Duello nella giungla

"Destiny seems to insist on throwing us together," a persistent and cocky Dana Andrews tells his lovely and reluctant STATE FAIR, MADISON AVENUE and HOT RODS TO HELL three-decade co-star in their second feature, DUEL IN THE JUNGLE...

An adventure where Andrews seems more a reluctant gentlemen the likes of Cary Grant or David Niven than an intrepid action star: a proverbial kite in an ongoing breeze instead of a determined salmon moving upstream...

With a touch of character-actor about him, Andrews often tried very hard to stretch beyond the limited leading man persona, even when he played the leading man, so the part as a New York insurance investigator in London, England, about to catch a plane stateside but being called back at the last minute, fits like brand new expensive and shiny gloves. His voice is a tad higher-pitched, as if sped-up while delivering witty and sophisticated one-liners: imagine if his LAURA co-star Clifton Webb were his dialect coach and there you have it...

A British-produced b-movie programmer, DUEL IN THE JUNGLE has three acts in three different locations: first England; then a ship to Africa during a heavy storm; then settling down (albeit far too long) in Africa itself: Making the best scenes in transit or in-between as Dana sticks to Crain, the wife of a missing eccentric millionaire, to find out if he's really dead; at which point her phantom mother-in-law would collect the insurance...

One of several red-herrings to sift through: But his primary target (to whom Dana's instantly attracted, for good reason) is Jeanne Crain as naïve newlywed, Marian. Despite wearing far too much makeup, Crain's as pretty as the prettiest picture - sophisticated, classy, down-to-earth and, ducking away from Dana's strategic advances, the complete opposite of her smitten STATE FAIR lass was to Dana's cocky newspaperman...

But in this hat-tipping, movable feast as our two attractive Americans converse like polite tea-toddlers, there's a pulpy touch of intrigue with attempts at Hitchcock style suspense with a dash of Hemingway machismo, for the villain...

And if DUEL had stuck longer in England or at sea it would have flowed much better...

Within the titular African JUNGLE are random stock footage of wildlife as the actors seem all too studio-safe in front of superimposed backdrops (also a Hitchcock thing): Here's where our hero and heroine bond, and just enough for the British con artist to show his true, lethal colors...

Plus he's got the higher ground on his ground, making Dana finally have to trade in his charming sophistication for a little of that WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS strength and agility.

When I saw the listing on Britain's Talking Pictures TV channel, I predicted that it would include travelogue footage, back projection and a woman remaining glamorous despite the privations of the outback.

So it proved. Dana Andrews plays an insurance investigator suspicious of David Farrar's reported death that will cost his company $2 million ($19 million in 2019). From London he travels to Africa, where he proves a rugged, outdoors type, adeptness with a duelling pistol being one of his skills.

Along the way he shows a great deal of interest in Jeanne Crain, the fiancée of the missing man; in today's politically-correct environment it would be seen as harassment. On arrival in Rhodesia, Crain is escorted by a group of natives to where her fiancé is hiding out. (I did wonder how "politically correct" this would have been in 1950s' Rhodesia?) Back in London she's a personal assistant but seems to adapt to outdoor rigours very easily. Happily when she's reunited with Farrar in a remote native village, she has access to half-a-dozen highly-fashionable outfits, including an evening dress. Andrews also benefits from several changes of clothes, though one might guess that these were loaned to him by Farrar.

The film ends with a chase down the river, ending with Crain falling into the river and getting soaked. A few minutes later, her hair has recovered its elegance and her smart yellow dress (with petticoat underneath) still looks good.

Several well-know actors have minor roles, including Wilfred Hyde White (as charming as ever), Walter Gotell and Paul Carpenter, on his way to starring in B (or C) pictures.

A very average film, then, though the scenes shot on location are better than usual for the period. Almost inevitably, there are incidents (several) with snakes, a lion v tiger fight and a cute monkey.

Dana Andrews stars in this B-grade jungle adventure as an insurance investigator who teams up with the widow (Crain) of a diamond merchant (Farrar) who has apparently drowned after falling from a boat. Cautioned by native guide Vincent (Mataka) that his presence won't be welcome when they reach the village, Andrews persists in his doggedness to uncover the truth about Farrar's disappearance, and in his attempts to seduce the now nubile widow.

Assistant director Tony Kelly died making this picture, so it's of some comfort to know that it isn't a bad little pot-boiler, building some reasonable tension and punctuated with occasional light humour (the scene in which the chimp empties their luggage from the jeep is worth a chuckle). George Montgomery's look-a-like brother Dana Andrews is sturdy without being marvellous, and Farrar plays the obnoxious British git with aplomb.

Superimposing the actors over the white-water rapids backdrop, or in a confrontation with a menacing lion often looks clumsy, but this B-picture isn't staking any grand claims, just mild entertainment for afternoon channel-surfing.

Interesting adventure in which Dana Andrews plays an insurance investigator who goes to Africa to check out the death by drowning of a man ( David Farrar ) who had a million dollar insurance policy. Also looking for info regarding the allegedly dead man is his wife, Jeanne Crain. Pretty fast paced drama, the last portion of the film set in the African jungle. Dana Andrews & Jeanne Crain were one of the great film pairings. Besides this film, they were also in State Fair, Madison Avenue, and Hot Rods to Hell. I had seen this film as a kid & it had kept me on the edge of my seat. It doesn't get much play these days--but I did find a DVD thru a collector. Seeing the film again was a thrill.

For its first half, the tone is fairly light-hearted as its American hero ambles about London (complete with a fleeting appearance by Paul Carpenter who would soon make a career out of starring in this sort of nonsense) before taking a slow boat to Northern Rhodesia; which is where the money has really been spent, and the matte work largely ends and the location work starts.

Ripe with saturated Technicolor, some of the jungle photography is magnificent; although you can usually see throughout where the studio ends and the second unit begins.