I think I enjoyed Captive Wild Woman (1943) more than most, but I have to admit that this sequel is an inexcusably bad film -- extremely cheap, poorly written, and lacking the schlocky B-movie charm of its predecessor.
The first fifteen minutes or so is a lazy recap of the end of the first film, as a coroner's court questions several people about the events leading up to the death a young woman called Paula (Acquanetta), the enquiries starting with Dr. Fletcher (J. Carrol Naish), who is accused of her murder.
Fletcher tells how he received the body of the gorilla Cheela for research purposes (the animal shot by a guard at the end of Captive Wild Woman). Not quite dead, the ape was restored to life by Fletcher, but it escaped. The doctor then explains how he found the woman Paula and, over time, began to suspect that she might be Cheela in human form, and quite possibly very dangerous.
All of this is told in flashback, up to the point where Fletcher injected Paula with a sedative, accidentally giving her an overdose. The film then returns to the court, where a re-examination of Paula's body proves that she was indeed an ape and Fletcher is allowed to go free.
Jungle Woman is sorely lacking in most departments, but just two things would have made it far more entertaining: an evil mad scientist and an actual apewoman. Fletcher is not just sane but also very kindly, a long way from the ranting, demented loony played with gusto by John Carradine in the first movie. And we never actually see Paula in ape form (unless you count her body on the slab at the very end of the film) -- Acquanetta in hairy monkey make-up would have really added to the fun but would have most likely blown the film's budget.
Amazingly, despite this one being so awful, the character of Paula would return for one more film, The Jungle Captive (Acquanetta replaced by Vicky Lane). I haven't seen that one yet, but it surely can't be any worse than Jungle Woman.
The first fifteen minutes or so is a lazy recap of the end of the first film, as a coroner's court questions several people about the events leading up to the death a young woman called Paula (Acquanetta), the enquiries starting with Dr. Fletcher (J. Carrol Naish), who is accused of her murder.
Fletcher tells how he received the body of the gorilla Cheela for research purposes (the animal shot by a guard at the end of Captive Wild Woman). Not quite dead, the ape was restored to life by Fletcher, but it escaped. The doctor then explains how he found the woman Paula and, over time, began to suspect that she might be Cheela in human form, and quite possibly very dangerous.
All of this is told in flashback, up to the point where Fletcher injected Paula with a sedative, accidentally giving her an overdose. The film then returns to the court, where a re-examination of Paula's body proves that she was indeed an ape and Fletcher is allowed to go free.
Jungle Woman is sorely lacking in most departments, but just two things would have made it far more entertaining: an evil mad scientist and an actual apewoman. Fletcher is not just sane but also very kindly, a long way from the ranting, demented loony played with gusto by John Carradine in the first movie. And we never actually see Paula in ape form (unless you count her body on the slab at the very end of the film) -- Acquanetta in hairy monkey make-up would have really added to the fun but would have most likely blown the film's budget.
Amazingly, despite this one being so awful, the character of Paula would return for one more film, The Jungle Captive (Acquanetta replaced by Vicky Lane). I haven't seen that one yet, but it surely can't be any worse than Jungle Woman.