Queen of the Amazons (1946) User Reviews

Some old fashion brain fodder.

[FranklinTV · 5/10 · 17 October 2004]

It called Queen of the Amazons, its in black & white, and its shot in 1947. You should know exactly what you are about to watch.

And if you watch to the end, you get to see a wonderfully bad stunt double replacement. In fact, one suspects on the day of shooting, they realized the mistake of booking two stunt doubles for the hero, and none for the baddie, but we still went ahead anyway with the shoot.

OK - there is lots of stock footage, and plenty of time devoted to filming tricks performed by the monkey and bird, and any logic test would fail the plot; yet, its not a 'bad' film.

I strangely enjoyed Queen of the Amazons, its much like the comfy Saturday afternoon black and white films I use to watch on TV 25yrs ago - it has a secret appeal to the 12 year old inside. It has a good pace, which stops you dwelling too long on the improbable of how they managed to justify the next piece of stock footage, or that the lion attacks involve the person holding onto the lion so he doesn't get away.

But, I think my main reason for enjoying this was Patrica Morison; the feeling you are watching someone who is better than the material she has been given, but still gives the best within crippling limitations.

I saw this on the TreeLine 50 SciFi DVD boxset - - so, invite a few like minded friends over for drinks and nibbles, sit back, and enjoy some old fashion brain fodder.

Good fun for cheapie movie fans

[apkat · 4/10 · 2 August 2004]

Queen of the Amazons is an ambitious low-budget hoot.

Because the production staff tried to make the most of its resources, it's actually for the most part a reasonably paced film with plenty of fun things to see behind the director's curtain. You get silly dialogue, narration written after the movie was shot, a boom mike dropping into view, an artsy silhouetted villain, the sharpshooting female lead who is suddenly helpless with a gun when her beloved is being attacked, and acres of stock footage.

It appears that large portions of the film were written around the most interesting stock footage they could find, both in India and Africa. The Indian stuff is unnecessary to the plot, other than they had the neat footage, or so it seems. But watching them try to write around all of the unrelated (but somewhat intriguing) material is great fun.

The climactic fight scene has one of the most delightfully difficult-to-follow brawls I've ever seen, because the villain looks nothing like his stunt double and looks an awful lot like the other stunt double! Time and again they cut in to a closeup with the regular actors and I was surprised, thinking that the villain was the other guy in the long shots!

There are a couple of unique characterizations as well mixed in among the cliché's, including the Queen herself, a low-key 40s starlet with an accent, and a pre-beat period poetry-spouting cook.

The trained animals are quite good and have a bit of fun footage, including a playful tiger who does a couple of great romps on some stunt doubles.

I saw this movie as part of the 50 Sci Fi(!) Classics DVD collection from Treeline, which is a low-budget and IMDb low-rated movie fan's dream.

Enjoy!

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Amazon Queendom

[mstomaso · 4/10 · 8 April 2007]

One of Edward Finney's most well-known films, Queen of the Amazons is the story of a young woman (Patricia Morison), her guide, father-in-law, an absent minded professor, a cook and a man scorned who all go on safari to hunt down her missing fiancé. The film includes a number of subplots ranging from the romance to murder mystery, and somehow, it is all linked up to illegal ivory smuggling. The safari, inexplicably, launches from colonial India, and the search takes up more than half the story.

Most of the story is driven by transitional scenes between stock footage of African wildlife, jungle scenery and well-acted action scenes including animal attacks. The script, which takes on the responsibility for drawing everything together and driving it along, is not really up to the task. Dialog is used to establish virtually everything the stock footage can not. Besides the bland camera-work, the often laughable stock footage, and the over-taxed script, the directing and editing are good. There are a few continuity errors, but not as many as some reviewers have claimed. After all, this is Queen of the Amazons (who were written about by ancient Greeks 1500 years before Europeans arrived in South America) not "Queen of the Amazon" (a river named after the Greek stories). One, however, is worth watching out for. Pat Morison is examining some stock footage of African Savannah animals running away through binoculars. Just as she says "why are they running away so fast?" we see a herd of gazelles in the binoculars - running in very slow motion.

The cast performs very well given the limitations of the script and story. The only acting disasters belong to the nevertheless likable Amira Moustafa (who had a remarkably short career). Many of the other actors were veteran character actors, or on their ways to becoming so.

