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CraigESC
Reviews
Sheena (1984)
Pathetic treatment of title character
I found this mid-80's attempt at a "jungle adventure" very weak. I'm not complaining about the hole-riddled plot--that's common in this genre--but about the way the title character was handled. Sheena is the ultimate "jungle girl" character--supposedly a female Tarzan. So I kept waiting for her to do something, well, jungle girl-like--wrestle a crocodile, or battle a lion to the death. Instead, all Sheena ever did was put her fist to her forehead and somehow get flamingoes to attack a helicopter. Pathetic. Even worse is the scene where the bad guys are chasing after Sheena and her ally/sort of love interest, Vic. She's the jungle girl, right? He's an American who's only been in the jungle a couple of days, right? So what happens? HE grabs HER hand and starts pulling her along as he runs. Doubly pathetic.
The only slightly redeeming feature of this piece of dreck is Elizabeth of Toro, whose dignified performance is badly out of place, and who deserved to be in a better film.
Mara of the Wilderness (1965)
Beautiful Lead Actress Deserved Better Film
Note: Possible Spoilers Below
This movie isn't on video, but it still pops up from time to time on TV. The title character, Mara Wade, is orphaned when she accompanies her parents into the wilderness (Alaska or Canada, I think). She winds up being cared for by a wolf pack.
Years later, the grown Mara, now played by the lovely Lori Saunders, is still living with the wolves (and running around in a fetching costume). She is found by a naturalist (Adam West) who is researching wolves, and they fall in love. They also face the threat of a nasty trapper (Theo Marcuse) who is after the wolves.
This film had some definite potential, but it left me disappointed. The romantic moments are hamstrung by West's lack of charisma and by the fact that Saunders' character does not speak in the film. Meanwhile, the few action scenes are not very exciting. For example, the film's potential climax, action-wise, comes when Saunders, needing a first aid kit for the injured West, is attacked by Marcuse. The ensuing fight scene is almost ruined by poor editing--it consists mostly of reaction shots from Marcuse's partner. It's also too short--in such a situation, you'd expect Saunders to put up more of a struggle.
Lori Saunders is beautiful to watch, and I think she deserved a better film to showcase her talents. They should have given her some dialogue and let her character do a bit more in the way of action.