Sheena, Queen of the Jungle 1956 Irish McCalla news (2 Viewers)

[Jack P]

I won't beat up any further on Roberts, but I think even if she had succeeded with the part, we'd still have a film with far too many problems. I thought the film had too much of a clash of styles in which we went from Greystoke opening to a more campy tone in the present because the whole political intrigue plot based on the fact the evil brother just *happens* to be an NFL placekicker was too much for me to take seriously. There were a lot of lines that I immediately recognized as "Sempleisms" from previous films of his that didn't help either. The fact that Sheena keeps calling Vic "Vic Casey" like it's one name (which of itself is straight out of the "Me Tarzan" style of speaking) also conjured up recollections of how Sam Jaffee's Dr. Zorba would always refer to Vince Edwards as "Ben Casey" like it was one name (and honestly, it wouldn't surprise me one bit knowing Semple's way of writing if that was a deliberate inside joke of his). Another problem for me was Ted Wass. I had just seen him the previous year foolishly trying to fill Peter Sellers shoes in "Curse Of The Pink Panther" and I couldn't shake that out of my head.

I certainly wish a copy of the Raquel project script would surface so I could judge for myself if the result would have at least allowed her to show the independence that she wasn't allowed to show in "Fathom". It may be true as you say that the script would probably have let her down but then it would be a question of whether the performance could overcome that in the way that I felt Helen Slater did an excellent job of in 1984, overcoming a very problematic script in "Supergirl".

The most unfortunate comment in Ben-Ami's book is how he says in the intro that a film like Sheena "couldn't and shouldn't be made today" for reasons that stem from the usual realms of political correctness and no doubt tie into the reasons why all the more recent comic book versions of Sheena have been set in South America instead of Africa. I take the view that the concept of the Jungle Queen does come off as too anachronistic in a contemporary setting because there are very few parts of the world that are "mysterious" and "unexplored" that IMO can make such a character, whether a Sheena or a Tarzan for that matter plausible from a storytelling standpoint (especially in an age of cell phones and satellites that make the plots of many other classic movies obsolete like for instance Steven Spielberg's "Duel"). A period setting though of World War II or no later than the early post-colonial 1960s in the days of the Cold War could still be viable IMO.

 

[Gerani53]

Great points, Jack, and worth discussing. An American-bred prince of an African nation, corrupted by fame, money and vanity, who has no problem smashing his ancient heritage if it means achieving his 'civilized' selfish ends, is actually a pretty cool idea for a modern villain in a jungle adventure. As for the "Vicasey" thing, it can be viewed as a canny way to capture Sheena's innocence without resorting to corny, stilted dialogue... it actually makes sense that she thinks Vic Casey is one word, because it's a reflection of her simpler world, where people use only one name (or, as in the case of the Shaman, no proper name at all). Ironically, Tanya herself wasn't crazy about the casting of Ted Wass, but I think he was fine for what he had to do; Vic is a glib, city-bred, decent enough dude, who fits the bill very nicely as an attractive Adam to Roberts' fetching Eve. When it comes to Helen Slater as Supergirl, I thought she was very sweet and pretty, but a tad too Pollyanna bland to sustain a whole movie (nice girls finish last?). Mildly endearing as her performance was, it couldn't compensate for the campy craziness of the villains, and the sense that a Saturday morning-like kiddie trifle had been bloated to big screen proportions. Still, SUPERGIRL, like SHEENA, had certain unique pleasures; Kara's aerial ballet, as Jerry Goldsmith's music soars, was certainly one of them. It's amazing how 1984 audiences just weren't ready to accept comic book super heroines in this grander way, whether the movies were good, bad, or somewhere in between.

