Clyde E. Elliott Movies

Jungle Cavalcade is a roundup of highlights from previous documentaries featuring big-game-hunter Frank Buck. Narrated by the ineluctable Mr. Buck himself, the film incorporates clips from Bring 'Em Back Alive, Wild Cargo and Fang and Claw. While these earlier efforts were produced by Van Beuren Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures, Jungle Cavalcade was solely the responsibility of RKO. Nathaniel Shilkret wrote the music, while Jay Bonafield wielded the editing scissors. Even those who find the jingoistic Frank Buck a bit excessive will enjoy such highlights as his battle with a huge python. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Acknowledging the success of animal-trainer Frank Buck's "Bring 'Em Back Alive"-style documentaries for RKO Radio, Fox Films signed Buck's longtime cohort Clyde E. Elliott to star in and direct Devil Tiger. Elliot took his cameras to the Malaysian jungles, where among other things he captured on film a fight to the death between a crocodile and a tiger?and a python and a lion?and a boa constrictor and a buffalo?and so on. Unlike the Buck films, Devil Tiger includes a dramatic storyline, involving hero Kane Richmond, heroine Marion Burns and villain Harry Woods (none of whom ever venture any farther than the Fox backlot). There's also a lengthy plot strand involving the "rite of passage" trek into the jungle by eight-year-old Ramsaye Doyle. By throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, Devil Tiger lacks the simplicity and focus of the Frank Buck vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi