JUNGLE WOMAN

Australia, 1926, 90 minutes, Black and white.
Eric Bransby, Grace Savieri.
Directed by Frank Hurley.

Jungle Woman is a pot-boiling piece of silent cinema entertainment. What makes it of interest in later decades is that it is the work of Captain Frank Hurley. It is a South Seas melodrama of the most obvious popular novel type. It reflects many of the stereotype presentation of such stories in the '20s - which now seem particularly ludicrous. It highlights the conflicts between good and bad. It has presuppositions about the noble savages and about civilisation.

The two central characters are Mardyke and Martin. One is the villain, the other is the hero. It is easy to see which is which be cause of the type-casting, looks, actions. The villain is a man of dastardly deeds, leaving the hero for dead. The hero is noble - and of course ultimately wins. There are two heroines. Eleanor is the white heroine who is in love with Martin but who is attracted by Mardyke after he has left Martin for dead. Martin, in the meantime, is looked after by the jungle woman of the title. The heroine is the Hollywood/cinema imagining of the jungle princess. The hero is nursed back to health, falls in love, escapes - plenty of adventure. But, in order to avoid any complications with marriages and racial themes, poor Hurana is bitten by a snake and dies.

The film does reflect popular styles of film-making and types of the '20s and is of interest as such.

The most important feature, however, is the work of Frank Hurley. Hurley was one of Australia's expert photographers. He had been on many expeditions and had a wide range of experience in various locations: across Australia with Francis Birtles, expeditions to New Guinea, work with Mawson and Shackleton in several Antarctic expeditions. His documentary work was well-known. He had a sense of locations, atmosphere, could capture striking environments, had the capacity for noting indigenous detail. This is particularly strong in Jungle Woman, where he went to New Guinea for his locations and photographic work. The bulk of the film was made in what was then Dutch New Guinea, around Merauke.

There is a jarring impact of visual excellence and mediocre content. The film is a useful contribution to documentation on the Australian film industry, especially the work of the cinematographers.