BOMBA ON PANTHER ISLAND (1949)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *sociological*

With the second and third entries in the 12-film BOMBA series, a sense of sameness already sets in. For the most part one enjoys the films largely on the virtues of the performers, without even a middling interest in the plot found in Tarzan mellers of the same period.

BOMBA ON PANTHER ISLAND is certainly the better of the two, in that it carries over the quasi-ecological theme of the first film.  The "island" of the story holds a white man's plantation, to which Bomba journeys in search of a man-killing panther (though technically Bomba's after the animal because it killed his pet monkey).  On the island, an experimental farm is worked by natives, who take orders from the callow-looking owner of the farm, Robert Maitland.  Maitland's farm is also inhabited by his tenderfoot sister Judy, who continually complains about moving back to civlization (at least until she gets a look at Bomba's pectorals) and by a French serving-girl (albeit garbed in a sarong), Losana (Lita Baron). 

Losana also has a yen for Bomba, who does take out a little time from panther-hunting to let the two girls compete over him.  In fact, the film's most amusing moment shows Losana getting friendly (in a G-rated manner) with Bomba by a riverside.  Judy comes along and tries to draw Bomba away.  She fails and leaves in a huff, at which action Bomba leaves the hot saronged babe and chases after the pretty but uptight one.  Who said jungle boys had to be smart?

There's also a very minor plot-line in which the natives consider Losana to be a were-panther, which  adds an extra uncanny appeal to the story.  Accordingly this film (unlike VOLCANO) fits the trope of "phantasmal figurations," though very little happens to convince the viewer that Losana might be a cat-woman.  (She doesn't even get into a catfight with Judy!)

Callow Robert, though, does continue in the tradition of callous white invaders seen in BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY.  In the first film, Bomba had to deal with an arrogant white hunter who refused to listen to the advice of seasoned jungle sage Commissioner Barnes.  Barnes does appear in PANTHER, advising Robert not to attempt bending the jungle to his will, but the sage quickly disappears from the story (and never appears again in a BOMBA movie).  Robert then tries to eradicate the pesky jungle with a backfire, which naturally gets out of control about the same time Bomba tracks down the killer panther.  In the end both fire and panther are cheated of their victims.  In contrast to the first film, where the arrogant white guy never admitted doing wrong, Robert does at least see the error of his ways.  Bomba then takes his leave, not even promising to call either Judy or Losana.