Bomba on Panther Island (1949)

ridiculous rating

A Brilliant Conflict

The first must-see film of the year.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The highlight of this Bomba film is certainly Lita Baron. She was the sexiest of Bomba's female admirers and had a lot of the sensuality of Acquanetta from "Tarzan and the Leopard Woman". As a matter of fact she took Acquanetta's place in Weissmuller's "Jungle JIm"(1948) as member of his safari with an eye for JIm. She also performs a sexy but hilarious dance-compared to Elaine's dance in Seinfeld. She had talent-sang with Xavier Cugart and was married to Rory Calhoun. A VerySexy and Petite(4'11) Jungle Girl!

Fairly weak follow-up to 1949's "Bomba, the Jungle Boy" has a better production (with much-improved nature footage from stock), but a terribly nonsensical script to contend with. Johnny Sheffield returns as Bomba, a teenage Tarzan complete with loincloth and stunted English, here tracking a killer black panther through the jungle; meanwhile, an American architect and his kid-sister (in matching pith helmets!) try persuading the jungle natives to chop down the trees to make room for their experimental farm, but the workers are scared off by the marauding beast who represents an ancient taboo. Also frightening the men is Lita Baron, a glinty-eyed French maid who may be possessed by the soul of a cat (paging Simone Simon!). Bomba certainly isn't afraid of the bewitching lass, taking momentary delight in her frisky caresses and excitable hands! Sheffield, with his thickly-sculpted physique and junior high school grin, is still a charmer...but what good can be said about a jungle adventure in which most of the action comes courtesy of the second-unit add-ons? (a buffalo fighting an alligator, for example). Monogram Pictures did keep the series going after this, but were already running low on fresh ideas. *1/2 from ****

***SPOILERS*** Johnny Sheffield in his second Bomba movie as Bomba the Jungle Boy gets involved in a hot and steamy love triangle with pretty and sophisticated city girl Judy Maltland, Allene Roberts, and the sexy and ready for action French maid in the Maltland household Losana, Lita Baron. That has the jungle boy almost forget about the death of his jungle friend and pet monkey who was killed by a vicious black panther earlier in the film.It was after Bomba's pet monkey was killed by the panther that he swore to find the killer and meet out justice, jungle justice, to him. As it so happened the panther was on a murderous rampage killing a number of natives who were working for Judy's brother Robert, Harry Lewis, in building a plantation for him in the jungle that was in fact screwing up the balance of nature there. It was Robert's good friend local great white hunter Andy Barnes, Charles Irwin, who tried to get him to stop defoliating the jungle by setting it on fire and leaving the natives as well as animals there without a place to stay.We get to see a number of great jungle sock footage with leopards and cape buffaloes having it out with each other as well as a fight to the death between two crocodiles with a cape buffalo, as if it was a referee, stepping in to end ,with it's hoofs & horns, the conflict. That as usual in movies like this is about the most exciting scenes you could expect to see in the film. There's also Bomba being a bit confused in what exactly sexy Losana wants from him since he never went out on a date, with a girl that is, in his entire life by living in the jungle with his friends the monkeys and gorillas.***Spoilers*** In the end it's Robert's setting the jungle on fire that in fact brings the killer panther out in the open in having Bomba and Judy try to save themselves from the flames by hiding in the safety in a nearby cave. It's there when Bomba finally gets to confront the panther since that's where he made his home, when he wasn't out killing, away from home! Johnny Sheffield who looks like he could pass for star Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie, "frear of flying", Jensen's twin brother comes of age, at age 18, in this movie by seeing that girls are a lot more fun and better to hang out with then the monkeys he's been swinging around with all these years. It's just too bad for him that the girls he wants to hang out with don't have the same talents that he does in being able, by swinging on jungle vines, to keep up with him.

Bomba On Panther Island is the one I remember best from watching the series in my childhood. Mainly because with the presence of Lita Baron in the cast the story came close to being adult.Johnny Sheffield is on a jungle island where brother and sister Harry Lewis and Allene Roberts hope to build a plantation. But on that same island is a black panther with a taste for killing humans. When the panther kills one of Bomba's little monkey friends he goes on a mission.There are two women admiring Bomba's physique in this one, Allene who is a good girl and Lita who is one sexy dish. In fact the closest sex ever came to this series was when Lita gives Bomba the come hither glance while at a jungle stream. If this had been an adult picture you better believe Bomba would have been putty in her hands. In the entire Bomba series there was never anyone else like Lita Baron in it. I think more than the kids will like Bomba On Panther Island.