Diagonaldi Very well executed

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

MartinHafer I watched the films in the wrong order, though it hardly seemed to matter as the second film, "Jungle Woman" isn't exactly a sequel as so much of the story has been changed. Instead of being the product of a truly evil scientist (John Carradine), the ape is transformed into a hot woman by a nice scientist and there's also no mention of the story in "Captive Wild Woman". Odd...but this sort of thing was not unusual in Universal's horror films of the 1940s...they often contradicted each other.A lady has a sister with some odd glandular disorder...so she takes him to Dr. Walters (Carradine). Little do they know that the nice scientist is actually completely evil and plans on experimenting on the sick sister. He plans on using her body to help turn an ape he stole become human-looking...all thanks to the miracle of glands. Along the way, his stupid assistant* gets in the way, so he sacrifices her...all in the name of scientist.The new creation Walter dubs 'Paula Dupree' and she soon becomes the assistant to Fred the lion and tiger tamer. This is because Paula can hypnotize animals to do her bidding just by staring at them...and staring is what Acquanetta was REALLY good at doing throughout this film. Apart from a little tantrum and sequence where she looks a bit like a cheap wolfman, she really isn't given much to do other than stare. And, this staring she-freak is in love with Fred...but without a conscience, there's no telling WHAT she'll do! This is not a terrible film but is about what you'd expect from a second-tier Universal horror movie. It entertains (particularly because of Carradine's cool performance as the goofy doc!) and is pretty much what fans of the genre will enjoy. It's also just a bit better than its sequel.By the way, the exotic looking Acquanetta was actually originally Mildred Davenport...from Wyoming! So, despite the press releases from Universal, she was NOT the Venezuelan Volcano!

kevin olzak 1943's "Captive Wild Woman" was a first in many ways- Universal hired Ben Pivar to produce a series with a female monster, and signed veteran character player John Carradine with the intent of making him a 'horror star,' successful on both counts. Acquanetta also was introduced to the movie-going public, after small roles playing native girls in "Arabian Nights" and "Rhythm of the Islands," in the title role of Paula Dupree, the human result of glandular experiments conducted by Dr. Sigmund Walters (Carradine), injecting massive amounts of female sex hormones into a captured ape, plus the necessary brain transplant from the doctor's interfering nurse (Fay Helm). Acquanetta's wide-eyed performance is entirely mute, a wise decision considering the resulting sequel "Jungle Woman," quickly followed by another, "The Jungle Captive," where the character, now played by Vicky Lane, has again been rendered mute. Jack Pierce's makeup design was similar to The Wolf Man, appropriately ferocious but recognizably simian. The only weakness is a heavy reliance on stock animal footage originally filmed for Clyde Beatty's "The Big Cage" (1933), which in all probability was the main reason why this movie was made in the first place (roughly 20 minutes out of 60). John Carradine, in the first of a long line of mad scientists (over 40 years!), is initially quite charming, obviously a dedicated specialist, but once he sets up the theft of the ape, he reverts to type (his next would be Monogram's "Revenge of the Zombies"). Included in the SON OF SHOCK Universal package issued to television in the late 50s, "Captive Wild Woman" aired four times on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater: July 6 1974 (following 1967's "Mission Stardust"), May 29 1976 (following 1958's "The 39 Steps"), July 9 1977 (following 1967's "Satanik"), and Mar 12 1983 (solo).

JoeKarlosi John Carradine's first lead in a horror picture. He's a doctor and authority on glandular diseases who becomes interested in an extra-intelligent gorilla named Cheela. His plan is to use the blood of one of his human female patients to transfuse into the ape and turn her into a beautiful young woman (played by Acquanetta). The typical problem is that the ape tendencies keep on creeping back. This performer Acquanetta made several other films after this one, but she was always a terrible actress whenever she opened her mouth to speak a line. However, she pulls off the role as a human with primitive origins fairly well enough here by keeping mute and using her eyes and limited facial expressions. Sometimes things get a bit bogged down by an over-reliance on animal stock footage from THE BIG CAGE, but the presence of Carradine's mad doctor and a different breed of "girl monster" keep this a serviceable entry in Universal's horror series. **1/2 out of ****

MARIO GAUCI To be honest, I had little faith in this one – and, if the "Leonard Maltin Film Guide" is to be trusted, that feeling is certainly true of its two sequels; however, I was pleasantly surprised by it – even if, at the end of the day, the film rests squarely on the (most capable) shoulders of John Carradine and, admittedly, the animal training scenes (actually stock footage from a much earlier title!) probably take up more than half of its running-time (which is barely over an hour to begin with!). Anyway, the plot is basically "The Island Of Dr. Moreau" using more up-to-date technology (glandular transplant) and given an American small-town setting; however, the latter stages – denoting the hybrid creature's murderous jealous fits – are a definite nod to the Val Lewton classic CAT PEOPLE (1942). Having preceded this with a viewing of the superior (and more sci-fi oriented) MAN MADE MONSTER (1941), it was interesting to witness the similarities in the "Mad Doctor" characterization – down to the dialogue, where not only is he willing to commit murder (sacrificing one measly life for the good of Science) but in the way the mind of a brilliant scientist has warped in the pursuit of his own 'immortality'; a Shakespearean actor, Carradine cannot have been pleased to be appearing in this type of fare (and he made scores of them throughout his lengthy career!) but there is no denying the intensity and, thus, conviction of his performance here (amusingly, he plays a Dr. Sigmund[!] Walters) – particularly the calmness with which he tosses circus wrangler Paul Fix into the path of a gorilla which hates his guts or working out in his mind how to use, rather than merely dispose of, people who threaten to disrupt the all-important experiments (such as wavering assistant Fay Helm and, eventually, heroine Evelyn Ankers). The latter (with whom I happen to share my birthday!) graced many a Universal horror movie – as did, incidentally, some of the borrowed music cues! – but here she has to contend with the oddly-named Acquanetta, who looks exotic enough (and certainly fetching in 'jungle' garb) albeit saddled with a speechless role (thus having to act virtually with her eyebrows alone!) and, later, unbecoming ape make-up!!; also appearing briefly as Ankers' younger sister (and Carradine's guinea-pig) is Martha Vickers – billed under her real surname, MacVicar, and who would later be memorably sexy in Howard Hawks' THE BIG SLEEP (1946). Lloyd Corrigan, then, is the flustered circus owner, Vince Barnett the diminutive comic-relief of an absent-minded feeder and, of course, there's rugged Milburn Stone as the would-be animal trainer leading-man: apparently more often seen as a character actor or in bit parts, he makes for one of the dullest heroes in the annals of Universal Horror! Although this film eventually found its way on that exclusive (or is that elusive?) "Universal Classic Horror Archive" 3-Disc Set, I had to regretfully settle for an artifact-riddled DivX copy...