What the film fails to do, despite a fairly strong effort, is to generate any sense of drama or urgency. Nevertheless, it is not a complete mess, and the stock footage is actually quite nice!

not totally awful

[robcat2075 · 2 September 2007]

I've noticed several reviewers' exasperation at the "amazon" in the title as if it were a great mistake that the movie is not set in the Amazon Jungle.

It should be pointed out that "amazon" is a term from ancient myth which does not originate from the Amazon River in South America. It refers to a legendary tribe of women called "amazons". The river in South America is actually named after that legend, apparently some explore thought he saw some women there who fit that description.

But if you like Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies, this is not a bad substitute. I especially like the trained crow. After some recent research findings into the intelligence of crows, it's tricks are quite plausible. Maybe more plausible than some of the human performances.

Queen of the Amazons and Stock Footage

[Mike-764 · 2/10 · 20 December 2004]

Jean Preston travels with her intended father-in-law, friend Wayne Monroe, and a milquetoast professor to the Middle East to find her fiancé who disappeared when his safari was attacked. Jean's movements are shadowed which leads to the death of a native who knows where and what purpose the safari was to meet. She learns he was last seen at a point in Africa and plans to trek into the jungle with guide Gary Lambert (who resents traveling with a woman in the jungle) and a cook Gabby. Lambert also takes the journey since the safari was searching for ivory poachers and after being attacked, Wayne is mysteriously killed, and the safari is led off course on occasions,and Jean later begins to suspect someone into the troupe is sabotaging the traveler's efforts. Eventually the safari makes its way to the village where Greg (Jean's fiancé) is, which is an all white woman group, the only survivors of a shipwreck, and Greg and Zita, chief of the Amazonian tribe, have fallen in love. Will Jean be able to cope, as well as survive, with the safari attacks by a hostile group of natives led by the mysterious leader? The movie started off well with nice mysterious angles to the story, but after the 12 minute mark, it turned into every minute of new footage is three of stock footage, which rarely matched what was being filmed and served no purpose but to pad the film (and unintentionally bore the audience). The script was predictable, the mystery villain was sure simple to figure, acting wooden, and has an ending to make anyone groan. Rating, based on B movies, 2.

No Point Really

[Hitchcoc · 2/10 · 7 April 2006]

I got this in a science fiction collection. I kept waiting for some technological or science oriented event to take place. This is a bad jungle movie. That's it. It's about a group of people who go to Africa to find some guy who disappeared during a safari into the bush. His fiancée is with the group. She gets to go along because of the way she handles a gun. We are led to believe that the women in this movie are formidable and capable. One can out shoot the male lead. However, when faced with danger, they shrink back and scream. The Amazon Queen is the same way. She has built a society in the jungle, showing no mercy at times, but when it comes time to confront the villain, all she can do is plaster herself against a wall and howl. The men are just as bad. Most of the film is stock footage from African newsreels. It allows you to get a sandwich between plot elements. At times it appears that the safari has about 400 native supply carriers. At other times they have about five. People get eaten by lions and killed with spears. A romance develops between the great white hunter and the other guy's fiancée. The evil Amazon Queen doesn't do much of anything except make idle threats. And when push comes to shove, she doesn't seem to have any power at all. What a worthless movie!

Lots of stock footage and a guy who appears to be fighting a drunk lion!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 15 October 2009]

The movie begins in India and quickly switches to Africa. A lady is looking for her fiancé who disappeared when going on safari. This is the thin plot that was created to justify the use of a bazillion feet of stock footage of African wildlife--some of which was grainy and in slow motion! In many ways, it felt and looked a lot like a second-rate Tarzan picture--that is until a bunch of White women appeared in the heart of Africa! These "Amazon women" were naturally luscious babes--complete with 1940s style perms!! I found this really easy to believe...and if you do as well, I have some oceanfront land to sell you in Iowa.

