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HEROES
NYOKA
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Nyoka the Jungle Girl is a fictional character created for the screen in the 1941 serial Jungle Girl, starring Frances Gifford as Nyoka Meredith. The character of Nyoka is often described as having been created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. But although the serial was officially based on Burroughs' story "Jungle Girl" -- which first appeared in the pulp magazine Blue Book and later was published as a novel -- there is no character named Nyoka and no Nyoka-like character in the original story. The movie's credits list Burroughs along with six other writers, but his input on creating the film character was obviously minimal, because the studio later was able to use the name "Nyoka" in a sequel without crediting Burroughs at all. After the initial film, Nyoka appeared in comic books published by Fawcett, Charlton, and AC Comics.
MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyoka_the_Jungle_Girl
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I didn’t even know about the fifteen part-serial Nyoka, the Jungle Girl (1941), which claimed to be based on an Edgar Rice Burroughs 1929 novel, Jungle Girl, even though ERB’s book takes place in Cambodia, and Nyoka (“snake” in Swahili) is clearly set in the Hollywood mythos Africa.
MORE: http://www.yunchtime.net/?p=44
Francis Gifford
Gifford was born and raised in Long Beach, California and at the age of 16 had applied to UCLA School of Law with no intention of pursuing an acting career. With a friend, she visited the studios of Samuel Goldwyn to watch a film being made and while there was spotted by a talent scout who brought her to the attention of Goldwyn, who signed her for an acting contract. After only receiving minor roles, she moved to RKO where she was cast in several uncredited supporting roles in films of the late 1930s, including Stage Door (1937) starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.
In 1938 at the age of 18, she married character actor James Dunn and in 1939 landed her first leading role, in the low-budget Mercy Plane, opposite her husband. A planned retirement was interrupted briefly when she played another uncredited role in James Stewart's break-out film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). She played several more minor roles before she was, in 1941, loaned to Republic Pictures and cast in the role which would arguably produce her most enduring fame: as the semi-clad Nyoka in Jungle Girl, a 15-chapter movie serial, based very loosely on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The role was the first time since Pearl White in the silent era that an actress had played the lead in the movie serial genre. The following year, Republic made a sequel Perils of Nyoka but Gifford was no longer available and the heroine's part was played by Kay Aldridge. With Gifford's film career gaining momentum and Dunn's on the decline, partly due to his battle with alcoholism, the marriage had failed by 1942. She left RKO for Paramount Pictures where she acted in several films including The Glass Key (1942). In 1943 she made another jungle movie, co-starring with Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan Triumphs at RKO. That year she also left Paramount and moved to the prestigious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio with the sponsorship of an MGM executive.
MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Gifford
http://www.leconcombre.com/biblio/filmographie/serials-48.html
Kay Aldridge
Kay Aldridge, Republic's first official "serial queen," and still more popular than any other serial heroine except for Linda Stirling herself, was a Southern girl, born in Florida and raised in Virginia. Kay, a fair-to-middling actress (she often said so herself) possessed a charm and enthusiasm (not to mention beauty) that more than made up for her acting inexperience and occasional lack of poise. Initially a model, she started her movie career as an up-and-coming starlet, appearing in several movies for Twentieth Century-Fox (a Charlie Chan who-dun-it and SHOOTING HIGH, with Gene Autry, to name two), but, like so many other serial performers, her A-movie career didn't pan out and she was snapped up by Republic Pictures. Her first of three serials was a sort of pseudo-sequel to an earlier successful Republic outing, JUNGLE GIRL (Republic, 1941), with Frances Gifford, who had been unable to do another serial for Republic due to contractual obligations. Officially based on a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs, JUNGLE GIRL bore no resemblance to its source material, and Burroughs didn't renew the copyright when Republic wanted to do a sequel. The only similarities between the two serials were the heroine's first name: the somewhat odd one of Nyoka. Republic had created this name themselves, so they were able to re-use it in this new cliffhanger.
MORE: http://filesofjerryblake.netfirms.com/html/kay_aldridge.html
The character of Nyoka made a big splash when it debuted in 1941's "Jungle Girl". No mean feat considering that was the same year Republic made their fourth Dick Tracy serial, a live action adaptation of Captain Marvel (the number one comic book superhero at that time), and the big screen debut of football legend "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh.
When Republic decided to make the sequel, "Perils of Nyoka", the following year they ran into two little problems. The original author of "Jungle Girl", Edgar Rice Burroughs, did not take kindly to the vast changes made to his book and wouldn't agree to letting his work be used for a sequel. No problem, the actual character of Nyoka had been created by Republic and could be used any way the studio wanted. The second problem was a little tougher to overcome. "Jungle Girl" star Francis Gifford had been used on loan from MGM and she was now on her way to bigger projects like "American Empire" (1942). Republic had to find a new Nyoka. Their choice was model Kay Aldridge.
Count Torrini (Tristram Coffin) a representative of the Italian government arrives in the desert city of Wade Bartha to meet Professor Campbell (Forbes Murray). Campbell and His associate Dr. Larry Grayson (Clayton Moore) have an ancient papyrus that tells how to find the ancient tablets of Hippocrates; which tell how to cure cancer as well as where a secret treasure is hidden. Campbell tells Torrini that the only person capable of deciphering the papyrus is Nyoka Gordon (Kay Aldridge) who is in the area on a search for her father who disappeared years earlier.
MORE: http://www.serialexperience.com/showarticle.php?fldRecNum=7
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