A Selva Nua

"The Naked Jungle" is the story of a wealthy owner of a big coffee plantation in Brazil's jungle, menaced by an army of warrior ants on the move covering several square miles of ground and eating everything on their way (the Marabunta). The man's unknown mail-ordered wife has just arrived too but something in her past annoys him and a conflict between them is taking place when the ants arrive.

The picture was really original back in 1954 and is very entertaining too. This was probably Byron Haskin's best work as a director with an uneven carrier that included also "I Walk Alone", 1948, and "The War of the Worlds", 1953. The Special effects of Naked Jungle are really good for its time and the fine performances of Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker as the main couple surely helped to raise the final product. Heston went on to full stardom and Parker continued to keep up her interesting carrier (she had been in some good movies before as "Scaramouche", 1952, and "Detective Story", 1951, and went to good ones too like "The Man with the Golden Arm", 1955). You will also find a good color photography and well designed settings.

A very amusing and enjoyable film with sort of a "B" structure but a real "A" outcome.

The Naked Jungle is directed by Byron Haskin and based around the short story Leiningen Versus The Ants written by Carl Stephenson. It stars Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker, Abraham Sofaer and William Conrad. Music is scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo.

1901, South America, and mail order bride Joanna Selby (Parker) arrives at the plantation owned by her husband Christopher Leiningen. She is shocked to find life at the plantation is hardly idyllic, but not as shocked as Leiningen is when he finds out that Joanna was once married before. With his own hang ups gnawing away at him and he refusing to accept Joanna as his bride, the relationship appears to be heading nowhere. However, she's made of stern stuff, and when a swarm of soldier ants is known to be heading towards the plantation, Joanna and Chris might just find that love is actually there?

Filmed in glorious Technicolor by Laszlo and produced by George Pal (Destination Moon/The War of the Worlds/The Time Machine), The Naked Jungle seems to be a forgotten movie on the CV's of Pal and Heston. A crying shame since it's very well mounted and carries a uniqueness worthy of further delving. Perhaps it got lost in the slipstream of Them! The other Ant movie out that year? What transpires is an hour of interesting character build up, where Heston & Parker's characters take centre stage and benefit from literate writing (Philip Yordan). The sweaty backdrop of the jungle plantation keeps things on the simmer, but it's the dialect and emoting of the performers that really holds the interest. True, Heston does at times over do it with some "woe is me" acting as he looks off into the distance (he has major issues we learn), but it works because it bounces off of Parker's (a Technicolor treat for the eyes) intelligent and stoic performance.

Film then shifts to creature feature territory for the last third. Once the army of Marabunta are spied off in the distance, laying waste to everything in their path, picture has become a war involving man against nature, where if man wins? He may not only save his life, but more pertinently his soul. Heston stops the tortured emoting and sticks out is lantern jaw, squares up his shoulders and stands firm in the face of such a hostile and intelligent enemy. By his side, the wife, multi talented and brave of heart, they make quite a couple. The chemistry between the two is simmering with sexual tension, and thanks to the writing the characters are fabulously engaging and make us care about the outcome of picture. Director Haskin, too, utilises the scenery and plantation setting to frame his protagonists for maximum impact, his camera work airy and unobtrusive. While his crafting of the biblical fight against the ants is thrilling and boosted no end by marvellous effects work (John P. Fulton).

An oddity? Yes, for sure. But it's a smart and intelligent picture that successfully manages to blend the sci-fi and nature aspects with complex human characterisations. 8/10

An old style Hollywood adventure taking place in the Amazon jungles circa year 1901, this is a favorite of mine from TV showings dating back 30 years ago. A portion of the jungles have been tamed by Heston's character as the story begins; he's carved out his own little kingdom with sweat and blood, with the help of local natives, and now his new wife (Parker), married by proxy, arrives. This is one of Heston's better characters: he's well-suited to play this proud, often arrogant male, driven to build a personal empire to perhaps compensate for the inherent failings of such men. His main weakness is he knows nothing about women, and Parker, almost regal in her bearing, represents a kind of strength and sophistication he is obviously not accustomed to. Their meeting and slowly building towards a mutual respect after a very rough beginning is in itself an interesting story, but this exotic adventure throws in a spectacular menace to add suspense to the whole thing. The jungle, as it turns out, allows Heston only 15 years of conquest before fighting back in 'nature-gone-amok' style similar to all the future eco-terror pictures of the later seventies.

By now, everyone knows that this menace is the soldier ant, or 'marabunta' as it's mysteriously referred to in the middle of the story. I think even audiences who saw this back in '54 were probably aware of what the threat was beforehand, as well. But it's not revealed during the film until after several ominous yet uninformative references by the main characters. It comes across as some huge monstrous threat - which indeed it is - billions upon billions of these ants merge together to form a monster 20 miles long and 2 miles wide. As the local commissioner (Conrad) states, with quavering voice, these ants actually think, in military fashion. Nothing stands in its way and we mean nothing. But, of course, if anyone is going to give it the all-American try, it's Heston (yes, he's a character who grew up in South America, but he's strictly the U.S.of A breed - the rugged individual). This builds towards a literal war between Heston's resources and the invading army of ants, and it's a grand finale. It's interesting that this came out about the same time as "Them," a sci-fi tale about giant ants. But the ants here are real - this may make them all the more terrifying. See also "Phase IV," twenty years later, for a different take on even more intelligent ants.

THE NAKED JUNGLE is based on Carl Stephenson's story "Leiningen Vs The Ants." There was at least one excellent radio adaptation in which William Conrad (who has a supporting role in this film) played Leiningen. The first half of this screen adaptation is pretty ordinary, centering around the romantic problems of Heston and his mail order bride Ms. Parker. When the ants arrive, this film really takes off. One scene where the ants devour a drunk down to his bones must of looked pretty shocking in 1954.

This film was reviewed in a 1954 issue of The American Museum of Natural History magazine, where the reviewer, an entomologist, stated that while single ant colonies do migrate, and can wreck havoc, migrations of multiple colonies, as in this film, do not occur in real life. Phew! Thats good to know!

The movie The Naked Jungle was magnificent!! It was extremely

enthralling!! The title "Leiningen versus the ants" was the original story!! It was first broadcast on radio probably in the 1940's maybe even earlier!! The radio show was even better than the movie if that is possible!! The suspense, the intrigue, you bit your nails down to your knuckles!! The radio show was fabulous!! That's why they re-broadcast it over and over again every year or every two years. I listened to it many times!! The movie of course gives a different perspective!! You can actually see The RED ARMY ANTS, or RED ANTS, or ARMY ANTS frighteningly live which of course you couldn't do on radio!! These ants do exist and they are dangerous!! But also let us not forget that this movie is a great love story!! Here we have Charlton Heston, a real hunk!! A strapping six foot four very handsome, very physical male!! Then we have his love interest, Eleanor Parker a ravishing, redheaded beauty, with a fantastic body and figure!! A man and a woman in their prime eventually attracted to each other and falling in love at the end!! What more can you ask for in a movie! RED ANTS and A RAVISHING RED HEAD. That's why this was a great movie in it's time and still is today in my opinion!!