By the way, I agree completely about disagreeing with Ben-Ami's "couldn't and shouldn't be made today" condemnation of the original SHEENA concept, a needless apology that I mentioned up front in my review. Based on this kind of prevailing mentality, I'm afraid a new SHEENA, like the recent live-action MULAN, will most likely be a by-the-numbers politically correct experience, with a woman of color (at least partially) instead of the iconic fish-out-of-water blond, a different country instead of Africa, and CG effects all over the place. We might have better luck waiting for Marvel's Sheena imitation, Shanna the She Devil, to hit movie screens, possibly with Savage Land dinosaurs and a pseudo-Tarzan in tow.

Maybe this I why I'm fond of SHEENA '84... it's an anomaly, a big-budgeted jungle girl movie actually shot on location in Africa, using real animals, with the audacity to treat its subject relatively realistically, at a time when the cartoon-like pulp pleasures of INDIANA JONES were all the rage. Between woke requirements and CGI, we'll probably never see anything like it again.

 

[Jack P]

Any possibility of looking into "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle?" A few years back, the late Peter Greenwood who put together the "My Favorite Martian" and "My Living Doll" DVD sets was trying to see if the Nassour brother heirs had a full set of episodes that could be used for a full series DVD release but he died in the midst of that effort. The character of Sheena is in the PD and that means the series itself should be too (16 of 26 episodes have been released in PD on VHS in the past. Moviecraft had the best copies. The rest have been missing) UCLA also has the pilot episode in color.

 

[Comic2read]

Any possibility of looking into "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle?" A few years back, the late Peter Greenwood who put together the "My Favorite Martian" and "My Living Doll" DVD sets was trying to see if the Nassour brother heirs had a full set of episodes that could be used for a full series DVD release but he died in the midst of that effort. The character of Sheena is in the PD and that means the series itself should be too (16 of 26 episodes have been released in PD on VHS in the past. Moviecraft had the best copies. The rest have been missing) UCLA also has the pilot episode in color.

A new Sheena movie was greenlit. The producer who wrote Die Hard would like a complete DVD set of the 1955 series.

 

[Capt D McMars]

A new Sheena movie was greenlit. The producer who wrote Die Hard would like a complete DVD set of the 1955 series.

Before Zena, it was definatly Sheena!!

 

[Comic2read]

To Classic Flix,

The 1955 Sheena TV show is in the public domain. The Nassours sold their interest to Paul Aratow and it's now owned by Steven de Souza who wrote Die Hard. Unlike Aratow who had a contempt for comic books, Steven is an admirer of Irish McCalla and had retained a Beverly hills law firm to look into the public domain of Sheena. I helped him with that as I knew Jerry Iger's attorney who had become a New York Supreme Court judge who confirmed for them that Jerry Iger never had any legal interest in the 1955 Sheena TV show.

I believe all the Sheena reels exist and are in the hands of film collectors who keep them in their basement. We'll probably see those when those film collectors pass away.

One producers son might have Sheena reels in 16 mm and 35 mm. He hinted to Peter J. Greenwood he might or might not have them. I've talked with him and he was very nice but said he did not have them. He was 18 when he worked on the Sheena set. He said Irish was friendly and down to earth. He said when the show was canceled Irish would visit their studios and ask them if Sheena was going to be renewed.

He also told me censors made Nassour Studios re-film the very first episode because they objected when Irish ran she jiggled too much. So they had to create a new bra for the Sheena costume and re-shoot the running scenes. Perhaps this censored reel still exists?

His cousin, another son of a different producer, said he had the Sheena audition reels of Anita Ekberg, Irish, and Deborah Paget. They were mixed in with his family home movies and he said I could have them after his mom passed away because she would not let them out of the house. Out of respect I didn't ask too much about them. But I should have because he said when they moved, moving men stole a lot of boxes and one of them was the reels. But it's also possible this cousin lied the audition reels were stolen because he wants nothing to do with sharing anything with his cousin. The late Peter Greenwood tried talking to the cousin because he planned a Sheena DVD. Since then I have not heard any replies from the cousin anymore. The cousin used to be a TV producer.

