1942 film by William Witney
Perils of Nyoka is a 1942 Republic serial directed by William Witney. It stars Kay Aldridge as Nyoka the Jungle Girl, a character who first appeared in the Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired serial Jungle Girl.
Plot
Nyoka, with help from Larry Grayson, attempts to discover the golden tablets of Hippocrates. The tablets contain the medical knowledge of the ancients and are being buried along with gold and other treasure. Also hunting for the tablets are Queen Vultura (Ruler of the Arabs) and Cassib.
Production
Perils of Nyoka was budgeted at $169,296 although the final negative cost was $175,010 (a $5,714, or 3.4%, overspend), making it the most expensive Republic serial of 1942.[1] It was filmed between March 20 and May 2, 1942,[1] with the outdoor action sequences shot primarily at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California.[1]
The success of the original serial Jungle Girl prompted the sequel, but the studio did not want to pay licensing fees to Burroughs again, so it avoided any repetition of the term Jungle Girl, for which he owned the rights. Nyoka, the name of the main character in the first film, was instead placed in the title of the sequel, as that name was an original creation of Republic's writers, not of Burroughs.[5] The word "jungle" was avoided in the film, with the setting described as an African "desert", though the area shown was not nearly as arid as is the Sahara.
Release
Theatrical
Perils of Nyoka's official release date was June 27, 1942, but that is actually the date upon which the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1] The serial was re-released on April 2, 1952 under the new title Nyoka and the Tigermen,[6] between the first runs of Radar Men from the Moon and Zombies of the Stratosphere.[1]
Television
Perils of Nyoka was one of 26 Republic serials rereleased for television in 1966 under the Century 66 label. The title of the film was changed to Nyoka and the Lost Secrets of Hippocrates. This version was trimmed to 100 minutes in length.[1]
Reception
Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut have written that Perils of Nyoka was probably the best jungle-type serial ever made and that it "lavished in increased production values".[5] Cline noted that Perils of Nyoka stood out in the memories of the original serial audiences, despite the strong competition of 1942.[2]
