| Captive Wild Woman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | Captive Wild Woman |
| Directed by: | Edward Dmytryk |
| Written by: | Ted Fithian; Neil P. Varnick; Griffin Jay; Henry Sucher |
| Produced by: | Ben Pivar |
| Cinematography: | George Robinson |
| Edited by: | Milton Carruth |
| Production | |
| Distributors: | Universal Pictures Realart Pictures |
| Released: | June 4th, 1943 |
| Rating: | Unrated |
| Running time: | 61 min. |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | Jungle Woman (1944) |
Captive Wild Woman is an American horror film with elements of science fiction and adventure. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and written by Ted Fithian, Neil P. Varnick, Griffin Jay and Henry Sucher. It was produced by Universal Pictures and released theatrically in the United States on June 4th, 1943. The film stars John Carradine as mad scientist Doctor Sigmund Walters, Acquanetta as the primal Paula Dupree - the Ape Woman, Milburn Stone as protagonist Fred Mason and Evelyn Ankers as Beth Colman. The premise behind the film is that of a scientist, Doctor Walters of Crestview Sanitarium, who uses experimental methods to de-evolve an ape into that of a human using genetic samples from several different sources including his nurse, Miss Strand. The result is a half-woman/half-ape who takes on the name Paula Dupree. Paul runs away to the circus where she saves the life of lion tamer Fred Mason.
Cast[]
Credited cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Acquanetta | Paula Dupree, the Ape Woman |
| John Carradine | Doctor Sigmund Walters |
| Evelyn Ankers | Beth Colman |
| Milburn Stone | Fred Mason |
| Lloyd Corrigan | John Whipple |
| Fay Helm | Nurse Strand |
| Martha Vickers | Dorothy Colman |
| Vince Barnett | Curly, a rube |
| Paul Fix | Gruen, the handler |
Uncredited cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Clyde Beatty | Fred Mason |
| Turhan Bey | End narrator |
| Eddie Borden | Dock spectator |
| Ray Corrigan | Cheela |
| Fern Emmett | Beth's murdered neighbor |
| Gus Glassmire | Coronor |
| William Gould | Sheriff |
| Harry Holman | Dock ticket clerk |
| Tom London | Ship's captain |
| Charles McAvoy | Police officer |
| Ray Walker | Ringmaster |
| Anthony Warde | Tony |
| Grant Withers | Veterinarian |
Notes & Trivia[]
_002.jpg){kind=link}
Theatrical poster.
- Copyright holder: Universal Pictures Company, Inc.
- Captive Wild Woman is the first of a three-film series that continues in Jungle Woman in 1944 and The Jungle Captive in 1945.
- This movie was shot at Universal Studios at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California.
- Captive Wild Woman was re-released to theaters in 1948 by Realart Pictures.
- Captive Wild Woman was released on VHS in 1994 by MCA Home Video. It was re-released under the Universal Classics Collection brand on September 16th, 1997.
- Captive Wild Woman was first released on DVD in 2007 by Universal Home Entertainment.
- This film has been included on the Universal Horror: Classic Movie Archive two-disc DVD collection. Other films in this collection include The Black Cat, Man Made Monster, Horror Island and Night Monster.
- This is the first and only horror film directed by Edward Dmytryk. Most of Edward's filmography consists of westerns.
- This is the only known film work for screenwriter Ted Fithian.
- Writer Neil P. Varnick also wrote the story for 1942's The Mummy's Tomb.
- Writer Griffin Jay wrote most of the Mummy films for Universal Pictures including, The Mummy's Hand in 1940, The Mummy's Tomb in 1942 and The Mummy's Ghost in 1944. He also wrote the story treatments for The Return of the Vampire, Cry of the Werewolf and Devil Bat's Daughter.
Acquanetta as Paula Dupree.
- This is the first major film work for Acquanetta, whose real name is Burnu Acquanetta. She will reprise the role of Paul Dupree in the film's 1944 sequel, Jungle Woman. Although she is the main character for this movie, Acquanetta has no spoken dialogue. Acquanetta was typecast during the 1940s for "jungle girl" roles such as when she played Luani in the Roy William Neill musical Rhythm of the Islands in 1943. She is probably best known however for her portrayal of Lea, the High Priestess in Kurt Neumann's 1946 adventure film Tarzan and the Leopard Woman.
- This is the fifth horror film work for actor John Carradine and his second movie as a leading man. He previously starred in 1943's Revenge of the Zombies as Max Heinrich von Altermann. His next genre work is as Doctor Drury in The Invisible Man's Revenge in 1944.
- Actress Evelyn Ankers is also known for playing the role of Gwen Conliffe in 1941's The Wolf Man.
- Actress Martha Vickers is credited as Martha MacVicar in this film. This is her second film. She previously played Margareta, Vazec's daughter in Universal's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
- Actor Milburn Stone will go on to play the role of Doc Galen Adams in the popular 1960s Western series Gunsmoke. He is also known for playing the role of Macklin in 1943's The Mad Ghoul.
- The lion and tiger fight featured in this movie was filmed in a single take without any additional editing.
- Many of the circus scenes in this movie are archival shots taken from the 1933 Kurt Neumann adventure film The Big Cage. Neumann is also known for directing the 1958 movie The Fly.
Recommendations[]
|
Mad scientist films
Animal people films
|
Universal Classics
|