Blonde Savage (1947)

Simply A Masterpiece

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

On a very good St Clair Vision DVD, comes Blonde Savage (1947). in which the most beautiful opera singer in the world, namely Gale Sherwood (who needless to say never had a decent singing part in any of the eight films she made in Hollywood - except maybe her first, way back in 1939), is cast in the title role! The rest of the players, with the exceptions, of course, of villainous Douglass Dumbrille and super siren, Veda Ann Borg, are a write-off, most particularly Frank Jenks as the hero's platitudinous buddy. At least director Steve Sekely manages to keep the movie really moving for its welcome but brief 59 minutes, despite persistent attempts at sabotage from Mr Jenks. William Sickner's unexpectedly glossy photography also rates top marks.

This dull, low-budget, black & white Poverty Row potboiler set in untamed Hollywood studio replicas of the Dark Continent pits a happy-go-lucky aviator against a murderous millionaire diamond mine owner. The contrived and predictable plot concerns a double-murder in the past and the sensational subject matter of a white woman who serves as a princess for an African tribe. You know that you are in trouble when the footage of a water buffalo tangling with a python wrapped around its neck is more exciting than any of the shenanigans in the story. The performances are pretty solid with Leif Erickson relishing the role of the hero while dismissing the idea that he could be a hero. Douglass Dumbrille makes a first-rate villain, and his crisp dialogue delivery and body language make him appear quite sinister.Penniless pilot Steve Blake (Leif Erickson of "Invaders from Mars") and his co-pilot Hoppy Owens (Frank Jenks of "Christmas in Connecticut") hear about a flying job that pays $25-hundred dollars. Mine owner Mark Harper (Douglass Dumbrille of "World for Ransom") hires them to find a village and a tribe that has been a thorn in his side. Blake smells something fishy in Harper's request. Harper explained that he doesn't want to start a war with the local tribes. Instead, he wants to make peace with them. Nevertheless, Blake suspects Harper's motives particularly because a man of Harper's prominence could whistle up government troops. When Blake and Hoppy arrive at Harper's house, they notice that armed guards patrol the estate. No sooner has the red-blooded Blake shown up than he encounters an old flame, Connie (Veda Ann Borg of "Mildred Pierce") that once he ran around with five years ago. Connie is married now to Mark Harper. She hates her new life, cooped up in an estate in the middle of nowhere with nowhere for her to go and spend money. Harper is a jealous man and he doesn't trust Connie. Our heroes fly out the next morning, but they develop engine trouble and have to set down. No sooner are they back on the ground than they are surrounded by spear wielding warriors with bones in their noses and suspicion in their eyes. The biggest surprise in store for our heroes in the blonde goddess named Meelah who leads the small native tribe. Gale Sherwood plays the eponymous heroine. She was saved from murderous whites by a tribesman. Since her rescue, she has grown up in the jungle, somewhat like Tarzan. During the three weeks that Blake and Hoppy spend with Meelah, Blake teaches Meelah and Tonga (Ernest Whitman of "Congo Maisie") some rudimentary English, enough to facilitate interpersonal communication. Eventually, Tonga and Meelah show Blake a locket with Meelah's deceased mother and father and a diary that contains background information about the Comstock family. Joe Comstock (John Dehner of "The Left Handed Gun") owned the mine and needed an engineer. He hired Harper and Harper hired Berger (Matt Willis of "The Mysterious Doctor") as his right-hand man. Comstock, his wife Mary (Cay Forrester of "Queen of the Amazons"), and their young daughter were camping out in the wild on an expedition to the mine. Harper orders Berger to kill both parents in cold blood. When Blake and Hoppy return three weeks later, Harper is doubly suspicious. Indeed, he gets the drop of Blake when Meelah breaks into Harper's house. Meelah jealously tries to stab Connie. Blake helps Meelah escape by disarming one of Harper's guards. Harper surprises them and disarms Blake. Harper has Berger give Blake and a thorough beating with the fists to persuade him to reveal the whereabouts of the native village. Hoppy cannot stand to watch as Blake is pummeled by the sadistic Berger. Hoppy points out on the map where the village is located. Harper turns our heroes over to one of his trusted guards, Stony (Art Foster of "The Verdict"), and they lock them up in a jail cell underneath Harper's house. Harper and Berger launch an expedition to attack Meelah's village. Meanwhile, Connie and Harper has patched up their relationship. Nevertheless, Connie decides to help Blake escape. She slips them a knife and shoves Stone against the jail bars. Our heroes escape, crank up the plane and fly out to warn Meelah. Initially, Meelah wants nothing to do with Blake after she catches lover boy in Connie's arms. Paul Bache penned the original story and screenplay and must have been inspired by the legendary Edgar Rice Burroughs character Tarzan because the heroine and her parents strive to survive in the jungle. "Revenge of the Zombies" director Steve Seeley depicts the confrontational elements of the story in flashbacks among scenes set in a barrister's office. This is about as sophisticated as this lackluster yarn gets and feminist scholars will come away with nothing worthy of documentation from this harmless little frolic. The barrister's office is across the street from the police station. Blake rushes in at lunch and confronts the barrister and tells his tale of woe. He claims that he is ready to kill Harper if Harper is turned loose. The Alpha DVD is pretty rugged, with excerpts from dialogue missing.

Low budget jungle adventure. A brief 62 minute escape and quite predictable. Leif Erickson and his transport co-pilot buddy Frank Jenks crash land in the jungle in hopes of surveying a diamond mine. While working for the mine owner Douglass Dumbrille, the two fliers encounter a savage jungle tribe. To their astonishment a blonde white woman (Gale Sherwood)rules as a goddess being raised since infancy by the tribe. It turns out that the "blonde savage" is the daughter of the mine owner's murdered partner. So it is destination stateside to see if justice prevails; or will someone get away with murder. Other players: John Dehner, James Logan, Ernest Whitman and the alluring Veda Ann Borg.

Well, it isn't Citizen Kane, but it is a fun B picture. Don't expect anything original here, but if you want a fun, relaxing evening without many demands on your gray matter this is a great film to watch. The girls are cute the guys are strong and manly, and the chemistry is there. This is essentially a film about basic emotions and urges. Strong, handsome guy meets lovely, active girl who needs help, He responds with manly vigor. She responds with feminine charm and attraction. Attraction is mutual and he does the right thing, winning the girl and the prize. It is all an old, old story but one we seem to enjoy, because it forms the basis of most films. The thing that makes this enjoyable is that the urges ring true on the screen, You like the characters and you want it all to happen, but there are just enough thrills to keep you interested and wondering if it will come out the way you hope. Taken for what it is, this film is very good. So get out the chips or whatever else it is that you like to munch, get comfy on the couch and enjoy.