The Naked Jungle
Stuck in a steamy South American jungle and a decidedly unsteamy marriage, newlyweds Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker don’t find real love until they’re visited by a swarm of voracious army ants; the “marabunta.” Produced by George Pal and directed by Byron Haskin, this preposterously enjoyable film was based on Carl Stephenson’s pulp thriller, Leiningen Versus the Ants. Photographed by Ernest Laszlo in ripe Technicolor hues, the Paramount sound stages never looked so inviting.
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About Arnold Leibovit
Arnold Leibovit is an award-winning writer, director and producer. He wrote, directed and produced the acclaimed film tribute The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1986), profiling the life of the titular Oscar-winning science fiction and fantasy film pioneer. Arnold also directed and produced The Puppetoon Movie (1987) featuring such classic animation characters as Gumby, Pokey and Tubby the Tuba and George's Oscar-winning animated shorts.
Arnold executive produced the 2002 Dreamworks/Warner Brothers remake of The Time Machine, starring Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons. Arnold is currently producing a fresh reimagining of The Time Machine, as well as a reboot of George Pal's 7 Faces of Dr. Lao. The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 was released in 2020 and The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3 was released to wide acclaim in 2023. The Puppetoon Movie (1987) has been newly restored from the original negative and will be released along with many bonus extras next year.
THE NAKED JUNGLE came in March, 1954 and in April Paramount released ELEPHANT WALK, a movie with an amazingly similar setting and plot. This time the dysfunctional newlyweds are played by Elisabeth Taylor and Peter Finch and the jungle plantation in Ceylon – overrun at the climax, not by insects, but pachyderms. And Abraham Sofaer shows up in essentially the same role!