Customer Reviews
Wow! 
2007-03-09
Charlton Heston is a handsome, troubled man who has his brother send him a mate. He has a beautiful home in the jungle and I guess is too busy to find his own. Are there any women in the jungle? Not any like Spitfire, Eleanor Parker, which shocks him with her beauty and personality. She is also shocked with his masculine body and good looks. There are times when you would like to smack him around, but then... The romance is definately there, he tries to protect her from ... well you'll see. It's romantic in an animal-like way. The ending is great! I love the action and the Romance!!
Eleanor - Oh God!!! 2007-02-21
Marabunta, Shmarabunta - who cares about all that. It's worth ten times the price just to look at Eleanor Parker for two hours!
Heston & Parker equals spontaneous combustion! 2007-02-03
I like this film a lot - Charlton Heston plays a 34 yr old virgin owner named Christopher of a massive plantation who marries a woman by proxy without ever meeting her. Eleanor Parker plays the woman that he finds is his stunningly gorgeous wife "Joanna." What an incredibly beautiful woman - the hair, blue eyes and ivory skin! Parker looks like a porcelain doll - she's so stunning in this color film that it just takes your breath away. Her character is strong and deliciously feminine. Christopher is both awed and intimidated by his "luck" in such a terrific catch. He knows absolutely nothing about women and never bedded one. Boy, is his character sexually repressed. He freaks out when he discovers Joanna has been married before and widowed. Memorable line "Lady, the piano you are playing has never been played before" - subtle hint that Joanna is used goods in his mind. He cannot forgive her and wants her to go back to where she came from - New Orleans. As he is trying to get rid of her, the ants show up and she proves her strength & character to him. The sexual tension and chemistry between Heston and Parker is electric. And yes, Heston is so handsome in this film.
the best of the best 2007-01-21
Recently I have purchased quite a few items from Amazon,and have never had a problem with anything i have purchased,Naked jungle was always a favorite of mine,and Amazon will usually have what i'm looking for.Just recently I introduced Amazon to a couple members of my family who were looking for some old serial movies that continue each week,and they were able to find what they were looking for.Thanks for the good work,keep it up. Louise
Totally entertaining adventure film 
2007-01-19
This is that typical kind of entertaining 1950s adventure film for all the family, of the kind "they don't make anymore". So if you liked "Elephant Walk" (1954) or "King Solomon's Mines" (1950), this one's most definitely for you!
What stands out, IMO, besides the special effects (good for 1954) and scenes dealing the Marabunta invasion, is the great chemistry between sultry, elegant, appealing Eleanor Parker (Joanna Leiningen), at her prettiest and most ladylike, but at the same time, full of passion, ardour and desire to love a real man...and there he is, Charlton Heston (Leiningen), at the peak of his macho-man magnetism with the ladies (my mother told me that she absolutelly swooned over him around the time he made this film). He conveys very well the character's contradictions between his insecurities as man and his desire for this wondrous woman (Parker), chosen to be his wife by his brother.
The first part of the film has plenty of scenes that fully display, elegantly in 1950s style, the sexual tension between the characters played by both leads. They make one of the handsomest couples ever paired. William Conrad (of "Jake and the Fatman" fame) is good as the friendly comissioner. Abraham Sofaer plays a similar role than in "Elephant Walk", but this time more sympathetic towards the heroine.
Some footage must have been filmed on location, but almost all of the scenes involving the leading players were obviously filmed in Paramount's backlot.
Good entertainment! The DVD has no extras though. The print's quality is very good!
The Naked Jungle 2008-07-05
Been looking for this one on DVD for years..
Great movie and I was pleasantly surprised at how fast it arrived..
Love the oldies..
Remember when 2008-04-05
If you remember when movie stars were actually people with talent, people who could actually act, people who could make a movie with romance and adventure without blatant sex, drugs, and excessive violence... then this is one for you. I remember seeing it many years ago and as a fan of Charlton Heston could not wait to see it again. Truly a movie classic of an era when men were men and women were women and you could tell the difference. More often than not these day, oldies are truly the best.
Eleanor Parker in colour-soaked jungle adventure 2008-02-02
I watched this movie last night, and all I can say is....WOW! This is a top adventure starring one of my favourite actresses, Eleanor Parker, teamed with Charlton Heston (and based on a story by Carl Stephenson). If you love movies like "King Solomon's Mines", "Mogambo" and especially "Elephant Walk", you'll adore THE NAKED JUNGLE.
The story follows mail-order bride Joanna (Eleanor Parker) as she travels deep into the jungle to meet prospective husband Christopher Leiningen (Charlton Heston), a successful plantation baron, grown embittered by too many years of solitude. Their marriage is stormy from the outset; headstrong Joanna constantly clashes with her belligerent spouse, but they soon have bigger problems on their hands. A terrifying army of soldier ants, on their twenty-year migration, are steadily approaching, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.
With more than a passing nod to the similarly-themed "Elephant Walk" (also produced by Paramount around the same period), THE NAKED JUNGLE is part costume drama, part adventure epic and all-entertainment. The supporting cast even includes Abraham Sofaer (who plays a role not too dissimilar from the one he fills in "Elephant Walk").
