The Tiger Woman (AKA Perils of the Darkest Jungle)

The Tiger Woman (1944) is a 12-chapter Republic film serial starring Allan Lane and Linda Stirling (her serial debut). The serial was re-released in 1951 under the title Perils of the Darkest Jungle and, in 1966, it was edited into the 100-minute Century-66 film "Jungle Gold". Linda Stirling is a jungle girl in the South American rainforest and ruling a native tribe, but she's also secretly a missing heiress an unaware of this fact.

Plot

Evil oil speculators in South America attempt to drive away a native tribe and their leader, the Tiger Woman. Allen Saunders of Inter-Ocean Oil wants to develop the oil too, but fights with Tiger Woman to stop the bad guys.

Cast

Linda Stirling as Tiger Woman/Rita Arnold. Stirling was immediately popular in The Tiger Woman. Due to her impact, Zorro's Black Whip was quickly put into production with her as the main star.
Allan Lane as Allen Saunders
Duncan Renaldo as José Delgado
George J. Lewis as Morgan
LeRoy Mason as Fletcher
Walton Crane Whitley as Tom Dagget
Robert Frazer as Ramgah, High Priest
Rico De Montez as Tegula
Stanley Price as Mack, Dagget's Clerk

Production

The Tiger Woman was budgeted at $180,292 although the final negative cost was $206,191 (a $25,899, or 14.4%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1944.[1] This serial had the third biggest budget of the sixty-six Republic serials (exceeded only by Captain America (1944) at $182,623 and The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) at $193,878) although it is only the fifth most expensive in terms of the actual production cost. The other four, however, were all 15-chapters long, compared to Tiger Woman's 12-chapters, so this is, per chapter, the most expensive of all Republic serials.

It was filmed at Lake Sherwood, California locations between 20 January and 25 February 1944 under the working title Tiger Woman of the Amazon. The serial's production number was 1298. The Tiger Woman was Republic's attempt to create a new Pearl White with their recent discovery of Linda Stirling.

Producer William J. O'Connell acquired the leopard costume on the cheap but too late for the title to be changed. Although not quite as independently heroic as serial queens such as Pearl White and Ruth Roland, Linda Stirling came as close as anybody, which of course was Republic's goal all along. Her sex appeal, despite the demure costume, was obvious and although this was not why she had chosen the acting profession, Linda tore into her serial assignments with legendary gusto.

*I hope purists out there will forgive me for calling the episodes "Perils of the Darkest Jungle"*