's silly, but fun to watch. The pretty girl role is filled exceptionally well by Karen Sharpe (as Linda Ward). Of course, she has a swimming scene. Cast wisely, Ms. Sharpe beautifully fills her one-piece bathing suit. Also lifting this entry is a nicely edited fire sequence. The smoke, controlled background fires and added foreground effects are quite effective. Some acting rehearsals and flashback scenes might have improved this story, along with a more appropriate title.

***** Bomba and the Jungle Girl (12/7/52) Ford Beebe ~ Johnny Sheffield, Karen Sharpe, Walter Sande, Suzette Harbin

"Bomba" (Johnny Sheffield) makes quite an horrific discovery one morning when his visit to a cave reveals some long-dead corpses. He decides that a decent burial ought to be in order and so sets out to discover a little more about them. The local village seems a good place to start, but he comes up against a bit of a bamboo-wall of silence. Meantime, the visiting "Ward" family - dad and daughter (as usual) - might be able to help and rue to form he and the young "Linda" (Karen Sharpe) start to get along nicely. It's only when he finds a tribesman who confides the real reason for the obfuscation that the young man and his new friends must face a difficult truth. Insofar as it goes, this is quite a menacing little tale that quite effectively uses the (studio) jungle scenario to tell a story of wickedness, murder and duplicity - and in his usually flighty fashion, the young Sheffield carries it off fine. Sure, just about every expense has been spared with the production but he works well with the visiting Sharpe and though it takes a long-outdated perspective of tribal and superstitious life in Africa, it has just about enough action to pass an hour effortlessly enough.