Naked Jungle

Rating:
Summary: "20 miles long ,2 miles wide......Marabuta!"
Review: Another film on the "It should have been on dvd already" list. This
is again fine vintage entertainment that still holds up thru repeat
viewings.

Based on the novel "Lanlogen and the ants" Charlton Heston stars as
the main character a plantation owner whose roots go further in the
ground than any of trees in the amazon, who has cut all ties to the
civilized world outside his. That is until "made to order" bride to
be Eleanor Parker shows up on his step. Prim,Proper and intelligent
& a mind of her own, she is not at all what he expected his brother
to send to him form New Orleans. To say more would spoil the show

I will tell if your screamish about ants (That's Marabuta in this
neck of the woods) then prepare yourself for millions of them as
they threaten to destroy everything in thier path leaving nothing
but "The naked jungle"

A great film with just the right amount of romance and adventure
Heston has never been brutal and Parker never more beautiful and
William Conrad in a good supporting role. Paramount's VHS tape is
the only to watch this gem for the moment,It has a fairly decent
picture and sound quality but (excuse the pun) I'm itching to get
my hands on the dvd when it finally comes out.

Rating:
Summary: Top-notch thriller is a hidden gem
Review: Exciting drama-horror film about a South American planter who faces death and destruction from deadly soldier ants. The swarming Marabunda, as the ants are called, cover an area ten miles long and two miles wide and are the scourge of South American jungles, sweeping everything before them. Leiningen, the plantation owner, ignores warnings by the commissioner to abandon his acres of coffee and chocolate and makes preparations to fend off his intelligent, relentless foe. The ants are about two inches in length with razor-sharp mandibles and devour plants and trees in their path and even fierce jungle predators such as jaguars, wild hogs and tapirs flee before the voracious insects.

Another plot narrative is the marital discord between Leiningen [Charlton Heston] and his mail-order bride [Eleanor Parker]. Desiring a wife with whom to share his vast jungle holdings, Leiningen marries a woman by proxy from New Orleans and is displeased to discover that she is a widow, and has known men. The Leiningens clash repeatedly until the planter softens in his attitude towards his bride. Mrs. Leiningen stays by her husband's side and they and his plantation workers band together to turn aside the savage Marabunda.

Rating:
Summary: fire ants and fiery hearts
Review: Set in 1901 in the Amazon jungle, this fabulous "Insect Feature" has excellent special effects and atmosphere, with Charlton Heston as a mucho macho man who is at war with the dreaded marabunta, the killer red ants who threaten to take over his plantation. He is also at war with his heart, as he tries to stay aloof to his mail order bride from New Orleans, the beautiful Eleanor Parker. Parker is cool as a mint julep in her Edith Head gowns, and tough enough to stand by her man; the chemistry between them sizzles, and they look so very fine together.
William Conrad is also good as the Commissioner, as he warns them to escape the billions of approaching ants which are "forty square miles of agonizing death !".

One of the best things about this film is the soundtrack by Daniele Amfitheatrof, which owes a lot to Stravinsky and Darius Milhaud, and is perfect in the way it underscores the dialogue, and accentuates the action. It's really worth just listening to this film once, to fully appreciate the music and the sound effects.
Ernest Lazlo's Techicolor cinematography is marvelous, and the Byron Haskin direction fast paced, with Heston doing most of his own stunts, which included having those nasty ants crawling on him.
Some of this film is quite exciting, some of it hilarious, and it's always extremely entertaining, and is the absolute best of the bug genre films.
As the ants bare the jungle, Eleanor tries to bare Chuck's soul...will she succeed ? watch this superb jungle romance and find out !
Total running time is 95 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining little known adventure film
Review: The Naked Jungle is a surprisingly likeable movie. From the title, one either believes it's an erotic film or a comedy, both of which it is neither. The film is actually a mixture of romance and adventure, along with some doses of action and suspense and the combination is well done.

Eleanor Parker stars as Joanna Leinengen, a strong-willed, beautiful, and independent young woman who has been married via mail to Christopher Leinengen, played by Charlton Heston. He owns and lives in his plantation in South America so she travels by boat from the United States to meet him for the very first time. When she arrives, they don't get off to a very good start and Christopher ignores quite a bit and treats her without respect. However, as the time goes by romantic feelings begin to develop between them. But a problem is beginning to grow in the jungle. A 20 mile long, 2 mile wide line of soldier ants is headed for Christopher's plantation and is devouring everything in its path. Now, Christopher and Joanna must think quickly and defend their home from the tiny predators.

I honestly had no idea what this movie was about when I popped it into the VCR. It's truly a pleasant surprise as the romance in the film is well done with a lot of chemistry between Parker and Heston. Each deliver superb performances.

There's a switch in tone nearly 2/3's the way through this movie (it's 96 minutes long without end credits), from romance/drama to action/adventure and suspense when the ants begin to invade. The developing tension is taut and fast paced. One might get the feeling that a movie with this kind of plot might be rather cheesy but that's not the case with The Naked Jungle. Every moment is well-executed with competent direction and a good script to boot. For jungle adventure and romance, The Naked Jungle is a fine choice.