bsmith5552
"Panther Girl of the Congo" is one of the last serial turned out by "the serial factory", Republic Pictures. At this time studios were turning out films about over sized or mutant creatures. This one deals with an over-sized (now get this) craw fish.Mad scientist Dr. Morgan (Arthur Space) is creating mutant craw fish in order to frighten the local natives away so that he and his cronies, Cass (John Day) and Rand (Mike Ragan) can mine diamonds from an abandoned mine. International Wildlife Federation Representative Jean Evans (Phyllis Coates) is filming wildlife in the jungle when she comes upon one of the mutant creatures. Evans summon hunter/guide Larry Sanders (Myron Healey) for assistance.Over 12 chapters, the pair escape life threatening situations each chapter as they battle with the bad guys. For some reason Evans is called Panther Girl. We don't actually see a panther in the story except at the end of each chapter. What we do see is the fetching Ms. Coates in a micro mini skirted costume each time she goes into the jungle. She swings across the jungle on vines in sequences I'm sure I've seen in other Republic serials. She also gets to ride an elephant from time to time and battle a rubber crocodile as well..It was refreshing for me to see long time western villain Healey in a leading role. This may have been his only starring role. Space, Day an Ragan make formidable villains. Oddly enough neither the heroes or villains can hit the broad side of a barn with their rifles. Although the Lydecker Brothers do their best with the monsters, I can't help but wonder why a rogue panther wasn't considered as the, pardon the expression, elephant in the room.Not one of their best but still a competently made serial nonetheless.
vespatian75
Most criticisms of this serial are valid. The pace in the middle episodes slows down to a crawl. It relies on cheap special effects and stock footage, and it's padded with "flashbacks" to previous episodes. So why did I give it 7 out of 10 stars? Two words: Phyllis Coates. She is to my mind one of the sexiest Jungle Girls ever in her tailored buckskin leopard belted mini dress (an exact duplicate of Frances Gifford's outfit in "Jungle Girl")It's not a matter of looks alone. The Panther Girl is a different kind of Jungle Girl, not a mysterious goddess of some lost world or a waif growing up in the wilds.She is a career woman with a real job. She is a cinematographer of wild animals. A feisty, hard nosed business woman. Absolutely fearless, she can swing through the trees like Tarzan, swim like a fish, run like a gazelle, and dispatch dangerous predators with gun or knife. And you know at the end she will make a well deserved profit selling her footage of the "Claw Monsters". And why not? She is an example of capitalism at its best. She risks her life to save the jungle from the dastardly villains and is entitled to a profit. She is a prototype of the modern woman but feminine enough to accept the help of her stalwart friend played by WW2 vet Myron Healy. If they do develop a romantic relationship you know it would be as equals. A few caveats. I would not try to watch it straight through. A couple of episodes a night might be best, and have the fast forward button ready for some of the middle episodes.
StuOz
Despite the title, this is a guy show more than anything else, if I remember correctly, Panther Girl is the only girl in it, all the other characters, or cartoon figures, are male. There is no characterisation in the whole run of the serial, every word is spoken to advance the story, only in the final frame of the last chapter does someone make a jaw-dropping bit of non-plot driven talk. But that is not a negative comment on this serial.I actually like the no non-sense way this serial, and other serials, present themselves (Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel would later copy this all the way).The claw monster in this serial was created by the Lydecker brothers, and one of the Lydeckers - Howard - would be associated (with LB Abbott) in the effects for TV's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea...a series that featured many miniature and full scale monsters, with or without a claw.Panther Girl is a fine serial, and when seen in full on video in 1997 it was a knockout, but beware of repeat viewings, for some reason this serial does not go over too well when you look too close.
Teenie-1
I remember this serial from the Saturday double features at our neighborhood theatre. This was one of my favorites since it featured a woman (gorgeous Class-A actress Phyllis Coates)who could kick butt pre-Tomb Raider. I don't mean with fancy weapons and stuff - I mean who could handle a high-powered rifle, wrestle and knock out a a man twice her size, and even square-off face-to-face with a lion, armed with only a knife and a lion's headdress.(!) For its time it was pretty good. My kids got a kick out of the storyline - giant crawdads invading Africa! The Panther Girl (who is actually dressed in a leopard suit) must get to the bottom of this and stop it (with the help of Class-Z ham Myron Healey). If you're up for something corny but fun in its own way, then get this serial. Oh, for a laugh or two, check out the scene when the natives are gathered and are about to set safari after seeing the giant crawdads in action and getting the stew scared out of them. One of the actors is off-cue and is staring at someone on the crew and laughing, then gets back into character after the scene has started with everyone else looking scared, but you have to look quickly. It's worth a look - even the kids might get a laugh or two. Nothing offensive whatsoever.
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