Jivaro [Lost Treasure of the Amazon] ** (1954, Fernando Lamas, Rhonda Fleming, Brian Keith, Lon Chaney Jr, Richard Denning, Marvin Miller, Rita Moreno) – Classic Movie Review 10,553

In 1954 Rhonda Fleming starred with Fernando Lamas in Jivaro, her third 3D movie, following Those Redheads from Seattle with Gene Barry and Inferno with Robert Ryan.

Director Edward Ludwig’s 1953 Jivaro [Lost Treasure of the Amazon] stars Fernando Lamas, Rhonda Fleming, Brian Keith and Lon Chaney Jr, and was filmed in stereoscopic 3D. However, because of a decline of interest in 3D, Jivaro was not presented in 3D on its original release. It finally had its 3D debut on 17 September 2006 at The World 3D Expo in Hollywood.

Jivaro is jolly jungle japes in 3D as a group of American adventurers go treasure hunting down the Amazon River. Rio Galdez (Lamas), owner of a remote Brazilian trading post, soon makes glamorous new arrival Alice Parker (Fleming) forget that she has come to hunt her lost fiancé Jerry Russell (Richard Denning), an alcoholic ex-engineer who has gone into dangerous Jívaro territory in search of gold. Along with the hunt for treasure and the hunt for a lost fiancé, there is a third hunt – Brazilian headhunters!

The cheap production, with its interior ‘outdoor’ sets, and the consistently dopey dialogue, hold both the film and its performers back, though producers Pine-Thomas Productions did splash out on a colourful Technicolor location second-unit shoot on Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest and Amazon River. Yet the bulk of the film is shot in the studio at Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood. Shot by Lionel Lindon, and designed by A Earl Hedrick and Hal Pereira, the film looks gorgeous in Technicolor.

Winston Miller’s screenplay is based on the novel Morro Treasure by David Duncan.

Brian Keith and Lon Chaney Jr also star as Tony and Pedro Martines. Also in the cast are Marvin Miller as Jivaro Chief Kovanti, Rita Moreno as Maroa, Morgan Farley as Vinny, Charles Lung, Nestor Paiva, Pascual García Peña, Gregg Barton, and Kay Johnston.

It was advertised as ‘Jungle Thriller! Box-Office Filler!’ and ‘Jivaro: Headhunters of the Amazon’.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,553

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