Movie Review: Law of the Jungle (1942)
Synopsis: After having her passport lost or stolen while on tour in a British West African colony, American singer Nora Brooks is stranded at a hotel while waiting for replacement documentation that will allow her to return to the United States. When a fight breaks out during one of her performances, leaving a man dead, Nora runs into the jungle and eventually takes refuge in a camp run by paleontologist Larry Mason. What she doesn't know is the deceased bar patron was carrying documents exposing a Nazi spy ring and those papers were stashed in her jacket before she fled, painting a target on her back.
Who's in it? The movie stars Arline Judge, John "Dusty" King, Mantan Moreland, Arthur O'Connell and Laurence Criner.
Review: I came across Law of the Jungle last night and since it sounded somewhat interesting, added it to my movie library. I decided to watch the film right away this morning and unfortunately, while the premise was decent, the execution was lacking.
After taking a walk and sorting my thoughts, I think the film's biggest problem is it seemed like it couldn't decide on who the main protagonist was going to be.
Arline Judge got top billing, but I didn't think her character, Nora, was much more than a supporting player. Everything was always happening to her rather than the other way around and is constantly in need of rescue. I was disappointed by that because Judge was talented enough to be more than just a pretty face/damsel in distress.
John "Dusty" King's Larry Mason character was clearly supposed to be the main male lead but just didn't have that much personality. I think the best way to describe him is he reminded me of the Professor on Gilligan's Island. That's something that works as part of an ensemble, not when someone is supposed to be the hero.
Had this movie been made in a different time period, Mantan Moreland arguably could have been the star. His character, Jeff, had the most personality, had quite a bit of screen time and ultimately ends up being the one who saves the day (with help) but because he was a Black actor in a 1940s movie with white actors, he was basically just there to be the cowardly comic relief.
In addition to the above, the main plot of the movie was honestly kind of bland. As I said, it's a good premise but for a film that has a deadly jungle, restless natives and desperate/dangerous Nazi agents, there really isn't much in terms of action. There's a lot of walking, a lot of talking, a lot of standing around with a couple murders and short fight scene mixed in.
I don't even know if I can include their fight with the ape as an "action" scene because Larry had a gun and it wasn't much of a fight. All I kept thinking was "that poor ape," and that's not the reaction I should have when the movie's hero is the one pulling the trigger.
Final Opinion: The movie, I think, was a victim of its time period. It would have been more entertaining as a Moreland-led comedy with Judge and King properly billed as being in a supporting role. He was already stealing the scenes anyway because the two main characters just weren't all that interesting and the plot was even less exciting.
My Grade: C (and this is exclusively because Moreland made me laugh).
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Here are some reviews of other Mantan Moreland movies:
Movie Review: Irish Luck (1939)
Movie Review: Lucky Ghost (1942)
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