Ramar of the Jungle

Ramar of the Jungle is a 1952-1954 syndicated American television series that starred Jon Hall as Dr. Tom Reynolds[1] (the titular “ramar,” an African title for a white medicine man) and Ray Montgomery as his associate, Professor Howard Ogden. M'liss McClure played Sahib.[2] Episodes were set in Africa and India.

Ramar of the Jungle
GenreAdventure
StarringJon Hall
Ray Montgomery
Production
Executive producer(s)Rudolph Flothow
Producer(s)Leon Fromkess
Production company(s)Arrow Productions, Inc.
Release
Original networkSyndicated
Original releaseOctober 7, 1952 –
1954

Other cast members included Nick Stewart, Victor Millan and James Fairfax.[3]

Actor Jon Hall created the series, and starred in it, obviously trying to emulate the then-popular Jungle Jim movies. Produced by Rudolph Flothow for Arrow Productions and ITC Entertainment, four sets of 13 episodes were produced, for a total of 52. Each episode runs approximately 25 minutes. In season one, the first 13 episodes are set in Africa and the second 13 are set in India. In the second season, all 26 episodes take place in Africa.

Several television episodes were later combined and released as theatrical movies by producer Leon Fromkess.[4]

Alpha Video [5] has released 11 Ramar DVDs, containing a total of 44 of the 52 episodes. There are eight episodes which have not been released by Alpha.

The 52 Episodes (in alphabetical order)

(* Asterix indicates episode is not available on dvd)

Theatrical movies

Four movies were made (by combining three formerly unrelated episodes into each movie, editing them into a single storyline) which were then theatrically distributed by Lippert Pictures in the USA and Eros Films in the UK:

  • White Goddess (1953)
  • Eyes of the Jungle (1953)
  • Thunder Over Sangoland (1955)
  • Phantom of the Jungle (1955), combines "The Golden Tablet" and "The Flaming Mountain" with a 3rd unidentified episode to tell the story of a young woman scientist (played by Anne Gwynne) searching for her lost archaeologist father.

Television features

In addition to the 4 theatrical features, seven additional movies were created in 1964 for television viewing only:

  • Ramar and the Burning Barrier (1964, ITC, 82 minutes, b&w)
  • Ramar and the Deadly Females (1964, ITC, 80 minutes, b&w)
  • Ramar and the Jungle Secrets (1964, ITC, 81 minutes, b&w)
  • Ramar's Mission to India (1964, ITC, 80 minutes, b&w)
  • Ramar and the Savage Challenges (1964, ITC, 83 minutes, b&w)
  • Ramar and the Hidden Terrors (1964, ITC, 83 minutes, b&w)
  • Ramar and the Jungle Voodoo (1964, ITC, 78 minutes, b&w) -- this is the only one of the seven available on dvd

Merchandising

Ramar's popularity in not only its initial run but syndication led to a wide variety of tie-in toy guns, comic books, board games, costumes, iron-on shirt transfers, jigsaw puzzles and playsets.

Jimmy Buffett referenced this show in his song "Pencil Thin Mustache" in the verse, "Ramar of the Jungle was everyone's bwana, but only jazz musicians were smoking marijuana."

See also

References
  1. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television. Penguin Books USA, Inc. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8. P. 683.
  2. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 409–411. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  3. Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  4. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1958-12-15. p. 11. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  5. http://www.oldies.com
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