This is a sad film to watch as it's star, the great Lionel Atwill died halfway through filming. Due to the disjointed way serials are filmed, Atwill is seen intermittently throughout the proceedings with another character filling in for the scenes Atwill was supposed to appear in, while a body double stands in the background or is only shown from behind. The plot concerns a search for a rare element that can be used as defense against the atomic bomb. War monger Sit Eric Hazarias (Lionel Atwill) has traced the element, dubbed Meteorium 245, to the Himilian province of Pendrang, ruled over by casino owner Indra (Helen Bennett). Hazarias fakes his own death and shows up in Pendrang as philanthropist Geoffrey London along with his secretary Malborn (John Mylong), who is secretly the real war monger, Hazarias being his beard, and they start an archaeological dig for the legendary Lost City of Pendrang as a cover for their search for Meteorium. United Peace Foundation operative Rod Stanton (Russell Hayden) arrives in Pendrang soon after having trailed Hazarias there with a two fold mission, prove London is really Hazarias and find out what he is looking for in Pendrang. Made during the final year of serial production for Universal, the plot is a rehash of the previous year's Secret Agent X-9, where two groups are in an area cut off from the rest of the world, fighting over a simple maguffin while a third party plays them off each other, while waiting to grab the prize for themselves, and a mystery man hangs around in the background occasionally giving the heroes and villains information he shouldn't really have. Most of the action is lively, though it is obviously taken from bigger budgeted feature films with new footage of the serial actors inter cut with it. The acting is pretty decent, though Hayden's side kick Keye Luke continually blows him off the screen without even trying. John Mylong is also horribly miscast as the true villain of the piece, being unable to produce a single moment of true menace in the entire serial. Atwill of course shines in every moment he is on screen, even though he is noticeably ill. He has several great moments. Chapter Four has a cat and mouse confrontation between Atwill and Hayden where Atwill plays the other man expertly and smugly lets him in on secrets without revealing anything. Chapter Eight has another of those great moments where the archaeologist Atwill has been conning reveals he knows Atwill's true identity. Atwill starts out giving an impassioned speech about trying to change his evil ways but a man's reputation always follows him, when that doesn't work he immediately drops the facade and shows his true nature by having the man tortured right there in front of him with out the barest glimmer of feeling showing on his face or in his voice. It's just business as usual for Atwill and he's the biggest selling point for viewing the film.
6 Reviews
Thrilling in its Day
jimdex19 May 2019
I have a peculiar fondness for bad movies of this era. This is less credible than "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe." Lionel Atwill is a lesser villain than Charles Middleton's "Ming of Mongo." Still audiences thrilled to Himalayan avalanches and other exotic locales. If you want authentic high adventure, this is not for you. If you want to be a pre-teen waiting for "Destry Rides Again" to come on the screen while you're wolfing down a 10¢ box of popcorn, you'll love it. Hokeyness personified.
Fun Adventure Romp Still Worth a Watch
jethrojohn19 May 2022
This is your typical cliffhanger adventure serial of the time. Sneering bad guys, daring heroes, exotic locations, and a fun over-the-top plot.
This was the pulpy fiction of men's magazines brought to life (with much less sex and violence, considering the censors). And while it lasts, it's a fun watch.
There are a couple things that make this one notable, though.
One is the casting of Charlie Chan's Number One Son and Asian American acting pioneer Key Luke as one of the good guys working undercover in a hotel. As usual, he gives a good performance and it's just nice to see him acting, especially in a time where most non-white faces were just background characters. Here Luke plays a role and is involved in the plot, not just a servant or something similar.
The second is that this production had to overcome the sudden death of Lionel Atwill, one of its named stars, during production.
Some clever editing and reshoots were done, lessening Atwill's role, installing his character's secretary as main villain, and using stock footage and disguises to finish the story. It is an inventive way to overcome the death of one of your main actors, but the seems do show occasionally, and it also shows how callous studios were at the time.
The film also makes use of stock footage a lot to overcome budget limitations, but it's edited into everything well enough that you'll only notice if you look for it.
As a science fiction adventure writer who loves pulp novels and writes them himself, this is a grand bit of research into an era of silly cinema that we just don't really get anymore.
Well worth a watch if you find a decent copy!
This was the pulpy fiction of men's magazines brought to life (with much less sex and violence, considering the censors). And while it lasts, it's a fun watch.
There are a couple things that make this one notable, though.
One is the casting of Charlie Chan's Number One Son and Asian American acting pioneer Key Luke as one of the good guys working undercover in a hotel. As usual, he gives a good performance and it's just nice to see him acting, especially in a time where most non-white faces were just background characters. Here Luke plays a role and is involved in the plot, not just a servant or something similar.
The second is that this production had to overcome the sudden death of Lionel Atwill, one of its named stars, during production.
Some clever editing and reshoots were done, lessening Atwill's role, installing his character's secretary as main villain, and using stock footage and disguises to finish the story. It is an inventive way to overcome the death of one of your main actors, but the seems do show occasionally, and it also shows how callous studios were at the time.
The film also makes use of stock footage a lot to overcome budget limitations, but it's edited into everything well enough that you'll only notice if you look for it.
As a science fiction adventure writer who loves pulp novels and writes them himself, this is a grand bit of research into an era of silly cinema that we just don't really get anymore.
Well worth a watch if you find a decent copy!
Vegas in the Himalayas
bkoganbing27 March 2014
I will no doubt get slammed for writing this because there is still a dedicated group of fans who just love these old movie serials. I'm aghast that these things back in the day passed for entertainment. Lost City In The Jungle is a perfect example.
