Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

mark.waltz For somebody living topless in the African jungle, Johnny Sheffield is pretty pale. This curly haired young man is certainly no boy, having grown up on screen as the son of Tarzan. With that series over (at least in its original conception), Sheffield was contracted for a series of his own. It is an enjoyable revamp of Tarzan under a new name with a new version of Jane, played here by Academy Award winner Peggy Ann Garner who has risen from child star herself to a decent young actress, and the adventures he takes her on are very enlightening for a civilized girl who learns that her society laws and rules of survival are often ruthless and a fight against God's law.Sheffield doesn't really have to act, just pose with his muscle bound arms and beefy chest, and grunt in his character's limited English. Sheffield comes across the lost Garner and tries to help her get back to her father Onslow Stevens, who may not be as grateful as he should be, having earlier nipped Sheffield's shoulder with a bullet. Sheffield proceeds to put Garner up near his cave, and a very subtle romance begins to emerge from their initially rocky introduction. Several dangerous elements emerge including a frightening attack by locusts who are definitely more than just your every day grasshopper. Obviously made for younger audiences, this is sort of a Blue Lagoon of jungle movies, yet avoids the insinuations of anything going on other than one person helping another although a few moments drop subtle hints that add a few laughs. Stock footage of old African documentaries mixes well with the newly shot footage. Adorable monkeys of all sorts provide even more giggles, especially one chimpanzee who tries on Garner's undergarments. The story is preposterous, but it's so gently done and enjoyable. While the days of the B movie would be soon over, the remaining years would produce a few more series like this, quota quickies, yet perfect fare for the entertainment starved public.

John T. Ryan FOLLOWING THE ABRUPT ending of his run as Boy in the MGM and Sol Lesser-RKO Series of Tarzan Pictures, young Johnny Sheffield swung, not to a new career path, but to the next tree in the vast Hollywood Backlot "Jungle". Beginning a new role as the title character in BOMBA,THE JUNGLE BOY (Monogram, 1949).* THE COMBINATION OF good looks, a fine athletic physique and all of the previously generated publicity from all of those Tarzan movies, all joined together to make him perfect for the Bomba movies. The quite accidental combination of factors made for an ideal package of characteristics, both on screen and in the promotions department of Monogram.AS FOR THE above mentioned Monogram Studios, it was a mark of a great step down from the Tarzans at MGM and RKO. Monogram (which was increasingly using its newly formulated moniker of Allied Artists)was truly a resident of what is known as "Poverty Row" in Hollywood. It was not only a member of this dubious fraternity, but it could well be said to be the preeminent low budget company.** AS ONE WOULD suspect, BOMBA, THE JUNGLE BOY, being a cheapie production, makes plenty of use of stock footage, back lot scrub woods (with the occasional placement of potted palm trees, dwarf banana trees and lush plantings of the Castor Bean plant***)and black men as extras; portraying safari porters.THE STORYLINE, ALTHOUGH admittedly somewhat thinner than most "A" Picture Jungle Epics, is adequate and told in a straight forward manner. however, regardless of narrative method, whether or not that it would spawn a sequel and a series, would rely on Box Office $ucce$$ with the Saturday Afternoon Matinée crowd. Needless to say, the combination of frugality and comic book-like appeal to the juvenile market equaled an A-OK for a series.WE HAVE ALREADY dealt with Johnny Sheffield's casting; which can only be classified as a proverbial no brainer. Hence, we won't discuss him any more.IN THE CAST we have the presence of Onslow Stevens, who anchors an otherwise nondescript company of supporting players. Mr. Stevens' characterization represents the intrusion of the Modern, Western Civilization into the wilds of the Dark Continent. Alrhough it is obvious that it is much more technologically advanced, it's no match for Nature and the primitives who inhabit its savannas, jungles and rain forests.THE INCLUSION OF Peggy Anns Garner is both a plus and a sort of a shock; for just a few years earlier she was praised for her portrayal in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. Working a Monogram would seem to indicate some degree of slipping to her career.SHE DOES, HOWEVER, make for a most lovely "Jungle Girl" and female interest as a potential love interest for the virginal Bomba. The two together make for a truly sensual and even sexy pair; particularly while stretched out and resting during the trek through the wilds.NOTE: * BOMBA is just one of many Tarzan knock-offs (and most successful one)that had appeared over the years and were adapted to the screen. Starting with KING OF THE JUNGLE (Paramount, 1933) with Buster Crabbe as 'Kaspa the Lion Man', Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett) as Kioga (a sort of Temperate Zone Tarzan), HAWK OF THE WILDERNESS (Republic, 1938) and KING OF THE CONGO (Columbia, 1952) with Buster Crabbe as 'Thunda', are all fine examples. In the World of the Comics Magazines, we also had Kazar: whose origin was in Pulp Magazines of the same publisher of Timley/Atlas/Maevel Comics. Congo Bill, long time back-up feature in DC Comics' Action Comics (and adaptation to the serial, CONGO BILL (Columbia, 1948), later acquired a Tarzan-like protégé in one Janu the Jungle Boy. Neither Kazar nor Janu ever got to the point of having any celluloid counterpart. NOTE ** Along with Monogram, Poverty Row members included Republic, PRC (Producers' Releasing Corporation), American International, Grand National, Lippert and Columbia; which graduated to the upper echelon very early in the game.NOTE: *** The Castor Bean is a commonly grown garden flower plant. It is tall with red stems and exotic & tropical looking foliage. The seeds of the annual are poisonous to humans.

bkoganbing Johnny Sheffield who had grown too old to play Boy in the Tarzan films got a nice break from Monogram Pictures and was able to extend his career with the Bomba The Jungle Boy series of films. Like Tarzan, Bomba grows up in the jungle and in fact this film bears no small resemblance to Tarzan, the Ape Man.Bomba's Jane is in the person of former child star Peggy Ann Garner who is a visiting photographer with her father Onslow Stevens. She gets separated from Stevens and enjoys an idyll of sorts with Bomba who is more articulate than those early Weissmuller Tarzans.The only other regular in the Bomba series is Commissioner Andy Barnes who is a glorified game warden here and played by Charles Irwin. In later films Barnes would be played by Leonard Mudie.Some stock jungle footage is integrated nicely into the film, better I would say than a lot of the Tarzan films done at RKO at the same time with Lex Barker. Not a bad beginning for the series.

Chris Gaskin Bomba, the Jungle Boy is the first of the Bomba movies with Johnny Sheffield (Boy from the Weismuller Tarzan movies) as Bomba.In this first movie, a safari in Africa including a girl and her dad are photographing and filming the wildlife when the girl, Pat gets lost and Bomba finds her. They become friends and he helps her to look for the rest of the party, facing several dangers along the way including lions, leopards, a huge swarm of locusts and unfriendly natives. She is reunited with the others at the end and Bobma disappears back into the jungle.Joining Johnny Sheffield in the cast is Peggy Ann Garner as Pat, Onslow Stevens (Them!) as her dad and Bomba regular Smoki Whitfield.Bomba, the Jungle Boy is worth watching if you can get hold of a copy. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.