The cousin once had all 26 episodes of Sheena on 16mm but he threw them in the garbage when he was cleaning his garage! He said he tried to sell them but no one replied. He said he regrets it now.

I know for a fact that two lost Sheena episodes 16mm are in New Jersey owned by someone I can give you their name privately. Trade of a killer and Mark of the Giant are the titles.

12 to 14 reels are owned by Moviecraft. A long time ago I was offered them but since I didn't know how to transfer reels, I let Moviecraft buy them and in return I would get free copies. In hindsight I probably should have bought them.

UCLA film archives has the COLOR Sheena reel. Probably in color to sell to TV stations. One fan looked into it and said that print was deteriorating to red/pink.

Peter Greenwood had given me the name of his friend who specializes in finding lost reels who believes he knows where all the 26 Sheena reels are in a foreign country along with lost Doctor Who episodes. He says in a warehouse where all the reels are mixed up. If Classic Flix is seriously interested in finding all 26 Sheena reels for a DVD and Blu-ray set, I'd be happy to help plus I also know the Sheena trademark owner if you need the rights to use the name Sheena. Peter onced talked to him and said he was very nice and he wanted to be very helpful.

Also I know someone else with impeccable credentials who might have snippets of Irish McCalla Sheena deleted scenes. He had sent me a few frames.

(By the way for my collection I am also looking for the 1975 Raquel Welch Sheena script written by Lori and Robert Dillon. Jerry Iger's attorney told me he read the script and he only recalled the conclusion where Raquel/Sheena is captured by a net and fights the villain in a tower. He said Raquel wanted to play Sheena, was going to wear a blonde wig, and her costume was going to be designed by a famous designer.)

 

[Comic2read]

Here is the last page from the huge Sheena website's Irish McCalla biography that sums up why she is so special:

Irish McCalla - The Final Years - Page 5

detailed description of irish mccalla's childhood, her family, her phsyical development, her artistic development, boyfriends

terrororstralis.com

 

[Capt D McMars]

Here is the last page from the huge Sheena website's Irish McCalla biography that sums up why she is so special:

Irish McCalla - The Final Years - Page 5

detailed description of irish mccalla's childhood, her family, her phsyical development, her artistic development, boyfriends

terrororstralis.com

Well done...I too fondly remember Irish as Sheena, I would love to see restored editions of her Sheena episodes. Being able to preserve them, opening up the opportuntiy to be shared with future generations to appreciate. I hope that agreements and arrangments can be set to help and accomplish this task.

 

[Comic2read]

Well done...I too fondly remember Irish as Sheena, I would love to see restored editions of her Sheena episodes. Being able to preserve them, opening up the opportuntiy to be shared with future generations to appreciate. I hope that agreements and arrangments can be set to help and accomplish this task.

The series is in the public domain. Steven the Sheena trademark owner said he would be happy to cooperate. He wants to see the complete series too. 10 episodes are still considered lost.

Moviecraft has a lost episode Jungle Manhunt on 16 mm and had the full episode on YouTube. Here's a clip I had from someone else. The actress Susana Alexander who played Sheena's sidekick is still alive and on Facebook currently a Mexican telenovela actress.

 

[Comic2read]

Two reasons I think a Sheena, Queen of the Jungle complete series DVD and Blu-ray would be very successful is that it's the very first superheroine TV show of the first superheroine comic book character so many people would want to see that. And also Irish McCalla's stunning beauty. While she was not a trained actress, she was a natural leader with integrity and it shows on screen. Here's a behind-the-scenes photo.

Irish McCalla is to Sheena what Sean Connery is to James Bond.

 

[Capt D McMars]

Two reasons I think a Sheena, Queen of the Jungle complete series DVD and Blu-ray would be very successful is that it's the very first superheroine TV show of the first superheroine comic book character so many people would want to see that. And also Irish McCalla's stunning beauty. While she was not a trained actress, she was a natural leader with integrity and it shows on screen. Here's a behind-the-scenes photo.