Female co-stars who could successfully balance themselves opposite the imposing Charlton Heston were often very difficult to find, but Eleanor Parker is and was the perfect choice for Joanna. One of the rare actresses who was every bit as talented as she was stunningly-beautiful (as evidenced from her Academy Award-winning performance in "Caged!"), Ms Parker provides a performance with equal parts heart and humanity. Her scenes with Heston are a complete joy. Costume designer Edith Head dresses Parker in some lovely late-Victorian clothes.
Filmed in glorious Technicolor, THE NAKED JUNGLE explodes off the screen with colour and high-adventure to spare. Sadly, the DVD offers no extras. (Single-sided, single-layer disc).
A review and a touch of history about this movie. 2007-07-07
Yea, I've got this one to. First of all I didn't look up the credit scroll to make sure I got my spelling correct for some of these names and words...so bear with me.
Point one: I remember reading this short story when I was a freshman a zillion years ago...and if I'm not wrong I think I read the actual report the original story came from--I'm not sure. But I'll tell you some of what I remember, it should make your viewing pleasure just a little more informed or at least a 'little' more entertaining.
Point two: I remember in the original story that was made from the original 'report' Lanigen used a fire engine filled with gasoline "like a flamethrower" to fight the ants with. I remember a horse or cow got loose from the main compound and ran out amongest the ants and was devoured within thirty minutes.
Point three: I seem to remember...in the original report by a british or french soldier/officer on a gunboat/canoe (I don't remember which) they had been passing by villages for days that were abandoned...they didn't know why. The boat or canoe was heading up stream to find out what was going on. Somesort of fragmented reports had reached them so the government sent an expedition up river to investigate. (Remember now, this is from my memory 45 years or more ago, and I only read it once.) On the second or third day they decided to make a landing and check out the village. (The guy who wrote this report went with them ashore). One of the first things he spotted was movement to his left or right side...low to the ground--I guess living in the jungle your vision sharpens a lot. Upon closer investigation he saw a large column of army ants race out from under or behind one of the huts and seemingly take cover under something. As if hiding from him. Futher investigation showed the village hastly abandoned with food still laying around as if dropped. The natives or other people from the boat told him the village was deserted because the army ants were invading the area. The more the man who wrote the report watched these ants in action the more he felt as if they were intelligent...that he couldn't shake the feeling when they ran out from under the hut and to cover they were doing so he wouldn't see them-like a military unit taking position for ambush. I seem to remember his friends telling him army ants were like that. They would try to encircle their prey or close it in on three sides then they would build up their forces by climbing on top of one another until they were as big as it, then fall on it...(hmmm, I don't know if I can believe that one.)
Point four: Once again, it seems like I remember this guy reporting they covered an area two miles wide and twenty miles long.
Now, how much of this is real...beats me. I'm sorry I don't really know the truth about it...maybe the next one of you who writes a review will look it up and find out. I think the original story was entitled Lanigen and the Ants...I'm sorry but I don't remember the title of the original report.
Anyway, about the movie;
PROS:
1. It stars Ellanor Parker (the cutie) Charlton Heston (the force of nature) and William Conrad. That's a star.
2. Fine writing, that's a star.
3. Neat idea carried out fine with a few subplots that add to the neatness of the idea. That's a star.
4. Well acted. That's a star.
5. Well directed. That's a star.
CONS:
1. I wish it had been half an hour longer...you know more, a little more here and there and some extra upriver time when they investigate the strange occurances there.
Here's another point. Have you ever heard anybody say they "...didn't fail or quite, I was beaten...there's a difference." well this is the movie it came from.
And finally: Just incase you didn't know, this movie is about a plantation owner whose plantation is attacked, invaded, and literally eaten by invading army ants. And, as a published Science Fiction novelist with only one award to his name, (don't worry, you've never heard of me) The Naked Jungle--no matter what anybody says--is not Science Fiction. No, it is a fictional account of something that really happened...it is Fiction. It may lean a little toward horror, but is not horror...It Is Fiction.
So get out the popcorn and dogs, this is a serious movie, buy it.
Bye!
I'M back! After I wrote this review I did a quick google search and read about fifty of the first listings including 'Teddy' Roosevelts 1919 expeditionary notes. Despite most scientist playing down the army ant's swarm capabilities I did run across one news paper story from Brazil stating something to the effect of (this is not a quote) "...this town was invaded by army ants measuring one mile wide and one point eight miles deep. All emergency personnel went out to meet them...not all returned. Flame throwers were called in when the town was almost lost to the invaders. The cheif of police is one of those who didn't come back..." In all the science reports everybody seems to dodge around these stories about 'super colonies' were one colony picks up other colonies and pose a united front. Hmmm, like I always say at this time--beats me. BUT it sure makes a guy wonder. Bye!
the story about the ants 2007-05-08
actually the story about the ants takes up only about half this film; the first half is about charleton heston's mail order bride, eleanor parker, who is excellent in one of her 2 best roles,( the other being 1945's "pride of the marines" w/john garfield)but when the ant story moves center stage, the movie really takes off. the technicolor is outstanding, as are the special effects.as a side note, it's interesing to see william conrad as the commissionar. on the original radio broadcast of this story, then called "leinengen vs. the ants", it was he who had the heston role.on the whole an enjoyable adventure film w/ a touch of science fiction.
