PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO

Phyllis Coates vs Gorilla

PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO (12 chapter Republic serial/1955. Director: Franklin Adreon. 

Dr. Morgan (Arthur Space of The Crimson Key) and his cohorts Cass (John Daheim) and Rand (Mike Ragan) have discovered diamonds in an abandoned gold mine and want to scare the natives out of the territory so they can work it without interference. To that end Morgan uses a formula to enlarge crawfish to giant size, creating "Devil Monsters" that terrify the tribesmen. Wildlife photographer Jean Evans (Phyllis Coates), who is known as the Panther Girl due to her heroic actions regarding a rogue panther, and who frequently rides around on an elephant, wants to film and possibly capture one of these monsters with the assistance of Larry Sanders (Myron Healey). This is something Cass and Rand try to stop on a regular basis. 

Claw Monsters go at it

The "claw monsters" are the most interesting feature of this entertaining serial, which frequently uses stock footage from Republic's previous jungle cliffhangers. Amazingly, the natives are portrayed by actual black actors! I believe the monsters are photographed in slow motion which almost makes them seem to be products of stop-motion animation at times, although the time factor would make that unlikely. Trying to prove the existence of these creatures for the authorities with her home movies, Jean photographs them separately so that there's nothing to show their actual size in relation to everything else. In reality everyone would just assume she was taking pictures of ordinary craw fish! 

Myron Healey and Phyllis Coates

Dr. Morgan also drugs the natives to make them compliant and to work against Jean and Larry along with his two nasty hirelings. In the cliffhangers, Jean's arm is grabbed and nearly torn off by a giant claw; Larry is almost run over by a jeep rushing toward his prone form on the road; a maddened gorilla goes after Jean for heaven knows what purpose; and Larry gets caught in deadly quicksand even as the natives lob arrows at him and his would-be rescuers. The entertaining serial moves at a swift pace and boasts excellent theme music by composer R. Dale Butts. The serial was shown on television in an abbreviated form as The Claw Monsters.  

Verdict: Thrills, fistfights, gun battles, and yucky giant monsters! ***.