Story: Dr. Carl Fletcher (J. Carrol Naish) is on trial for murder and the victim is the jungle woman, Paula Dupree (Acquanetta). On the stand, he weaves a tale about saving the assumed dead ape Cheela and bringing her back to good health. He also claims he visited a witch doctor with the skill to transform humans into animals and vice versa, so Fletcher is quite intrigued. When Cheela vanishes and Paula turns up, Fletcher is shocked, but treats Paula as his patient as well. Soon however, Paula is embroiled in various personal and romantic dramas, while attacks begin to happen around the location. Is Paula on the warpath or is Cheela the one responsible and are the two separate entities?

Entertainment Value: Jungle Woman not only picks up where Captive Wild Woman left off, but about a sixth of this film’s duration is reused footage from that picture. Of course, b movie fans are no strangers to recycled footage, so the excessive flashbacks are no shock here. The fresh elements are fun and have some b movie vibes, with a lean into more murder mystery than sci/fi or horror. But it still allows for some solid atmosphere and even tension at times, despite the short duration to build within. The brisk pace helps a lot overall, as the narrative is simple, but effective and once the flashbacks end, there is minimal filler here. The visuals are often great as well, with good use of shadows and obscuring details, almost some film noir vibes in some cases. I had fun with Jungle Woman and while it might not be a classic, this is some solid entertainment.

After stealing the show in Captive Wild Woman, Acquanetta is given another chance to shine and this time, her role has been expanded. She has immense charisma, but the actress does struggle with her lines at times, which hinders the overall performance. Of course, the filmmakers could have worked to her strengths instead, but she is given a lot more lines here, which makes it more evident. I still think she is captivating to watch and she has superb screen presence, so she still delivers. J. Carrol Naish is memorable as our doctor on duty and while he doesn’t ham it up like some mad scientists, its a fun role to watch. The cast also includes Evelyn Ankers, Samuel S. Hinds, Lois Collier, and Milburn Stone.

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