Summary
In 'Jungle Heat', the African veldt becomes a stage for high-velocity slapstick when Al and Clem’s motorized trek ends in a catastrophic collision with a rhinoceros. The wreckage of their flivver forces the duo into a precarious social climb within a colonial outpost, where Clem’s penchant for tall tales creates a dangerous identity for Al. Suddenly branded as a legendary bare-handed elephant slayer to impress the beautiful Lucille, the wiry Al is thrust into the lead of a hunting expedition he is entirely unqualified for. The film pivots from a survival comedy to a frantic satire of machismo, culminating in a surreal sequence involving a mobile shack and a misunderstanding of scale that subverts the 'Great White Hunter' trope with frantic, acrobatic energy.
Synopsis
Al and Clem are traveling in Africa, via flivver. They get into an argument about the best way to drive the car, with the result that they run head on into a rhinoceros, who demolishes the car with one toss of his horns. The pair are forced to go on their way afoot. They get a ride in a native cart and finally get to the hotel in the village. Both of them incur the dislike of Glen, a sportsman in Africa to hunt elephants. Al meets Lucille and her father, a professor who is in Africa to study animals and bugs. Al is smitten with her beauty but finds himself embarrassed when he falls into the fountain on their first meeting. Clem overhears some men bragging about their prowess as big game hunters. Not to be outdone, he brags a bit himself, telling the listeners that Al is the mightiest hunter in Africa, in fact he hunts and kills elephants bare-handed. Lucille overhears this and tells Al he is the very man they need to lead their elephant hunting expedition. The expedition is formed and when they come for Al he runs away. But the party catches up to him and thinks he is just too anxious to meet the elephants. Al meets some elephants but they throw him out of the way. While he is running he sees a shack in which he takes refuge. Inside he finds Clem. The shack turns out to be a howdah on an elephant's back and when they step out of the house they get a double surprise. They get away and are going back to the hotel when an elephant chases them. They rush into camp yelling that a herd of the monsters is after them, but the herd turns out to be only one baby elephant.
Review Excerpt
"Is Jungle Heat a lost masterpiece of the silent era or just another frantic relic of the 1920s? Short answer: It is a vibrant, physically demanding comedy that works as a showcase for Al St. John, even if its narrative is as thin as the air on the savanna.This film is for enthusiasts of pure physical comedy and those who want to see the 'rubber-band man' of silent cinema at his peak. It is NOT for viewers who require a sophisticated plot or those sensitive to the stereotypical tropes common in 1..."
