mark.waltz If stock footage can be collected to wrap a shell of a story around, do it as long as it includes wild animals, especially wild cats. Clyde Beatty may not be a poster boy for animal rights groups today, but back in the 1930's, his movies were a way for movie goers to see nature at work even if he caught animals in traps to be exploited in the circus. He does treat the captured animals well, disciplining a worker for abuse, causing that employee to seek revenge. The first half of this edited version of the serial feature focuses on circus training while the second half goes to Africa. Long before they played brother and sister in the Andy Hardy series, Mickey Rooney and Cecilia Parker appeared together here.

Chase_Witherspoon Famed circus-man and animal wrangler Clyde Beatty stars as himself in this semi-fictitious account of his girlfriend (Parker), whom he neglects for his animals, disappearing on an expedition to a remote island in the tropics. Naturally Beatty sets off to locate her, but runs into trouble when the blimp on which he's travelling crashes following a storm. Not only does he have to contend with the ferocious menagerie of lions, tigers, leopards and hyenas, but his even more dangerous assistant wrangler Sharkey (Richmond) motivated only to cause maximum harm to Beatty at every given opportunity.Beatty is affable if not really an actor, while the under-utilised Cecilia Parker has little independence in her character to make the impression of which she's capable as the film's biggest name. Every circus needs a clown and Syd Saylor offers slapstick relief as a goofy-looking sidekick to Beatty's 'straight man' routine, and generally speaking, Warner Richmond achieves his brief as Beatty's two-faced nemesis and impostor to the throne.Frequent footage of the animals performing their tricks might be of interest to some, or appear cruel to others; essentially the feature is an advertisement for Beatty's travelling animal circus and so if that's your tonic, you should be entertained.

MartinHafer In 1934, the serial "The Lost Jungle" debuted and was 243 minutes long. This particular movie is a shortened version--condensed down to 68 minutes! So does the overall film look comprehensible with about 3/4 of the film missing? Read on to find out for yourself.It's a darn shame that the quality of this print is really poor, as it's worth seeing the film just to get a look at Beatty's animal act. In one scene, he has lions, tigers, leopards and bears all in the ring at the same time!! I've seen some great animal acts in person and can't recall seeing anything THAT amazing. On top of that, the animals really looked angry and hostile--and made for some great viewing.As for plot, the story is (naturally) about Beatty and there are two plots going on at the same time. First, the ever-busy Beatty is oblivious to how much his lady friend is in love with him. She finally leaves in disgust--will Clyde come to his senses and get her? Second, Beatty has a rival who actually tries to get him killed in the ring. It looks like an accident and you wonder if Beatty will also come to his senses and realize the guy is trying to kill him.So is it worth seeing? Well, it's far from brilliantly produced and the acting isn't great. But, it does look better than the average jungle film of the era AND you get to see Beatty in action--making it worth seeing.By the way, near the beginning keep your eye out for a very young Mickey Rooney during his pre-fame days (he's with a dog) as well as Gabby Hayes as a passenger on the dirigible. You need to look closely for Hayes as he's NOT dressed like the 'ol West coot like he did in many B-westerns. Also, it is a bit distressing that a lion and tiger were allowed to fight. Instead of stopping it, they filmed it! And, it's pretty weird since this was supposed to be in the wild--and lions and tigers live on different continents.

classicsoncall I'm surprised I missed this one as a kid growing up, since anything with wild animals, especially jungle cats I found to be thrilling; that's why Tarzan has always been a favorite. "The Lost Jungle" more than anything appears to be a showcase for the talents of circus animal trainer Clyde Beatty, who portrays himself in the film. Beatty is not particularly impressive in physical stature, which makes it all the more remarkable in the way he handles himself surrounded by all manner of wild beasts both in captivity and in the wild.The search for a legendary island city of Kamor in the South Pacific forms the backdrop for the film's adventure. However it's not Beatty who initiates the voyage, but a Professor Livingston (Crauford Kent) who theorizes that a place exists where animals native to both Africa and India live together. That leg of the journey takes place aboard a schooner directed by Captain Robinson (Edward LeSaint), who for good measure drags his daughter Ruth (Cecilia Parker) along. Ruth is technically Beatty's fiancée, but since he can't tear himself away from his lions and tigers, he quite literally misses the boat.Beatty forms his own expedition to Kamor to rescue the Robinson's when news of their disappearance arrives. Their trip aboard a dirigible also meets with disaster, but at least they make it to their destination. What I found amazing was that two different parties set out for a largely mythical land, somewhere in a vast ocean (maybe), and they both wind up in exactly the same place.As a romantic, Beatty's a good lion tamer. When he first encounters Ruth, she's about to become lunch for a savage island lion named Sammy. After saving her from a main course, Beatty once again mangles every opportunity to let Ruth know how much he missed her. Instead he's fixated on the incredible wildlife that the island has to offer - sheesh! Skulking around to make life tough for Beatty is the villain of the piece, a low life named Sharkey (Warner Richmond). Motivated by jealousy and greed, Sharkey does his best to do bodily harm to the boss. Beatty never suspects what a heel he is, but the viewer can only cheer when a savage lion evens the score with the bad guy.If you pay close attention, you might recognize a whiskerless George (Pre-Gabby) Hayes aboard the dirigible as one of Beatty's crew. However another future star also makes an early appearance in the movie. The young boy with the dog who's fascinated by Beatty's heroics is none other than Mickey Rooney! Perhaps the real stars of the movie though are the four footed entertainers themselves, second billed to Beatty as The Hagenbeck Wallace Animals. Truthfully, it's hard to imagine how those jungle scenes were created, especially the very realistic battle between a lion and tiger. I imagine some stock footage was used, but it's difficult at times to draw a line between the staged and real scenes.A couple of times in the movie, Clyde Beatty makes a reference to "bring them back alive" regarding the jungle cats of Kamor. I would be curious to know if there were any conflicts with Beatty contemporary Frank Buck over the phrase, as Buck was an adventurer who captured wild animals for zoos and circus use during the same era. In fact, Buck's film "Bring 'Em Back Alive" preceded this one by two years, and the line was one of his trademarks.In any event, "The Lost Jungle" is worth a viewing to see the real Clyde Beatty in person, using his skill and resources to tame wild beasts. If nothing else, you won't want to miss that famous stare down.