Irish McCalla is to Sheena what Sean Connery is to James Bond.

Right, Irish spearheaded the strong, resourceful Woman character that was intelligent and not just "Feisty" like say Lois Lane (Noel Neill) that was great about getting into trouble, but had to rely on Superman to get her out of trouble, right?
Sheena was both Super and trouble all rolled up in one, ~ if not for her, there would be Zena or all of the independent and intelligent women characters that we all see in stories today. Willing to stand up and be counted on the side of justice.

Maybe a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project? I know I'd be willing to pony up some money for a restoration/release project, like Classic Flix did for Abbott and Costello Seasons 1, and Season 2 (coming very soon). Granted the various elements quality is more expensive, but as a way to preserve and protect this series for future generations, seems to be a reasonable goal.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I wonder who runs her Faceboo page? Maybe contact them and see if they're the same ones that run her webpage and try and coordinate the project awarness through their "Jungle Telegraph" ~

Irish "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" McCalla

Irish "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" McCalla. 1,627 likes · 7 talking about this. The character "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" was popularized in comics over the decades, but perhaps most of all by...

www.facebook.com

 

[Capt D McMars]

A contemporary of Irsh's series was Panther Girl of the Kongo, played by Phyllis Coats, she too had a superman connection. Due to conflicts with the producer and prior commitments, Phyllis decided not to return to the role of Lois Lane when filming resumed in 1953, and Noel Neill, who had played the role in the first two Superman serials, was called in to replace her. But Her jungle girl was just overshadowed by Irish's portrail of Sheena, the true Queen of the Jungle!!

 

[Comic2read]

I'm not sure who runs the Irish McCalla Facebook page but there's a Sheena History Facebook page that has a thousand fans.

There's also the Sheena website, and it is a huge website about everything Sheena:

Sheena Intro Page

terrororstralis.com

 

[Capt D McMars]

I'm not sure who runs the Irish McCalla Facebook page but there's a Sheena History Facebook page that has a thousand fans.

There's also the Sheena website, and it is a huge website about everything Sheena:

Sheena Intro Page

terrororstralis.com

Thanks Frank, the problem with that linked website is that it's NOT secure and open to hacking and being hacked!! Whoever it is that is running it needs to set up a secure site to help protect them and all those wanting to visit...jusy FYI.
3D Archives was that way too, for sometime...as was the Wade Williams Collection website...I think that one is still not secure!!

 

[Comic2read]

Thanks Frank, the problem with that linked website is that it's NOT secure and open to hacking and being hacked!! Whoever it is that is running it needs to set up a secure site to help protect them and all those wanting to visit...jusy FYI.
3D Archives was that way too, for sometime...as was the Wade Williams Collection website...I think that one is still not secure!!

I'll let the guy who designed the Sheena website know. He retired from updating it.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I'll let the guy who designed the Sheena website know. He retired from updating it.

it just take a couple of ungrades and does make a big difference in the sites traffic and overall safety ~

 

[JoeDoakes]

Peter Greenwood had given me the name of his friend who specializes in finding lost reels who believes he knows where all the 26 Sheena reels are in a foreign country along with lost Doctor Who episodes. He says in a warehouse where all the reels are mixed up. If Classic Flix is seriously interested in finding all 26 Sheena reels for a DVD and Blu-ray set, I'd be happy to help plus I also know the Sheena trademark owner if you need the rights to use the name Sheena. Peter onced talked to him and said he was very nice and he wanted to be very helpful.

I think it would be great if this show was released in a quality presentation, but sometimes discussions of lost shows remind me of the ending of the Maltese Falcon. On to Istanbul!

 

[Capt D McMars]

I think it would be great if this show was released in a quality presentation, but sometimes discussions of lost shows remind me of the ending of the Maltese Falcon. On to Istanbul!

Well, it can't hurt to try, right?

 

[JoeDoakes]

Well, it can't hurt to try, right?

Nope.