Michael_Elliott
Captive Wild Woman (1943)** 1/2 (out of 4)The setting for this Universal horror movie is a circus where a group of animals have just landed and they are trying to be whipped into where they can perform on a stage. Dr. Walters (John Carradine) takes a liking to a female gorilla that shows signs of intelligence. He ends up stealing the gorilla and transforms her into Paula (Acquanette) who in human form still has signs of an animal.The "Paula the Ape Woman" series certainly wasn't one of the best from Universal. During the opening title credits there's a big thank you to Clyde Beatty who was able to help with the various animal stunts in the film and this is where the movie goes wrong. These stunts are certainly wonderfully entertaining but they also add a rather cheap feel to the picture because of the obvious doubles that are used when the characters are in cages with the animals.I'd also argue that there's way too much footage of the animals because it eats away at the really short sixty-minute running time. In fact, I'd argue it eats up so much of the running time that the Paula story really become a subplot, which is too bad because it works as a female version of the Wolf Man character. The film does a pretty good job at building up sympathy for the Paula character and especially during one scene where her hearts get broken. The transformation scene was also quite good and the look at the ape woman was a winner.CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN also benefits from the atmosphere in Acquanetta's performance. She really does seem like a wild woman. Evelyn Ankerks and Milburn Stone offer up nice performances and it's always a lot of fun to see Carradine.
JoeB131
this is the first of three movies about Paula the Ape Woman, who probably barely merited one. This one stars John Carradine, as a mad scientist who uses glands to change a gorilla into a human woman. The movie also contains a lot of footage of big cat acts from the 1940's that would never be allowed today because of the abuse to the animals involved. Animals were definitely harmed in the making of this film. When the Mad Scientist kills more people than the Monster, then you probably have a weak monster. Carradine has some great scenery chewing moments, but Aquanetta is just scenery... no dialog and no depth to her character.
Rainey Dawn
Quite an entertaining little film from Universal... it is better than the rating it's given.John Carradine plays Dr. Sigmund Walters a "mad" scientist that turns Paula Dupree (Acquanetta) into an ape woman. It's true that Dr. Walters actual motivations we not made exactly clear but it is obvious that is it for scientific research.At any rate, the movie does serve to entertain certain audiences - I was anyway. It is not Universal's best of the time period but it is a good one - worth watching.If you like films like The Ape (1940), The Ape Man (1943) or Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) then you might like Captive Wild Woman.7.5/10
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 ****
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