The Tiger Woman (1944 film)

The Tiger Woman (1944) is a 12-chapter Republic film serial starring Allan Lane and Linda Stirling (her serial debut). The serial was re-released in 1951 under the title Perils of the Darkest Jungle and, in 1966, it was edited into the 100-minute Century-66 film Jungle Gold.

The Tiger Woman
Directed bySpencer Bennet
Wallace Grissell
Produced byWilliam J. O'Sullivan
Written byRoyal Cole
Ronald Davidson
Basil Diskey
Jesse Duffy
Grant Nelson
Joseph Poland
StarringLinda Stirling
Allan Lane
Duncan Renaldo
George J. Lewis
LeRoy Mason
Crane Whitley
Robert Frazer
Rico De Montez
CinematographyBud Thackery
Ernest Miller
Distributed byRepublic Pictures
Release date
  • May 27, 1944 (1944-05-27) (U.S. serial)[1]
  • January 17, 1951 (1951-01-17) (re-release)[1]
  • 1966 (1966) (TV)[1]
Running time
12 chapters (196 minutes (serial)[1]
100 minutes (TV)[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$180,292 (negative cost: $206,191)[1]

Linda Stirling is a jungle girl lost in the South American rainforest and ruling a native tribe. The serial's plot is a variant on the common serial and B-Western "land grab" plot - in this case, the villains attempt to run the natives off the land so that they can claim its valuable oil reserves.

Premise

Evil oil speculators in South America attempt to drive away a native tribe and their leader, the Tiger Woman. The Tiger Woman, a white woman, might be the lost heiress to a vast fortune, and later plotlines in the serial are built around determining her true identity.

Cast

Production

The Tiger Woman was budgeted at $180,292 although the final negative cost was $206,191 (a $25,899, or 14.4%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1944.[1] This serial had the third biggest budget of the sixty-six Republic serials (exceeded only by Captain America (1944) at $182,623 and The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) at $193,878) although it is only the fifth most expensive in terms of the actual production cost. The other four, however, were all 15-chapters long, compared to Tiger Woman's 12-chapters, so this is, per chapter, the most expensive of all Republic serials.[1]

It was filmed at Lake Sherwood, California locations [3] between 20 January and 25 February 1944 under the working title Tiger Woman of the Amazon.[1] The serial's production number was 1298.[1] The Tiger Woman was Republic's attempt to create a new Pearl White with their recent discovery of Linda Stirling.[4]

Stedman notes several errors in the production: The Tiger Woman costume is made from Leopard fur. When outside, the natives are dressed as Navaho but, when inside, they are dressed as Aztecs. The chorus girl line, and their "harem-girl" costume, during an execution is frowned on. The men in the serial do not remove their hats whether inside or out.[5] However, in South America "Tiger" refers to any big cat.

Stunts
  • Babe DeFreest as Tiger Woman/Rita Arnold (doubling Linda Stirling)
  • Tom Steele as Allen Saunders/Tunnel Thug/Road Block Thug/Ambusher (doubling Allan Lane)
  • Ken Terrell as José Delgado/Morgan/Mack/Fletcher Walton/Bolton/Depot Thug/Oil Truck Driver (doubling Duncan Renaldo, George J. Lewis, Stanley Price & LeRoy Mason)
  • Eddie Parker as Tom Dagget/Office Thug/Depot Thug/Trooper/Travis/Oil Truck Thug (doubling Crane Whitley)
  • Duke Greene as Gentry/Steward-Thug/Motor Boat Thug/Truck Driver/Shack Heavy/Ambusher (doubling Kenne Duncan)
  • Carey Loftin as Thug

Special effects

The special model effects were produced by Theodore Lydecker.

Release

Theatrical

The Tiger Woman's official release date is 27 May 1944, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1] The serial was re-released on 17 January 1951, under the new title Perils of the Darkest Jungle, between the first runs of Flying Disc Man from Mars and Don Daredevil Rides Again.[1]

Television

The Tiger Woman was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a Century-66 film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to Jungle Gold. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.[1]

Critical reception

Stedman believes that, when compared to the earlier Witney-English serials, The Tiger Woman is a poor serial.[5]

Chapter titles
  1. The Temple of Terror (24min 52s)
  2. Doorway to Death (15min 33s)
  3. Cathedral of Carnage (15min 32s)
  4. Echo of Eternity (15min 34s)
  5. Two Shall Die (15min 34s)
  6. Dungeon of the Doomed (15min 33s)
  7. Mile-a-Minute Murder (15min 33s)
  8. Passage to Peril (15min 33s)
  9. Cruise to Cremation (15min 33s)
  10. Target for Murder (15min 33s)
  11. The House of Horror (15min 33s)
  12. Triumph Over Treachery (15min 34s)

Source:[1][6]

This was one of the two 12-chapter serials produced by Republic Pictures in 1944. (The other, also starring Linda Stirling, was Zorro's Black Whip). As was customary for Republic, two 15-chapter serials were also released in this year.[1]

See also

References
  1. Mathis, Jack (1995). Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 76–77. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8.
  2. Cline, William C. (1984). "5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 88–89. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
  3. p.21-22 Schneider, Jerry L. Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Silver Screen:Vol. IV: The Locations Lulu.com
  4. Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "1. The Girls "Who Is That Girl in the Buzz Saw?"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 18–26. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
  5. Stedman, Raymond William (1971). "5. Shazam and Good-by". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 134. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
  6. Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 237. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
Preceded by
Captain America (1944)		 Republic Serial
The Tiger Woman (1944)		 Succeeded by
Haunted Harbor (1944)
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