O Rei das Jaulas

Even today with Siegfried and Roy and their glitzy Vegas style wild animal taming act, the guy whose name is forever associated as the best in that profession is still Clyde Beatty. As an actor however Clyde was a great lion tamer. Still this feature version of the Mascot serial The Lost Jungle does give Beatty's legion of fans an opportunity to see him work the big cats.

Like Sonja Henie, Beatty made his money and reputation in his field and just saw movies as a way of gaining publicity for his circus and he owned and was the feature attraction of his own circus, in the same way that Henie just used her 20th Century Fox films to publicize her ice show. Of course there's light years difference between working for 20th Century Fox and Mascot Pictures.

The condensed feature film has a whole lot of things that any serial would have, lost island, lost treasure on same, a dirigible with Beatty and sidekick Syd Saylor on board, a shipwreck with Beatty's girl friend Cecilia Parker on it. Plus lots of encounters with lions and tigers who are on this mysterious lost island of Kumar in the Indian ocean which has animals native to both Africa and Asia. It even has a young Mickey Rooney at the beginning of the film as a kid going to Beatty's circus.

It's not much of a film, but it is a chance to see Clyde Beatty who was the very best at what he did.

Before I watched this film, I had never heard of Clyde Beatty. Upon watching it though, it quickly became obvious that Beatty was a professional lion (and other wild animal) tamer, and probably quite a famous one at that.

The reason for this is that this film really exists as an excuse for Beatty to do his stuff - a large part of the film is devoted to Beatty either taming animals such as lions, panthers, bears and tigers, or performing with them under the big top. The plot is secondary to this action, and is pretty standard for a 'jungle' type movie.

Having said that, I found 'The Lost Jungle' to be quite interesting, especially as a historical artifact: acts like Beatty's are seldom seen these days. All in all, I enjoyed watching it: a light movie which gives a glimpse into the past.

Sure, the story is wonky and the characters are weak, but so what? The animals are grrreat!

Clyde Beatty spends all of his time training with his traveling menagerie. So much so, that he barely notices when his girlfriend leaves with her father on a quest to find a legendary island. An island inhabited by both Asian tigers and African lions! Soon enough, Beatty takes off in a dirigible, only to miraculously land on the very same island!

There are plenty of creatures for Beatty to use his signature "hypnotic gaze" on. Even bears!

An enjoyable jungle circus for all ages. Watch for a young Mickey Rooney. He's the kid with the dog at the beginning...

"Clyde Beatty portrays himself, an animal trainer and circus star in this action film. Beatty leads a search for his missing girlfriend and her father, who were on an expedition looking for a lost tropical island. Using a dirigible as his mode of transportation, Beatty and his band head off in search of the missing explorers, only to crash their airship on the same island their friends are located (on, presumably). Battling wild animals and a gang of greedy men searching for gold, Beatty and his party must rescue his girlfriend and father, all the while trying to escape their jungle island," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

It's good to see young Mickey Rooney, from "The Big Cage" (1933), has a featured appearance, early during the running time. And, the film begins well, with Rooney helping Mr. Beatty fend off a lion attack staged by shifty Warner Richmond (as Sharkey). It gets tedious with Beatty romancing Cecilia Parker (later, she plays Rooney's "Andy Hardy" big sister), and repetitive with the animal antics. Still, "The Lost Jungle" isn't too bad for a "feature" versions of a "serial" film - most of the "serial-to-feature" re-productions are poorly edited, despite the seeming abundance of film footage available to tinker around with.

**** The Lost Jungle (6/13/34) Armand Schaefer, David Howard ~ Clyde Beatty, Syd Saylor, Cecilia Parker, Mickey Rooney

In 1934, the serial "The Lost Jungle" debuted and was 243 minutes long. This particular movie is a shortened version--condensed down to 68 minutes! So does the overall film look comprehensible with about 3/4 of the film missing? Read on to find out for yourself.

It's a darn shame that the quality of this print is really poor, as it's worth seeing the film just to get a look at Beatty's animal act. In one scene, he has lions, tigers, leopards and bears all in the ring at the same time!! I've seen some great animal acts in person and can't recall seeing anything THAT amazing. On top of that, the animals really looked angry and hostile--and made for some great viewing.

As for plot, the story is (naturally) about Beatty and there are two plots going on at the same time. First, the ever-busy Beatty is oblivious to how much his lady friend is in love with him. She finally leaves in disgust--will Clyde come to his senses and get her? Second, Beatty has a rival who actually tries to get him killed in the ring. It looks like an accident and you wonder if Beatty will also come to his senses and realize the guy is trying to kill him.

So is it worth seeing? Well, it's far from brilliantly produced and the acting isn't great. But, it does look better than the average jungle film of the era AND you get to see Beatty in action--making it worth seeing.

By the way, near the beginning keep your eye out for a very young Mickey Rooney during his pre-fame days (he's with a dog) as well as Gabby Hayes as a passenger on the dirigible. You need to look closely for Hayes as he's NOT dressed like the 'ol West coot like he did in many B-westerns. Also, it is a bit distressing that a lion and tiger were allowed to fight. Instead of stopping it, they filmed it! And, it's pretty weird since this was supposed to be in the wild--and lions and tigers live on different continents.