Howdy folks! Thirsting for A Safari? Then let's go!
The wintry Holiday Season is upon us once again, and I hope you are enjoying it! Here at Squadron Central, we've been deluged by an influx of Christmas carols and extended Black Friday ads. I soon found myself longing for an escape, so escape I did!
Thanks to the 1945 Columbia serial "Jungle Raiders"! (Not to be confused with the 1985 Italian movie "La Legenda del Rubino Malese", known here in the US as "Jungle Raiders". It stars Lee Van Cleef!)
Our Jungle Raiders was a serial produced by Columbia, released in 1945; I know because I already said that in the paragraph above. This one stars Kane Richmond and a collection of players who seem to get shuffled throughout various serials made at the time.
I think this is supposed to take place "someplace in Africa", but I don't know why I think that. I don't remember if they gave any indication of the location. There were a lot of scrublands, rocky and hilly terrain, caves, steaming volcanic badlands, and lots and lots of forests...but I don't remember seeing anything that looked like a jungle. Hey, that sort of thing often happened in these old serials!
So get this set up: a doctor came here to find a native tribe whose witch doctor uses the powder of some ground root which has properties that could cure all sorts of terrible afflictions, like cancer. He found the tribe, had visited their secret hidden village, and been allowed to leave again.
He stays at Jake's Trading Post (and apparently motel). But Jake wants the jewels that these natives are supposed to have and wants the doctor to tell him how to get to their village. The doctor refuses, and Jake and his henchmen tie him up and hide him in a secret basement. They force him to write letters to his daughter and a colleague to lure these people to the Trading Post to use as leverage and convince the doctor to divulge his information.
All this happened before the start of the serial!
The doctor's daughter arrives, as does the colleague (another doctor). But the colleague wrote to his son, Kane Richmond, who arrives with his sidekick--both either on leave or discharged from the army.
So Kane Richmond and his entourage find the hidden Arzec tribe. This is where they learn that the local witch doctor (in cahoots with the high priestess of the Fire God, Rana) have poisoned the tribal chief and plan to replace him as the leaders of the tribe.
It is a fifteen chapter serial, so there is an abundance of fights, captures, escapes, double-crosses, several trips back-and-forth to the hidden Arzec village, and absolutely NOBODY believes the good guys when they say they don't want any jewels, only the witch doctor's plants--for medical purposes!
However, this is a really good one! I was impressed with how fast the chapters felt; I've seen some serials that seemed to slog slowly on. Someone was always in need of rescue, and someone was always separated from the rest so they could show up and save someone at the last minute. Plus, each of the villains comes to their own appropriate and satisfying end.
All in all, it was very enjoyable, and I might watch it again! I'm sure it's available on DVD from Amazon and the specialty places, but I watched it for free on YouTube, and you can, too, if you are so inclined!
Have you seen it? Do you want to see it? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Until then, I wish you all...
Good Adventuring!
Timothy A. Sayell
