Finally The Third

THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE-1945-A scientist named Mr. Stendal (not Dr.) (Otto Kruger) brings a rabbit back to life through his new type of blood transfusion. Later his henchman Moloch (Rondo Hatton) kills a morgue attendant and steals the body of the now deceased Paula the ape woman. Detective Harrigan (Jerome Cowan) suspects Stendal's young assistant Dan Young (Phil Brown) who's engaged to Stendal's nurse Anne Forrester (Amelita Ward). Obviously mad, Stendal brings Paula back to life with the unwilling help of Anne who supplies her blood. “Don't be a fool. We're scientists, not sentimentalists!”. Paula escapes, kills a dog and Stendal has to control her with a whip. He turns her back into Paula DePuree (now played by Vicky Lane) but she's semi-catatonic. Despite not being a surgeon Stendal plans to put Ann's brain into Paula's head but Moloch has fallen for Ann. Stendal tells him: “No offense Moloch, but with that face you're not exactly a Casa-nova”. When Paula wanders away, Moloch tries to locate his boss and Paul becomes suspicious. He follows Moloch to their hideout where Moloch turns against Stendal and is shot and killed for his efforts. Paula reverts into an ape and kills Stendal. But before she can kill Anne, Harrigan arrives and shoots her.

Another unnecessary sequel to the “Paula, the ape woman” series started in 1943 with CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN and followed by JUNGLE WOMAN in 1944. It's not very good though not very long. It just seems like an excuse to bring Paula back to life just so she could be killed off again!

Vicky Lane was in only 6 movies in her brief career (plus one TV appearance). Her first husband was Tom Neal (DETOUR). Phil Brown was in many character and bit roles and much later on became a TV director. Director Harold Young also directed THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1942).

Of course once again I kind of screwed up and forgot all about this third installment. I reviewed the first two years ago!

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2015/08/

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2016/04/ape-sequel.html

Thanks for reading anyway!

The Crime Doctor

THE CRIME DOCTOR'S COURAGE-1945-Warner Baxter starred in a series of 10 features (from 1943-49) playing Dr. Robert Ordway, "the crime doctor", formerly a criminal who suffers amnesia and turns good. It began life on radio and unlike many of these "whodunnit" series at the same time Ordway isn't usually a suspect in the investigation. 

In "Courage" Ordway investigates the murder of a man who's two previous wives died under mysterious circumstances. Hilary Brooke plays almost wife #3. Two Spanish dancers seem to be vampires. The man is played by usual tough guy Anthony Curuso and his wife is played by Lupita Tovar (who was in the 1931 Spanish version of DRACULA; still alive at the time of this writing).


Baxter is engaging as the doc and it's a well done as far as "quickies" are concerned but a final shootout where two characters fire point blank at each other and miss several times is pretty dumb. Jerome Cowan is on hand to help out. Emory Parnell is a police inspector. Director George Sherman started out doing westerns and made THE LADY AND THE MONSTER in 1944 (the first version of "Donovan's Brain"). He made many more low budget films before going into TV.

Thanks for reading!