Lost City of the Jungle (1946)

Following the end of WWII, war-monger Sir Eric Hazarias (Lionel Atwill) sets the wheel in motion for WWIII. His search for Meteorium 245, the only practical defense against the atomic bomb, leads him to mythical Pendrang. Obstructing his sinister plan to rule the world are Rod Stanton (Russell Hayden), United Peace Foundation investigator, Tal Shan (Keye Luke), Pendrang native, and Marjorie Elmore (Jane Adams), daughter of scientist Dr. Elmore (John Eldredge), unwilling assistant to Sir Eric. Bonus Features: Scene Selections| Bios| Trailers. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 247 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA – NR; Year – 1946; SRP - $19.99.

"The Lost City of the Jungle (1946) ... 13 Exciting Chapters Vintage Serial ... VCI Home Video"

VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "Lost City of the Jungle" (1946), 13 Chapters of vintage serial episodes loaded with action packed sequences...story line involves Secret agents Russell Hayden and local guide Keye Luke wage a desperate battle in native infested Asian jungles for the secret to a rare element which can neutralize the atomic bomb...can Hayden (investigator for United Peace Foundation) stop the Lionel Atwill who is the power hungry Sir Eric Hazarias (aka London) from his scheme to rule the entire planet with a antidote known as Metorium 245 that lies in the mountains of Himalaya...who is the real power pulling the strings, is it Sir Eric or Malborn (John Mylong) who has been sitting back waiting for things to heat up...looks like Hayden and Luke have their work cut out for them right down to the final Chapter."Atomic Vengeance" ...double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...don't miss a single spine-thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter.

Under director's Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor, executive producer Morgan B. Cox, associate producer Joseph O'Donnell, original screenplay by Joseph F. Poland, Paul Huston and Tom Gibson, music score by Hans J. Salter, Frank Skinner, Paul Sawtell and Milton Rosen...the cast include Russell Hayden (Rod Stanton), Jane Adams (Marjorie Elmore), Lionel Atwill (Sir Eric Hazarias/London), Keye Luke (Tal Shan), Helen Bennett (Indra), John Miljan (Dr. Gaffron), John Eldredge (Dr. Elmore), John Gallaudet (Prof. Grebb), Ted Hecht (Doc Harris), John Mylong (Malborn), Dick Curtis (Johnson-henchman), Gene Roth (Police Capt. Hammond), Eddie Parker (Guard on Schooner), George Lynn (Marlow), Ralph Lewis (Kurtz).......special behind the scenes note the actor Russell Hayden best known as Hopalong Cassidy's sidekick Lucky Jenkins, during the long run of "Hopalong Cassidy Series" during 1937-1941(Birth Date:6/12/1912 Chico, CA - Died: 6/09/1981 Palm Springs, CA)...also Lionel Atwill well known for his role as Inspector Krogh in "Son of Frankenstein (1939), whose artificial arm is ripped out by an iritate Frankenstein Monster (Boris Karloff), Atwill died before completing his work on "Lost City of the Jungle" (1946), his remaining scenes were completed by using a double (Birth Date: 3/01/1885 Croydon London UK - Died: Pacific Palisades, CA).....meanwhile back to the feature as Universal Pictures is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.

BIOS:
1. Russell Hayden (aka: Pate Lucid)
Date of birth: 12 June 1912 - Chico, California
Date of death: 9 June 1981 - Palm Springs, California
2. Keye Luke
Date of birth: 18 June 1904 - Guangzhou, China
Date of death: 12 January 1991 - Whittier, California
3. Lionel Atwill (aka: Lionel Alfred William Atwill)
Date of birth: 1 March 1885 - Croydon, London, England, UK
Date of death: 22 April 1946 - Pacific Palisades, California

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Himalaya Horror
2. The Death Fllod
3. Wave Length for Doom
4. The Pit of Pendrang
5. Fiery Danger
6. Death's Shining Face
7. Speedboat Missing
8. Fire Jet Torture
9. Zalabar Death Watch
10.Booby Trap Rendezvous
11.Pendrange Guillotine
12.Jungle Smash-Up
13.Atomic Vengeance

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)
5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)
8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)
9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)
11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)
13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 265 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video ~ (12/19/2006) December 22, 2006

"the King of Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ Lost City of the Jungle (1946)"

VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "Lost City of the Jungle" (1946), 13 Chapters of vintage serial episodes loaded with action packed sequences...story line involves Secret agents Russell Hayden and local guide Keye Luke wage a desperate battle in native infested Asian jungles for the secret to a rare element which can neutralize the atomic bomb...can Hayden (investigator for United Peace Foundation) stop the Lionel Atwill who is the power hungry Sir Eric Hazarias (aka London) from his scheme to rule the entire planet with a antidote known as Metorium 245 that lies in the mountains of Himalaya...who is the real power pulling the strings, is it Sir Eric or Malborn (John Mylong) who has been sitting back waiting for things to heat up...looks like Hayden and Luke have their work cut out for them right down to the final Chapter."Atomic Vengeance" ...double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...don't miss a single spine-thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter.

Under director's Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor, executive producer Morgan B. Cox, associate producer Joseph O'Donnell, original screenplay by Joseph F. Poland, Paul Huston and Tom Gibson, music score by Hans J. Salter, Frank Skinner, Paul Sawtell and Milton Rosen...the cast include Russell Hayden (Rod Stanton), Jane Adams (Marjorie Elmore), Lionel Atwill (Sir Eric Hazarias/London), Keye Luke (Tal Shan), Helen Bennett (Indra), John Miljan (Dr. Gaffron), John Eldredge (Dr. Elmore), John Gallaudet (Prof. Grebb), Ted Hecht (Doc Harris), John Mylong (Malborn), Dick Curtis (Johnson-henchman), Gene Roth (Police Capt. Hammond), Eddie Parker (Guard on Schooner), George Lynn (Marlow), Ralph Lewis (Kurtz).......special behind the scenes note the actor Russell Hayden best known as Hopalong Cassidy's sidekick Lucky Jenkins, during the long run of "Hopalong Cassidy Series" during 1937-1941(Birth Date:6/12/1912 Chico, CA - Died: 6/09/1981 Palm Springs, CA)...also Lionel Atwill well known for his role as Inspector Krogh in "Son of Frankenstein (1939), whose artificial arm is ripped out by an iritate Frankenstein Monster (Boris Karloff), Atwill died before completing his work on "Lost City of the Jungle" (1946), his remaining scenes were completed by using a double (Birth Date: 3/01/1885 Croydon London UK - Died: Pacific Palisades, CA).....meanwhile back to the feature as Universal Pictures is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Himalaya Horror
2. The Death Fllod
3. Wave Length for Doom
4. The Pit of Pendrang
5. Fiery Danger
6. Death's Shining Face
7. Speedboat Missing
8. Fire Jet Torture
9. Zalabar Death Watch
10.Booby Trap Rendezvous
11.Pendrange Guillotine
12.Jungle Smash-Up
13.Atomic Vengeance

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above...check out another release from VCI Entertainment and Columbia Pictures present "Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere" (1951) (digitally remastered), 15 Chapters.finally for the first time on video the really great Columbia Serial that broke the mold...we have everything a serial fan would want...the tinted sequences by Cinecolor and unique inventions that were unlike any other serial out there in the '50s...get out there as they're going fast, this is the one you've been waiting for.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Lost City of the Jungle" (1946), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s, '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 265 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1708 ~ (7/15/1992) October 10, 2005

Prehistoric Indiana Jones

I'm just quoting reviewers who see this serial as the precursor to Indiana Jones. Except for pleasant childhood memories of Flash Gordon, I'm usually bored with serials. The repetitive nature and exposition of serials is unintentionally funny though eventually a drag. Still, Lost City has some exciting, exotic locals and has that "Star Wars" credits and text that travels up the screen. And it stars Lionel Atwill, Key Luke, Jane Addams!Also it fully exemplifies what the TV show "Batman" was making fun of(and hence why Indiana Jones is ridiculous). I'm not a historian of serials, but if you want to watch or own only one, I recommend this one. September 27, 2001

Typical 1944-46 Universal serial

Lost City was close to being Universal's last serial effort. It is not as dull as some of their other serial efforts but it is not very good either. Very noticeable is Universal's penchant for saving money by framing their serial plots around available stock shots. In Lost City the cliffhangers for chapters 2,3 and 4 were lifted from the 1943 Maria Montez-Jon Hall epic White Savage and many more "liftings" are prevelant in other chapters. If you want an exotic serial go with "Drums of Fu Manchu", one of Republic's finest. September 18, 2001

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