LIANE JUNGLE GODDESS: Strong and Independent

Liane, Jungle Goddess (German: Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald) is a 1956 West German film directed by Eduard von Borsody. Plot: A beautiful (and completely topless) white jungle siren is discovered in the wilds of Africa living with a native tribe.

FEMMECENTRIC REVIEW:

Yes, yes, I know that this Movie has been seen as sensational exploitation, especially by the standards of the 1950s, and racist in its depiction of native Africans by positioning white culture as superior. But on the other hand, I also see a powerful female character that takes on the world by her own terms. She is strong and independent. She is obligated to no man and is functioning a male world as a strong feminist. Here is a film the presents a Jungle Queen as a precursor to the “We Can Do It” feminist movement of the upcoming 1970s. Here is a film, set in that androcentric time of the 1950s, that didn’t present a woman in a demeaning way, but rather as strong and independent.

The Jungle Queens were female Tarzans. They were a shemale character.

And by the way, the novel that this film is based on was written a woman, Anne Day-Helveg (1898 – 1975) who was an Austrian dancer, dance teacher, and romance writer.

Anne Day-Helveg changed her name several times by 3 marriages (Gruner, Helveg, Lothringer) and by taking pen-names. As a dancer and dance teacher, she was Annie Helveg during her time in Vienna. As a writer of romantic stories, she was Anne Day-Helveg or Anne Day.

In 1938, shortly after her mother's death, she left Austria escaping from the Nazis to France without any money or passport. In 1941, under the name Anna Gruner-Helveg, she was accepted as a stateless refugee in Geneva. Her famous brother Karl Popper supported her during war-time by sending money through the Red Cross, though he himself lived under financial strains in New Zealand. She became a Swiss citizen after marrying the Swiss writer Fred Lothringer. They lived and worked together in Ascona, the place where she died in 1975.

Anne's only remarkable success was the romance in German language Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald (Liane: The Girl from the Jungle), after having been made a German film in 1956 (Liane, Jungle Goddess). It is about a female Tarzan starring the four-star actor Marion Michael, and in those years the topless young beauty Marion Michael was a sensation.

Marion Michael suffered injuries in a car accident during this time period. She returned to acting but stopped again in 1965. She suffered a major bout of depression. Michael sometimes returned to film and television acting later in her life, but only rarely. However, despite her lack of screen time after the 1960s, she remained a well known German film icon. Her last onscreen appearance was in a 1996 German television musical about her life, entitled Liane.

Michael died of heart failure in Gartz, Brandenburg, four days shy of her 67th birthday.

Long live the Jungle Queens for opening the door to a better understanding of what being female is all about.

(Sources include: Wikipedia)

THE STORYLINE FROM IMDB :
An expedition discovers blonde 16-year-old Liane venerated by the native tribe in the African jungle and returns her to Hamburg where she is welcomed by her grandfather, ship tycoon Von Amelongen. His nephew Schoening, present head of the firm and prospective heir, tries all to stop his uncle from acknowledging her, including perjury, destruction of evidence, and finally resorting to murder. He dies in an accident driving his car into the river in his flight from the police. There is a subplot around a love quadrangle centered around Thoren, who is secretly loved by biologist Jacqueline who is in turn courted by Hungarian Tibor. Thoren plays paternal protector to Liane before succumbing to her youthful charm and returning with her to the jungle.

• Marion Michael - Liane
• Hardy Krüger - Thoren
• Irène Galter - Dr. Jacqueline Goddard
• Peter Mosbacher - Tibor Teleky
• Rudolf Forster - Theo Amelongen
• Reggie Nalder - Viktor
• Rolf von Nauckhoff - Professor Danner
• Edward Tierney - Kersten
• Reinhard Kolldehoff - Keller
• Herbert Hübner - Justizrat Warmuth
• Olga von Togni - Alma
• Jean Pierre Faye - Tanga
• Arno Paulsen - Kriminalkommissar
• Anneliese Würtz - Frieda the Maid
• Editha Horn - Miss Helumund
• Waltraut Runze - Ellen the Upstairs Maid
• Walter Bluhm - Port Said Rep
• Curt Lucas - Ship's Captain
• Hans Emons - Nedrick
• Erik Radolf - Jensen

Directed … Eduard von Borsody
Produced … Helmuth Volmer (producer)
Written … Anne Day-Helveg (novel Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald), Thomas Fough (idea) and Ernst von Salomon (script)
Music … Erwin Halletz
Cinematography … Bruno Timm
Edited … Walter von Bonhorst
Distributed … Distributors Corporation of America (US)
Release date … 4 October 1956
Running time … 88 minutes
Country … West Germany
Language … German

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