Vintage Pulp

June 23 2023

APEX PREDATOR

Her Majesty the Queen of the Jungle is unavailable—she's gone hunting today.

Several years ago we talked about the lost world adventure Luana la figlia delle foresta vergine and showed you its Italian poster. Today we’re showing you the much cooler U.S. promo, which was painted by Frank Frazetta, one of the kings of fantasy art. His work was used for numerous promos, but this is one of our favorites. It wasn’t made specifically for the movie. It was adapted from one of his many earlier pieces, below. You can see a little more Frazetta here, as well as here, where we talked about the novelization of the movie.

Italy, Luana la figlia delle foresta vergine, Luana, Luana the Girl Tarzan, Mey Chen, Mei Chen Chalais, Evi Marandi, Glen Saxson, poster art, cinema

Vintage Pulp

March 28 2019

VINE RIPENED

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

One good swing deserves another, and since we screenedTarzana, sesso selvaggio, we thought we’d check out another Italian female Tarzan movie, 1968’s Luana la figlia della foresta vergine. Basically, a man who disappeared into the African jungle many years ago is sought by the daughter he left back in civilization. The father had taken a second wife who bore him a second daughter. Unbeknownst to the first daughter, her father and his new wife died, and the second daughter grew up in the jungle alone, befriended by birds, primates, and an assortment of big cats. So the first daughter leads a jungle expedition and ends up stumbling upon a half sister that spends her time swinging on vines from water hole to water hole.

Describing the premise of this movie was probably more trouble than it was worth. All we really needed to say is that it’s a film that features hot French actress actress Evi Mirandi and hot Vietnamese actress Mey Chen, aka Mei Chen Chalais, who has no lines at all but looks great running around in a loincloth. She also knows the jungle well enough to avoid the carnivorous flowers, something that—crucially—can’t be said of others. The rest is unimportant. The poster art above is interesting, we think. It’s signed, illegibly, and nobody has yet determined who the artist was. Someone in Italy needs to work that out. We’ll just wait here trying to decide whether Luana la figlia della foresta vergine was actually any good. It premiered today in 1968.

Italy, Luana la figlia delle foresta vergine, Luana, Luana the Girl Tarzan, Mey Chen, Mei Chen Chalais, Evi Marandi, Glen Saxson, poster art, cinema, movie review

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 2

1919—Wilson Suffers Stroke

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed. He is confined to bed for weeks, but eventually resumes his duties, though his participation is little more than perfunctory. Wilson remains disabled throughout the remainder of his term in office, and the rest of his life.

October 2

1968—Massacre in Mexico

Ten days before the opening of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, a peaceful student demonstration ends in the Tlatelolco Massacre. 200 to 300 students are gunned down, and to this day there is no consensus about how or why the shooting began.

October 1

1910—Los Angeles Times Bombed

A massive dynamite bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, California, killing 21 people. Police arrest James B. McNamara and his brother John J. McNamara. Though the brothers are represented by the era’s most famous lawyer, Clarence Darrow, of Scopes Monkey Trial fame, they eventually plead guilty. James is convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. His brother John is convicted of a separate bombing of the Llewellyn Iron Works and also sent to prison.

October 1

1975—Ali Defeats Frazier in Manila

In the Philippines, an epic heavyweight boxing match known as the Thrilla in Manila takes place between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It is the third, final and most brutal match between the two, and Ali wins by TKO in the fourteenth round.

September 30

1955—James Dean Dies in Auto Accident

American actor James Dean, who appeared in the films Giant, East of Eden, and the iconic Rebel without a Cause, dies in an auto accident at age 24 when his Porsche 550 Spyder is hit head-on by a larger Ford coupe. The driver of the Ford had been trying to make a left turn across the rural highway U.S. Route 466 and never saw Dean’s small sports car approaching.

September 30

1962—Chavez Founds UFW

Mexican-American farm worker César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers in California. His strikes, marches and boycotts eventually result in improved working conditions for manual farm laborers, and today his birthday is celebrated as a holiday in eight U.S. states.

September 29

1916—Rockefeller Breaks the Billion Barrier

American industrialist John D. Rockefeller becomes America’s first billionaire. His Standard Oil Company had gained near total control of the U.S. petroleum market until being broken up by anti-trust legislators in 1911. Afterward, Rockefeller used his fortune mainly for philanthropy, and had a major effect on medicine, education, and scientific research.