BONUS: 'Mark of the Gorilla' [1950]
'Mark of the Gorilla' starts with a stock-footage-heavy scene narrating a brief history of Nature Reserves. I thought for a moment that I had discovered Jungle Jim's occupation, but no: he informs another character a few scenes later that he does not work there. My quest to uncover JJ's job continues.
So, here we have Jim caught up in a, dare I say it, entertaining adventure, albeit of the Scooby-Doo variety. Gorillas, not native to those parts, are picking off unwary travelers - but why? Jim has his suspicions, but it takes a few interesting turns before the truth is uncovered.
As swimming seems to be a regular feature of Weissmuller's films, I'm going to start noting how long it takes him to dive into the drink in this franchise. In this case, due to the Nature Reserve introduction, we have to wait a good six minutes before he gets wet, but we do have another lake scene later on.
Anyway, despite a lacklustre start, this franchise takes an unexpected upward turn with 'Mark of the Gorilla'. It's not high art, of course, but it is fun for the most part. It features Nazi war criminals, looted gold and even a princess, sparking ideas in the minds of a young Spielberg and Lucas, perhaps. Weissmuller's line delivery hasn't improved, but he gets to wrestle a cheetah, a lion and, my personal favourites, an eagle and some kind of lake serpent. The filmmakers appear to have decided by this stage in the franchise that they are making movies for kids, which is no bad thing. Despite Jim having two beautiful female companions, there is not a whiff of romance here, with the emphasis being on fist fights and shoot-outs.
The gorilla suits are hefty and vaguely realistic - not so much the masks, but they are appropriate for the film. Jim's trained crow, Caw-caw (yes, that's his name) plays a decisive role in the plot, aiding Jim at various stages, relegating poor Skipper, his little dog, to the cutesy scenes, such as biting a lion's tail and smoking a cigar. You should've had the crow's agent, kid.
At a swift 67 minutes, 'Mark of the Gorilla' doesn't have much opportunity to sag. If you are desperate to see a Jungle Jim adventure, this would be a good place to start, currently available via a poor copy on YouTube.