This serial was made at a moment in time when at the end of World War II and before the Cold War really went into deep freeze it was thought that the United Nations could develop into a world government with a chance for world peace. The good guys in this film are the United Peace Foundation and while they have no troops they do have agent/operatives like Russell Hayden dedicated to tracking down those who would bring about war for their own profit.
One of those is Lionel Atwill who faked his own death and is now in the remote country of Pendrang somewhere in the Himalayas. Under an alias he's financing archaeologist John Eldredge's expedition to uncover a lost city. What Atwill looking for is something called Meteorium, a radioactive substance from which he can construct a defense against the atomic bomb. He gets and develops his counter weapon any country he does business with will rule the world. I've got to say the man dreams big.
But not if Hayden and the United Peace Foundation have anything to say about it. The Foundation has a man on the ground in Keye Luke in Pendrang's capital of Zalabar. The capital has an unofficial ruler in Helen Bennett who runs a the gambling action and even controls the local law enforcement. Imagine if the folks in Shangri-La had brought in casino gambling and this is what you have. What I couldn't figure out is that if Pendrang is as remote as the serial makes it out to be, just where does the fresh money come in which is necessary for casinos to survive?
That was one of many things that had me puzzled throughout all 13 chapters of Lost City Of The Jungle. Of course the good guys win they always do.
I felt sorry for Lionel Atwill though. Dying of cancer and having problems getting roles after the sex party scandal in his home came to light, it's a shame that this was what he had to go out on. Not as bad as his colleague Errol Flynn whom he supported in Captain Blood with Cuban Rebel Girl, but not worthy of his talents.
Serials themselves are thank God, a lost art form, Lost City Of The Jungle is no better or worse than others that I've seen.
This serial was made at a moment in time when at the end of World War II and before the Cold War really went into deep freeze it was thought that the United Nations could develop into a world government with a chance for world peace. The good guys in this film are the United Peace Foundation and while they have no troops they do have agent/operatives like Russell Hayden dedicated to tracking down those who would bring about war for their own profit.
One of those is Lionel Atwill who faked his own death and is now in the remote country of Pendrang somewhere in the Himalayas. Under an alias he's financing archaeologist John Eldredge's expedition to uncover a lost city. What Atwill looking for is something called Meteorium, a radioactive substance from which he can construct a defense against the atomic bomb. He gets and develops his counter weapon any country he does business with will rule the world. I've got to say the man dreams big.
But not if Hayden and the United Peace Foundation have anything to say about it. The Foundation has a man on the ground in Keye Luke in Pendrang's capital of Zalabar. The capital has an unofficial ruler in Helen Bennett who runs a the gambling action and even controls the local law enforcement. Imagine if the folks in Shangri-La had brought in casino gambling and this is what you have. What I couldn't figure out is that if Pendrang is as remote as the serial makes it out to be, just where does the fresh money come in which is necessary for casinos to survive?
That was one of many things that had me puzzled throughout all 13 chapters of Lost City Of The Jungle. Of course the good guys win they always do.
I felt sorry for Lionel Atwill though. Dying of cancer and having problems getting roles after the sex party scandal in his home came to light, it's a shame that this was what he had to go out on. Not as bad as his colleague Errol Flynn whom he supported in Captain Blood with Cuban Rebel Girl, but not worthy of his talents.
Serials themselves are thank God, a lost art form, Lost City Of The Jungle is no better or worse than others that I've seen.
Stock Footage Yawner
verbusen22 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I set up my DVR to record whatever Lionel Atwill was in. It was interesting that he died when about half of this was filmed and he had a body double in for the rest. I didn't make it that far to see because after watching the first episode I have surmised that watching anymore would be a big waste of time. Its full of stock footage and extended shots of model airplanes. When the one plane crashed and the occupants didn't move from their seats it seemed really stupid. At least in a The Phantom Creeps or King of the Rocket Men type serials there are some cool gadgets involved to keep my interest but this just has stock footage from silent films and lame model airplanes crashing. 4 out of 10, only for die hard serial watchers and Lionel Atwill completists.
"Some people Professor are like your hieroglyphics. You can never be sure about them"
hwg1957-102-26570426 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Set in the Himalayan realm of Pendrang some villains are looking for an element that will offer protection from atomic warfare (!) but on their trail are Rod Stanton and Tal Shan, agents of the United Peace Foundation. Not a good serial, partly because the great Lionel Atwill as Sir Eric Hazarias was unwell when it was being filmed so sometimes there is an obvious stand-in for him and sometimes his absence is covered by inferior villain Malborn played weakly by John Mylong. Also Russell Hayden as Stanton is quite boring. Fortunately there is Keye Luke as Tal Shan who should have been the main lead as he is bright, charming and resourceful.
There is not much of a story and there is a lot of repetitious dialogue. Of course in serials one needs reminding of previous chapters but it is very noticeable how much things are repeated over and over again. So it just becomes dull. There aren't that many fights to liven up proceedings either. Apart from the occasional appearance of Lionel Atwill and the presence of Keye Luke there is not much to recommend in this Universal serial.
There is not much of a story and there is a lot of repetitious dialogue. Of course in serials one needs reminding of previous chapters but it is very noticeable how much things are repeated over and over again. So it just becomes dull. There aren't that many fights to liven up proceedings either. Apart from the occasional appearance of Lionel Atwill and the presence of Keye Luke there is not much to recommend in this Universal serial.
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