Jungle Bride

After her brother is charged with murder, a young woman and her fiancé follow the man she suspects of being the killer on a ship bound for South America. However, it sinks and they are stranded on an island where the complications begin.

Very average pre-code drama with a real stagey feel to it but short at just over an hour long. Stars one time silent golden girl Anita Page along with Charles Starrett as the man pursued.

A year later a proper studio with proper actors used a very similar plot to make an excellent film called FOUR FRIGHTENED PEOPLE. This is most definitely not an excellent film - it does however feature Anita Page getting her clothes stolen by a chimp.

As soon as you see a chimp in a pre-code movie you know exactly why he's there. A chimpanzee has one purpose and one purpose alone in a pre-code movie: an actress will discretely strip off to go for a swim and the chimp will subsequently run off with her clothes.

Along with Jean Harlow, Anita Page certainly had one of the bounciest bodies of the 1930s! This was an asset even Mussolini admired. Whereas Il Duce was apparently besotted with Anita, L B Mayer wasn't - he only needed one Jean Harlow in his studio so coupled with the fact that she allegedly wouldn't sleep with Irving Thalberg, by the time this was made her career was virtually over. Thus she was farmed out to this third rate outfit to make this third rate film which feels like it was made in someone's shed.

Her acting ability wasn't really any worse than Jean Harlow but to be honest, that's not saying much. This film should not be one she should put on her c.v. Her co-stars in this are hardly any better though but I suspect this is a result of poor direction because Anita Page for example was pretty good in a few other films such as WAR NURSE or SKYSCRAPER SOULS.

Chadwick Productions didn't really go in for believable characterisation, just fun action adventure. Not sure you could tick the boxes for fun or adventure but there's at least a lot of action going on. The amateurish feel of this however makes you think you should finish watching it just out of politeness because those guys must have put a lot of effort into making this on that budget so the least you can do it watch it.... even though you know it's rubbish.

Whereas in FOUR FRIGHTENED PEOPLE which stared the divine Claudette Colbert, thanks to C B DeMille's direction we got to see how the survivors' personalities and mindsets were affected by their situation, in this we just get actors reading words. Anita Page's prettiness is not enough justification to sit through this.

A woman with a reporter in tow, chases an entertainer around the globe in order to clear her innocent brother's name. When the ship they are on sinks the entertainer, his friend, the girl and the reporter end up on a deserted island off the African coast.

This is a decidedly pre-code film with implications of unmarried sex, unwanted pregnancy, a woman's bare back and a bare boob (but no nipple) flashing across the screen in ways that would soon disappear for 20 odd years. The film is certainly much better for it all.

To say this film is off beat is an understatement. There are some interesting twists and turns, only some of which are predictable. It all mixes together to make a very enjoyable film. If you run across it I certainly would hope you'd tune in since its a good little film that deserves to be rediscovered. (It may not be the best film ever made but its certainly one of the better ways to spend an hour)

Seven out of Ten

Enjoyable precode movie whose only intention is to entertain its audience. Nicely filmed on the actual seacoast and in a jungle setting with good atmospherics. The music is mostly just Charles Starrett's laid back guitar strumming while singing or humming catchy tunes. Starrett is a tall good looking hunk and his laid back leading man style is perfect for this romantic little shipwreck movie.

The star Anita Page exudes screen presence and appeal as a strong, determined woman who knows what she wants. She is gorgeous in the precode style of the early 1930's. The well-endowed Ms. Page is a Harlow-esque bombshell and, as far as shipwrecked babes rank, I would say that not even Ginger or Mary Ann could be ranked any higher than her.

"Jungle Bride" is made simply and inexpensively but is nonetheless well-made, a romantic shipwreck film with two stars who have a lot of chemistry. It will hold your attention in a charming way and it even ends charmingly with the simple, breezy notation of "Fin". This is not an old fashioned movie in spirit, and it manages to retain a quality of timelessness.

A group taking a cruise is marooned on the coast. A few surviviors band together, after washing up somewhere in africa. No filming locations are currently listed, but it's probably on a beach in los angeles, with some exotic animal noises thrown in. Lots of stock footage, of wild animals. An engaged couple, john and doris, and an accused murderer, who may or may not be out of trouble, now that they are shipwrecked and clear of society. At twelve minutes, with horrible edits, poor film quality, and momentary lack of subtitles, we can't hear what is being said by the crew. It sounds like someone changed course, and the ship struck something in the water. Was it espionage by the crook and the ship's crew, to help the criminal escape prosecution? Just amazing how their clothes still look washed and pressed the entire time, even after sinking and and washing up on a sandy beach. Of course they show the chimpanzees right away, when they wake up on shore, so we know the chimpanzees will be up to no good! The old saying is, once you have shown the gun, it must be used at some later point! Doris falls for the wanted man, and seems to lose interest in john. Can anyone prove that wayne is innocent so he and doris can finally be together? As poor quality film, and unlikely as all this is, it's still kind of fun to watch these old exotic adventures in "far away" lands. Directed by harry hoyt and al kelley. It's okay. Probably will never be restored, since it's coming up on 100 years old!