At one point in the film before they luckily stumble upon the Amazons, a member of the search party says to another something like "I think I know who the guilty party is....I'll tell you in the morning". To me and those knowledgeable in B-movies, this means "I will be killed in the next scene...it's been nice knowing you"!! And, surprise, surprise, the guy is worm food in the very next scene! Well, just after this, the Amazon queen sends word to the party that she'd like to meet them--at which point she tells them that she is in love with the missing fiancé--and he wants to stay there with her. This is fortuitous, as his fiancée who led the expedition had already shown signs of falling for their guide. Once again, what amazing luck. And, when a traitor in their midst shows himself to be the murderer and is about to have the White men killed, luck of luck, the men manage to fight back and escape! Wow, what wonderful luck....once again!! Overall, it's a typical low-budget African adventure movie--about what you'd expect. A semi-engaging plot, occasionally competent acting, silly dialog, women standing by helplessly as the men fight (this was even true of the "Amazons" much of the time--what wimpy Amazons!) and lots of cheap stock footage.

By the way, in a sad note, this bevy of White ladies have a very strong 1940s mentality about race, as the leader explains that they have talked about inviting in White men to join them--presumably because the Amazons are against interracial relations. However, it sure seems that when you live in the middle of nowhere in Africa, you can't be that choosy.

Pretty entertaining

[ebiros2 · 4/10 · 11 December 2011]

Wife looking for her husband who disappeared on a safari finds her first clue in Akbar India, which leads to another safari in Africa. Her husband turns out to be living with a white woman named Zeta in the jungle, and he's not really interested in leaving.

This low budget movie is surprising in that it really makes you feel that you're in the jungles of India and Africa. The African footages are beautiful and for that alone, this movie might be worth a watch. It also has the most scenes with tiger and lion actually wrestling a man - something we don't see n more modern movie.

Acting and the entire mood of the movie is good. It's very watchable even if the premise of the story is little unbelievable.

Although low budget, this movie is lot better than many modern fantasy movies that their artificial props takes away from the atmosphere.

What wild woman want

[Chase_Witherspoon · 5/10 · 28 July 2012]

Catchy title belies the meagre production values and soap opera rendition concerning a woman (Morison) searching for her missing fiancé (Edwards) in the unforgiving jungles of Africa. A stern voice-over narrates the picture as the actors recount their experiences through flashback, which amount to piles upon piles of stock footage. There's a few well-orchestrated animal attacks (tiger, lion) and some sexual tension between leading man Lowery and Morison, while an elusive Amazonian woman (Moustafa) and the hunt for a murderous ivory smuggler spices up the adventure.

Kudos to the animal wranglers who've done a pretty decent job with their charges, while the leads Morison and action-man Lowery, acquit their roles with melodramatic intensity. Undistinguished cast otherwise features familiar names Darby Jones in a bit part as a native chief, and Cay Forester as a leopard-skin bikini-clad maid to Moustafa, a very 'westernised' jungle monarch, but it must be acknowledged, not an especially fluent actress.

Typical jungle frolic is a spear-chucking success on a B-grade scale, and while nothing too serious, possibly earns a cult credit or two for its absurd hokum, gloriously typified by its banal closing line "wild lifestyle? .. ha, you should see our nightclubs". Cut and print.

Many lions, few amazons

[unbrokenmetal · 4/10 · 24 August 2008]

If "Queen of the Amazons" is listed among the 10 worst films of the 1940s at IMDb, I suppose it means a lot of films have been lost since then or are watched by nobody anymore. "Queen of the Amazons" is nothing particularly bad, just an average adventure flick that required plenty of archive footage of giraffes, elephants, a sinking ship etc. to fill the 60 minutes running time. "Queen of the Amazons" tells the story of a lady who looks in India for her lost fiancé. She is told "wrong continent!", because he actually went on a safari to Africa. Hey, we all make mistakes! Or maybe it was just because they also had some footage from an unfinished movie about India in the archive? Nevermind, the heroes soon continue the search in Africa, where lions attack oftentimes, but the Amazons the title promises don't matter so much. The script writer tried his best to provide some twists and turns for the story, so in the end, it wasn't as bad as the 2 out of 10 average rating made me expect.

Queen of National Geographic

[VIOlencEandpAIN · 2/10 · 29 September 2008]

Like many of the other people who might be watching this movie these days, I caught this as part of Mill Creek's "SciFi Classics" 50 Movie Pack, and no, I have no idea what this movie has to do with Science Fiction. It's really more of a safari adventure with a group of white folks in some far eastern jungle (the name of the town in the beginning is "Akbar," but damned if I know where that is; the stock footage suggests India) surrounded by overly friendly natives and other white folks. In truth, most of the natives were genuine, but only because this movie is filled with stock footage. The stock footage, in fact, takes up a large portion of this film, with narration apparently written around it detailing events that, outside of the stock footage, is never actually shown.

