Drums of Africa

I thought Drums of Africa (possibly slightly better known as “Jungle Man”) might turn out to be an Indiana Jones kind of adventure flick. It has the ingredients: a group of explorers venturing into deepest Africa, legends of a City of the Dead from which no man returns, a young doctor living in a mission camp trying to cure a disease, hostile natives. But what begins as a story of explorers becomes a story of the doctor and his plights.

Bruce and his buddies are setting out for Africa in search of the fabled City of the Dead. He invites his fiance Betty and her father along. They arrive at a mission Betty's uncle runs which is home to the doctor I mentioned, Hammond (Buster Crabbe). Bruce and the boys set off for the lost city leaving Betty at the mission to get acquainted with Hammond.

Members of the expedition catch the very disease Hammond is trying to cure, but his cure has been lost at sea. If he can get through the shark infested waters to the sunken ship he might be able to save the sick.

The search for the lost city is the focus for the first portion of the move, but comes off feeling like an afterthought at the end. We see almost nothing of the city and witness nothing in keeping with its lethal legend. I guess I'm just sore that the movie baits with one kind of story then switches into something more boring.

The acting for the most part is not bad. Betty is weak, but the others are OK. You might recognize Buster Crabbe. He comes into the story relatively late, but does take over as the star.

MORALITY:

Like most black and white movies this is quite tame. There's nothing sexual and no strong language.

A guy get's mauled by a tiger, but there's no blood.

Some of the African girls appear to be topless, but I didn't notice any actual breast shots. I could have sworn Buster was naked when he dove into the ocean, but when he comes out again he's definitely wearing swim trunks. Even if what I saw was actually his butt it's on screen for all of a second, just long enough for him to jump into the water.

SPIRITUALITY:

Dr. Hammond is doing humanitarian work at a mission. It's quite commendable and ends up being a benefit to everyone.

Beyond that there's nothing substantial to talk about.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you like very old adventure flicks then this one might be worth seeing as long as it doesn't take much effort. I would probably have liked it more if the lost city portion of the story had been more satisfactory.

#DrumsofAfrica #JungleMan