Jungle Queen Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.5

Jungle Queen Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 29, 2020

We could all probably use a good laugh, considering some of the headlines (and other “things”) floating around the world these days, and for those who can stand what are probably some patently objectionable characterizations of African “tribesmen” along the way, Jungle Queen may provide at least a few guffaws, though most are of the unintentional variety. This odd and often completely incomprehensible serial was put out by Universal early in 1945, when hostilities were still active in World War II, but where there were perhaps glimmers of light at the end of that particular tunnel. Jungle Queen purports to divulge activities by Nazis circa 1939 in the so-called “middle jungle” of Africa which come to the notice of ruling British colonizers (the repeated use of the term “middle jungle” may itself provide a least a titter or two, since while there was a Middle Congo, that was evidently under French rule). The Brits in turn reach out secretly (well, kinda anyway — they’re being spied on by the Nazis, of course) to the hearty Americans, who it is assumed (because along with several other salient plot points, this one is never really explained) recruit two undercover Everyday Joes, Bob Elliot (Edward Norris) and Chuck Kelly (Eddie Quillan), to hightail it over there to check things out for themselves. On the flight over, they meet the only other passenger, a comely British lass named Pamela Courtney (Lois Collier), who has been secretly tasked by the British authorities with tracking down her famous archeologist Uncle Allen Courtney (Boyd Irwin), who has important information about the African tribe the Nazis are attempting to infiltrate (why exactly the Nazis want to infiltrate this particular tribe is just another plot point left unexplained). After the completely predictable plane crash cliffhanger that concludes the first episode of this sometimes interminable seeming serial, these three characters are left stranded in the “middle jungle”, with both marauding African tribesmen and some dandily clad if nasty Nazis chasing them at different times.

That first episode introduces one other focal character, a supposed Swedish explorer named Dr. Elise Bork (Tala Birell), and for me personally the first true laugh out loud moment in Jungle Queen came during her first scene. She’s shown into the African office of the local British authority and the two are discussing the whereabouts of Allen Courtney, when a wounded African tribesman bursts through the door to alert them that there are big problems with his Tongghili tribe. The poor man then expires on the floor of the office. Not to let that little problem interrupt her evident social hour, the good (?) Doctor Bork actually smiles appreciatively and thanks the British authority for his time, leaving without so much as a backward glance at the dead guy on the floor (see screenshot 7 - there's a corpse out of frame on the floor between the characters). There is one other brief moment shown in the first episode which recurs throughout the serial, just one of many uses of stock footage this serial employs, which also struck me as hilarious, in part because it is used so much and has what to me is a kind of obvious error. In a kind of quasi-montage showing "activities" at the Tongghili tribe, a brief clip is shown (and repeated many times later in the serial) of several "natives" ringing a huge gong (one of them with what almost look like oven mitts, but I digress). However, for those who care to actually pay attention to this brief (if recurrent) moment, the natives in question appear to be Pacific Islanders, not Africans, suggesting the Tongghili tribe may have been considerably more diverse than one might reasonably expect (see screenshot 19, replete with oven mitts). There are other passing funny moments, including the introduction of a character named Lang (a kind of paunchy Douglass Dumbrille), who is "announced" as a Nazi due to the fact that his cigarette case helpfully has a swastika emblazoned on its interior.

The particular "racial" element of the Pacific Islanders aside, it's the serial's whole depiction of stereotypical primitive African tribesmen that may raise the most hackles in some modern day viewers. The whole aspect of the tribe being dominated not just by the Nazis, but also by their evident protective spirit Lothel (Ruth Roman - ! - more about that in a moment), who is obviously not a "member of the tribe"*, so to speak, add to the not very subliminal suggestion of racial superiority of one sort or another on the part of the "white folks". Lothel is just another completely unexplained phenomenon in this film. She wanders (via some laugh out loud double exposure superimposition) through the tribe's "justice chamber", which is in flames (if you're innocent, you survive, a rarity in the serial), and then bursts through a secret door in a cave (don't ask, just accept) to deliver brief words of warning to the tribe about their Nazi interlopers. The whole Lothel character in and of itself is completely peculiar, at one moment unabashedly omniscient and at the next seemingly incapable of doing anything other than running aimlessly through the "middle jungle" (in one case literally only to provide that episode with a cliffhanger, which, as tends to be the case in these things, is revisited from a new angle in the next episode, offering a miraculous rescue of sorts). Her history is never referred to even once, and why this dark haired white woman would be the "spirit guide" of an African tribe is anyone's guess.

Vis a vis Roman's involvement, this film may be at least a curio for those fond of the smoky voiced actress. Rather interestingly in that regard, her voice in this film is pitched a bit higher than usual, though to me it still sounded like her. The role is patently ridiculous, of course, though Roman seems fully committed to doing what she can with such completely absurd material.

My favorite recurring motif in this serial, though, is another vignette that is revisited several times, albeit as "newly" filmed material that varies in dialogue if not in the visual which struck me personally as laugh out loud funny. Over and over again the serial has little scenes featuring the evident "head Nazi" giving orders behind the scenes (so to speak), who is never actually completely divulged, but shown via his boots and, saliently, a little notepad he's doodling on. How do you know this vile Nazi is one of the bad guys, other than the facts that he's a Nazi and vile? Well, throughout the serial, he draws (and redraws, and redraws, and redraws) a skull and crossbones, because, well, death , you know? The other hilarious thing about this element, for those who care to keep track, is how he comes quite close to finishing it at times, only to be back at the drawing board (again, so to speak) in the next installment, in the sketching equivalent of Sisyphus and that dang blasted rock of his.

*Roman evidently was at least part Jewish, which of course makes her another kind of MOT, for those so minded.

Jungle Queen Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jungle Queen is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of VCI Entertainment and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. The front cover touts this was "re-mastered in 2K from the original 35mm fine grain", which may not completely account for some of the variances on display (if this was sourced from only one element). The good news is this release has none of the encoding errors seen on previous VCI releases, and whatever restoration gauntlet the source underwent has removed most major signs of damage. However, this is another VCI release which has also erased most of the grain field in addition to deleting any nicks and scratches, and as such this has an often "video-esque" appearance. Contrast is fairly variable, and quite a few scenes look pretty milky and washed out. Some parts of individual episodes, notably Episode Five, look like they were sourced from a noticeably compromised inferior element than the bulk of the transfer (see screenshots 17 and 18, and then compare them to the bulk of the rest of the screenshots included with this review). Aside from those wonky looking moments, clarity is generally decent, though (again) often on the "video" looking side of things. Those not bothered by a relative absence of grain may feel that at least some of this transfer deserves an at least incrementally higher score.

Jungle Queen Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jungle Queen features a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track, which is kind of a slap in the face of audiophiles (if audiophiles would be attracted to this release to begin with), due to the fact that the opening menu (which includes sound) offers an LPCM 2.0 mono track! The lossy track is often boxy and anemic, without much punch in the midrange and low end, but most of the dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly. This release does come with optional English subtitles, but kind of strangely some of them are in white and some in yellow, for reasons I can't quite figure out.

Jungle Queen Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

Jungle Queen Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some may understandably find parts of Jungle Queen objectionable enough that they won't want to stick around for some of the perceived humor. But for those who go with the flow of the "quaint" portrayals of African tribesmen, this is a gonzo serial on any number of levels and may provide a passing laugh or two. Both video and audio are passable but hardly optimal, for those considering a purchase.