The movie opens with a small group of Americans showing up in the jungles of the far east, searching for one Greg Jones, son of Colonel Jones (John Milijan) and fiancé of Jean Preston (Patricia Morison). During their expedition, they hear talk of a tribe of white women, known as "white she-devils." They are thought to have some connection to the disappearance of Greg Jones, and, of course, my first thought is that Greg encountered them and figured it might be worth sticking around--you know, as the one guy in a society of women. Sounds like a pretty good deal, don't you think? Sure enough, Greg (Bruce Edwards) has gotten his hands in the pants of the tribe's leader, a rather attractive brunette named Zita (Amira Moustafa) who speaks broken English in a high-pitched, nasal voice. She sort of reminds me of Sarah Palin, to be honest.

Since Greg has taken up residence amongst Zita and the She-Devils, it seems only reasonable that Jean should submit to the proposals of another man. In this case, the other man is Gary Lambert (Robert Lowery), the expert that they brought along on their mission. Oddly enough, when Jean finds out that Greg has been getting it on with Zita, she seems fairly unconcerned; likewise, Greg doesn't really care at all that Gary has taken an interest in his ex-fiancé. This is what cinema was like in the days before Jerry Springer, I guess. By the end of the movie, Gary marries Jean, and Greg marries Zita. The whole thing is very Shakespearian, if Shakespeare had filled his plays with fighting animals and dancing African natives residing in the far east.

QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS: Honestly, if you're interested in seeing this movie, it's best to seek it out online. It can probably be found for free somewhere amongst the cyberclutter. This one is for fans of the era and the genre only...all three of them.

A great time waster

[JackMay23 · 7/10 · 22 December 2007]

I just watched this film on my computer at work (on my lunch break). What I find amazing is how a whole movie could be constructed around some African safari stock footage and still be entertaining in a junky way. The 1940's stock character actors do their best to put the plot across and for me it works as a grade B campfest. The men are either handsome and stalwart or older and rather dithering and the women look great in that 1940's glamor sort of way. I love that all the jungle amazons look like they stepped out of a Hollywood beauty parlor in full make up. The action scenes are hilariously hokey and you'll have fun pointing out the mistakes in continuity. As the way to pass an hour I prefer this kind of fun trash to some TV reality show or CSI Wherever.

So bad that it's quite entertaining

[mmillington554 · 5/10 · 29 January 2020]

A ludicrous trip through the past which says loads about race, gender, colonialism, and environmentalism, without even having meant to. As an historical document about cultural norms in the late 1940s it is fascinating.

True, the film is bad in just about every respect - daft story, patchy acting, huge amounts of stock footage to pad it out, plot full of holes - but it is so bad that it kept my interest all the way through.

Don't judge too harshly - it's not entirely bad

[hung_fao_tweeze · 31 December 2004]

Heck! It was different time altogether. What made for excitement in 1947 is merely amusing, boring, or fascinating depending on your attitude towards films and movies.

I watched it. I enjoyed it despite the amazing plot holes. The first thing you will note that the movie takes place mostly in Africa even though the Amazon is in South America. Oh, but this is about a strange white women's tribe living the jungle so they must be Amazons. Oh, and the white women's tribe is mysterious in its nature even though the origin is very well known and no-one ever decided to go rescue the survivors of the shipwreck. I can't figure it out so it is best not to try.

Stock footage runs amok. It doesn't always match or even come close in the continuity of details department or even in film granularity. One hilarious example occurs when the lead actress looks through a telescope at the wildlife and notes how they are all in a hurry. Then we are treated to stock footage of a herd of gazelles jumping away - in slow-mo. Ha ha! We must have been shown footage of 5 or 6 different tribes of people which were lumped together in this film to represent one tribe. We even were privy to stock footage of trees which are not native to Africa - but there they are growing on the landscape. It's pretty awkward but no-one probably noticed in 1947. That wasn't the point back, I suppose. This movie is here to entertain or fill time. It does both.

The acting is surprisingly competent enough by most although there seemed to be an abundance of inappropriate smiling, especially by the lead actress who gets a good share of close-ups. Yeah, she's pretty. But for a woman who has lost her fiancé to the jungle she just doesn't seem very upset. She is simply determined to go on with the safari even though her feelings for her fiancé are seriously challenged by another man in her party.

Meanwhile, her fiancé has fallen for the 'Amazon' queen but has decided to be a rat and not tell anyone. Apparently he thought no-one would care if he simply vanished along with the rest of his earlier safari party.

Meanwhile the Amazonians get the blame for all the mysterious deaths in the region. They are determined to remain secret and keep their territory safe from outsiders - except for the one lone male which the Queen keeps for herself. Considering how awesome this tribe of white women must be since they can overwhelm a safari without much problem - you never see more than 3 of the white women tribe. In fact, they put up no defense whatsoever during the eventual incursions into their camp by the antagonists - except for a well-timed blowgun incident.

Meanwhile the Queen says she will kill to keep her man but we can still be friends. Huh?? Others have noted and I will reinforce - this is not a movie to get all serious about. These are the movies I saw when I was young and it is really quite lame - but still it has a charm. It tries to be fun and succeeds a few times.

The ending moans and groans. But at least it's happy and doesn't set you up for a sequel.

Rainy day fodder when you are not so critical. Bring a pillow.

Unintentionally funny romp

[Martin-E-Brannan · 5/10 · 2 March 2022]

Enjoyable in an unintentionally funny sort of way. The action is so silly, one wonders if there was ever a time it was considered exciting. The acting is ... wooden, but this just adds to the unintentional humor. If you're looking for a classic, this ain't it, but there are worse ways to waste an hour.

"It's too late. The natives are rising already"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 4/10 · 29 September 2022]

There is an awful lot of stock footage in this film, some of it is quite pleasant to look at of course portraying India and Africa, but that leaves less time for the actual plot which is a woman Jean Preston going into the jungle to look for her fiance Greg Jones, accompanied by the latter's father, an eccentric professor, a cook Gabby who is obviously the villain (he quotes poetry) and a guide Gary Lambert who doesn't like woman on safaris. They eventually encounter Zita, the Queen of the Amazons. In the end Jean marries Gary and Greg marries Zita and Gabby gets shot with a poison dart from an Amazon's blowpipe. All in all not that exciting.

Not Good Not Bad

[januszlvii · 5/10 · 23 August 2022]

I watched Queen Of The Amazon's yesterday and it was not bad ( it was also not good either). The best thing spoilers ahead:,unexpected ending where Gary and Jean and. Greg and Amazon Queen Zita get married and go leave Africa. Usually one of the women loses this time they both win, so itc as a nice twist. The problems are getting through the rest of the movie, and not enough of Zita who is much hotter then Jean ( no wonder Greg chose her over his fiancé Jean). Again 5/10 stars not good not bad.

Amazons in Africa?

[jlefort · 3/10 · 8 May 2006]

While it brought back memories of a Saturday matinée, after seeing this on DVD I asked myself now that I'm much older, did it mention "Amazons" anywhere in the film? Or for that matter "Amazon Queen"? -- I think they called her the White Goddess. Were there any Amazons, besides the title's maid, if you then count that as two? And doesn't it take place in Africa when it should be in South America? Did all this escape the screenwriter? This movie is obviously aimed at kids. But parents should have a little talk about geography and mythology after viewing this with them. Maybe that's a good thing. Anyhow, you can see why I gave it a 3.

Journey to the Land of Stock Footage

[richardchatten · 5/10 · 20 May 2017]

The title 'Queen of the Amazons' with Patricia Morison led me to hope that Morison (who recently celebrated her 102nd birthday) would be in the title role, but alas no. She's playing Jean Preston, looking for her missing fiancé somewhere in the Dark Continent, where she trades in her fetching forties suits for a fetching pair of jodhpurs and riding boots and her party eventually encounters the amazons promised by the title.

In support are veterans J.Edward Bromberg (first seen reciting 'Three Fishers' by Charles Kingsley to his pet monkey) and John Miljan, who serves as the film's narrator. About half the film consists of stock footage (some of which I recognised from Martin & Osa Johnson's 'Simba: King of the Beasts' [1928]), and the film actually does a pretty good job of integrating the actors into the actuality scenes.

Ironically it's when we finally meet the tribe of "white she-devils" that the film loses its grip; and despite all their build-up both Jean (having earlier shown herself to be a crack shot with a six-shooter) and Queen Zita (equally deadly with a bow & arrow) both prove disappointingly useless when they actually find themselves confronted with a crisis. The day is instead saved by Zita's blonde handmaiden Sugi (Cay Forester), whose quick thinking in grabbing a blowpipe and killing the villain should have resulted in Zita abdicating in her favour, and instead doing Sugi's hair from now on.

Little Pieces of Action, Romance and Mystery

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 7 March 2013]

Although I found this movie to be enjoyable, I must say that it has its share of flaws. To that end, except for possibly Patricia Morison (as "Jean Preston") the acting wasn't very good. Likewise, the dialogue was cheap and the humor was really corny. Additionally, there was so much stock footage that I thought I was watching a documentary at times. Along with that there were obvious cuts made which caused the film to seem rather choppy at times. Be that as it may, as I mentioned earlier I still enjoyed it for no other reason than the fact that it was a good story which had little pieces of action, romance and mystery all rolled up into one. Also the fact that Patricia Morison was kind of pretty certainly didn't hurt either. In any case, while this film definitely could have been much better, overall suppose I have no major complaints with it and I rate the film as only slightly below average.

Ebony and Ivory

[wes-connors · 2/10 · 7 February 2010]

"Join us on a woman's thrill-packed expedition in search of Greg, the love of her life, who seems to be lost in the African jungle. Unfortunately, her guide, Gary, sees her, and all women, as dead weight on such a trip. Despite this, he agrees to help her while searching for ivory poachers. In the course of their journey they must face imminent danger from man-eating lions and a plague of locusts. Eventually, they encounter a lost tribe of Amazon warriors. Is Greg held captive by their desirable 'White Goddess' (titular Queen) or is he there of his own free will?" asks the DVD sleeve synopsis. You won't care.

Some of the zealously inserted stock footage isn't bad, but it's edited in too sloppily to have any good effect. Leading players Robert Lowery (as Gary Lambert) and Patricia Morison (as Jean Preston) are about as good as you can get, considering the material; they appear to see the humor in the material, without breaking into fits of laughter. A couple of the supporting players appear to be taking their roles far too seriously, which helps make the movie unintentionally funny. Former silent child star Wesley Barry is credited as "Assistant Director," which became a moderately successful second career.

** Queen of the Amazons (1/15/47) Edward Finney ~ Robert Lowery, Patricia Morison, J. Edward Bromberg, John Miljan

One of the so bad its good flicks

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 26 June 2004]

A woman tries to locate her fiance who is missing somewhere in the jungle.

This is a movie to make strong men go slack jawed and wide eyed. At least half its running time is stock footage only some of which matches the studio shot footage (or even other bits of stock footage). The narration is so out of touch with reality as to make one wonder was the author in on the script meetings. Its truly an amazing film.

To give you an idea, the film begins with the search starting in India, for no logical reason. It then switches to Africa and goes on from there, where bits of plot from India come into play, like the native uprising in India affecting the natives in the African Jungle, or the shadowy presence trying to stop the search.

At least it moves. There's good action, and the actors are game if nothing else.

Is it worth watching?

Yes. The film at least is trying to do something for its running time. Inept film making aside the only flaw is a long passage toward the end where its just people talking. It doesn't last long and before long there's a great big fight.

On the purely enjoyable scale I give it seven out of ten.Perfect for a rainy day when you want to laugh at something.

For men must work and women must weep

[sol1218 · 4/10 · 26 March 2009]

(Some Spoilers) The movie "Queen of the Amazons" takes place not in the Amazon Basin in the jungles of South America but in darkest Africa's lion and elephant country. As for the fierce and feared, by the natives in the region, Amazon women warriors there about as threatening as the women on HBO's "Sex and the City" and as far as I could see-or count- there was only two of them in the entire movie.

The movie actually begins in India where Jean Preston is looking for her husband, or is it fiancée, Greg who was lost on a tiger hunting safari a month earlier. As it turns out Greg ended up in Africa where he was taken prisoner by a group of woman Amazon Warriors lead by their leader the fearless and beautiful Queen Zita. With the switch in locations, from India to Africa, we get to see lots of stock footage of life in the wild as well as natives doing their thing in dance routines body piercing and an amazing, all caught on camera, lion hunt where the natives take on the king of beasts with nothing more then spears and arrows!

To spice the story up a bit we have Greg working undercover for the local authorities to infiltrate and smash a contraband ring dealing with ivory tusks. Greg ends up-being the only man around- becoming Queen Zita's lover which greatly, after she finds that fact out from the Queen herself, upsets his fiancée Jean Preston. The real hero of the movie turns out to be Great White Hunter Gary Lambert who together with his friend and five star chief, or cook, Gabby leads the expedition into the jungle to find Greg.

Gary soon realizes that there's a traitor-who's working for the illegal ivory smugglers-in his group that includes, besides Gabby, Greg's father Col. Jones this nutty professor & friend of the Preston family Wayne Monroe. Gary as well as the films director also realizes, in the movie really going nowhere fast, that he has to find out who the traitor is before the entire movie audience falls asleep from boredom!

Well you can say the movie did pick up in the final minutes with Gary & Co. having it out with the contraband ring and the person behind it, after he came out in the open, getting his just deserts; A poison dart shot from a blowgun by the other Amazon-besides Queen Zita-in the movie. As death was quickly overtaking him the guy-the traitor- still had to go on reciting his awful poetry that besides those of us watching had even the wild animals, like monkeys and exotic birds, going nuts!

Campy with Compensations

[dougdoepke · 23 August 2013]

A safari travels from India to darkest Africa to rescue a survivor from the clutches of the legendary amazon women. Along the way, however, the travelers are plagued by a mysterious murderer.

From the title, I was expecting 60-minutes of pure camp. Instead I got about 15 and those come at the end, mainly with Amira Moustafa as Zita, the amazon queen. The trouble is she's got to be one of the worst actresses I've heard in a while, even if she's all kinds of eye candy in that tight wrap-around sarong. No wonder she only had three movies. But what's the delectably fine actress Morrison doing in a z-grade production like this. She had such an erratic career, yo-yoing between prestige and programmers.

Z-grade or not, I did enjoy the lengthy stock shots of the real Africa, the wild animals and natives on the savanna. Actually, the cheapo production did a pretty good job blending exterior studio shots with the stock footage. Then there's the poetry spouting Bromberg who adds a colorfully creepy element, while Lowery, a veteran of low-grade horror, lends an energetic touch when he could have just walked through.

On the whole, the campy title tells a lot, but there are unexpected compensations.

"Well, you wanted jungle, from here on you've got it."

[classicsoncall · 3/10 · 9 March 2006]

The fact that nothing about this movie makes any sense is what also gives it it's dubious charm. I have to say the movie's opening had a pretty decent hook with the elephant procession in Akbar, India, while a pretty but demure Indian girl held out the hope of a mysterious adventure. Once on safari though, things take a downhill turn as wildlife stock footage threatens to overtake the main story, easily eating up a third of the film.

Even the movie's title, "Queen of the Amazons" turns out to be a contradiction, as the main story plays out in Africa. In retrospect, the action could have taken place in South America just as easily, but then the film would be making a concession to at least one plot point. After all the intrigue inspired by talk of bad voodoo surrounding the jungle white goddess/she devil, it's almost comical to observe the Amazon Queen Zita (Amira Moustafa) coochie cooing with her boyfriend Greg Jones (Bruce Edwards). Greg never bothered to get in touch with his fiancée about a change in plans, so now Jean Preston (Patricia Morison) is leading the search to find him.

Side stories abound in this clunker, as expedition guide Gary Lambert (Robert Lowery) has it bad for Jean after it was established that he considers women on safari a nuisance. There's also the identity of an ivory poacher to be revealed, which doesn't take too much to figure out. Hint, it's the cook spouting bad poetry (J. Edward Bromberg), who could have been given any kind of name besides Gabby, because after all, Gabby belongs in a Western.

By the time it's all over, you'll be pretty much standing on your head trying to sort this all out. Fearless Zita (remember that speech to Jean) screams in fright when Gabby throws a spear in her direction. The icing on the cake though is the double ring ceremony at the end of the film, with the Amazon leader proclaiming that she's ready to leave her paradise - huh? It was at that point that Greg Jones' earlier comment made a whole lot of sense to me - "Zita dear, you're quite a queen."