This could be called the origin of Bomba (Johnny Sheffield). As such, the story is more interesting than usual. Presently, in picturesque Africa, the jungle boy watches different animals with their children. Bomba is sad because every animal in the jungle has father and mother but him. This leads Bomba on a journey of self-discovery. We will finally see the fate of Bomba's parents, John and Laura Hastings. An entertaining "native" Suzette Harbin (as Baru) plays a large part. She's silly, but fun to watch. The pretty girl role is filled exceptionally well by Karen Sharpe (as Linda Ward). Of course, she has a swimming scene. Cast wisely, Ms. Sharpe beautifully fills her one-piece bathing suit. Also lifting this entry is a nicely edited fire sequence. The smoke, controlled background fires and added foreground effects are quite effective. Some acting rehearsals and flashback scenes might have improved this story, along with a more appropriate title.***** Bomba and the Jungle Girl (12/7/52) Ford Beebe ~ Johnny Sheffield, Karen Sharpe, Walter Sande, Suzette Harbin

I guess it's a toss up as to who's the 'Jungle Girl' of the title. You have Linda Ward (Karen Sharpe), daughter of a government inspector, and Baru (Suzette Harbin), the daughter of a tribal chief, who it turns out acquired his status by nefarious means. Ultimately it doesn't make much difference because the story is a rather haphazard affair, as hero Bomba (Johnny Sheffield) attempts to learn about his origins and why he's the only jungle inhabitant that can't lay claim to a mother and father.This is only the second 'Bomba' film I've seen but I've already noted that just like Tarzan and Jungle Jim, Bomba can get involved with the deadliest of animal foes and come away without a scratch. In this one he wrestles a crocodile out to make dinner of Linda Ward, but it's actually the young lady who turns things around by shooting the croc. I thought I recognized Nancy Sharpe in her role here, turns out she portrayed the character Laura Thomas in the single season TV Western "Johnny Ringo" during the 1959/1960 season. Oh yeah, someone actually watched that show on a regular basis.As I keep tabs on these jungle features I'm always keen on catching wild animals outside their natural element. That leopard that fought off the water buffalo was actually a South American jaguar as you can note by the small rosettes inside the larger spots. How he got to Africa is anyone's guess.Well high above the Jeruti village, Bomba finds what he's looking for. The remains of his murdered parents were buried in a cave, killed on orders of Gamboso (Martin Wilkins), the village chief. The jungle lad didn't have much time to think about it as the wicked daughter Baru set the jungle on fire as a way to fend off the Wards and approaching Commissioner Barnes. The film may have one significant but dubious credit in as much as it features what might be the very first cat fight between a black and a white woman as Baru tussles with young Linda Ward. After it was over, did anyone else think it strange that when Baru walked out of the cave, you hear her scream off screen and that's it - she's gone! I guess Linda was the jungle girl after all.

Bomba feels bad about being an orphan so he decides to find out who his parents are and what happened to them. The trail leads him to a village ruled by a corrupt chief and his ruthless daughter. Needless to say, the two don't like Bomba poking around and asking questions. This is a nice change of pace plot for the series, which usually had the standard 'evil white men come to the jungle to kill or steal and Bomba must stop them' formula. It only took seven sequels for them to think about following up on this plot thread from the first movie but I'm glad they finally did.The Bomba series had its fair share of pretty ladies and here we have two. Karen Sharpe is the daughter of a government official and Suzette Harbin is the daughter of the village chief. I'm not sure which girl is the jungle girl of the title. I mean, Harbin is the only one of the two who actually lives in the jungle but Sharpe is the heroine. Neither is a 'jungle girl' in the same sense that Bomba is a 'jungle boy.' Both are attractive and well-written for young female roles at the time. When Bomba swims out to rescue her from a crocodile, Sharpe takes matters into her own hands and swims to shore, gets a gun, and kills the croc herself! Harbin is her father's right-hand and heir to the throne. She's in charge of the village guard and killing her father's enemies. It's one of the best Bomba movies, which isn't saying a whole lot I know. It's a juvenile adventure movie with a little more plot than most in the series and some strong female characters which deserves mentioning. The movie makes use of stock footage, as it always did. Maybe a little less than usual, though. There are some humorous moments with the chimps that I enjoyed. It does go on too long, as most of the Bomba sequels did for some reason. Nothing you can't live without seeing but a good way to pass the time if you're so inclined.

BOMBA AND THE JUNGLE GIRL (Monogram, 1952), written and directed by Ford Beebe, based upon the character by Roy Rockwood in the "Bomba" Books, stars Johnny Sheffield in the title role in the eighth installment of this "second feature" adventure series. While title leaves impression of Bomba meeting a displaced jungle girl, helping her find her family by assisting her through long journey and adventure before reaching some obscure village, no such thing occurs. A somewhat misleading title actually revolves more on the displaced jungle boy wanting to know more about himself and whom his people are. The story gets underway as Bomba (Johnny Sheffield) observes the animals around him. He thinks to himself, "Every animal in the jungle has a mother and father but me. I don't even know who I am." This sets the pattern of what's to come. Bomba finds a book inside a cave that could lead to his true identity. By taking it over to his friend, Deputy Andy Barnes (Leonard Mudie) for translation, it is revealed the book to be a diary written by Cody Casson, a man now deceased, who found and raised Bomba when he was three. It is learned that Bomba's parents are John and Laura Hastings (possibly Hawkins), and that his father was a mapmaker living among the native tribe. Since Bomba, who likes the surname of "Hastings" best, wants to know more about his family, he decides to travel to the village where it all began many years ago. Along the way Bomba sees and rescues Linda Ward (Karen Sharpe) from an crocodile attack, who in turn shoots the crocodile as Bomba gets overpowered by it. Through a twist of fate, Bomba finds that Linda's father, Lawrence (Walter Sande) is a government agent inspecting living conditions of that same tribal village where he's headed. During his quest for information, Bomba discovers his parents were murdered, and intends on finding out who's responsible. To prevent Bomba from learning the truth from Linasi (Amanda Randolph), a blind woman who was once his native nurse, Gamboso (Martin Wilkins), the tribal leader, and Boru (Suzette Harbin), his daughter, arrange to have the woman killed by a poisoned dart from a blow gun, and placing Bomba under arrest for her murder. Set free by Linda, Bomba later makes every effort to save father and daughter from whatever danger lies ahead, at the same time, getting to the main source to his family mystery without getting himself targeted by death.Based on the plot summary, there's no jungle girl, unless one counts the Linda character, who's never seen in jungle clothes. As much as BOMBA AND THE JUNGLE GIRL is often dismissed as one of the lesser entries, it is, in fact, a satisfactory one. Contrary, the summary used in this edition is one that would have served best for the first in the series, BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY (1949) rather than the plot used, consisting more time on the supporting safari players and hardly anything on Bomba's origin and how he came to be a lone jungle boy with a sphere. By this time, Ford Beebe, who scripted the entire "Bomba" adventures, slightly broke away from traditional "Bomba" stories by setting the pattern more towards Bomba's unknown heritage. By doing this, he adds further excitement placing Bomba's life in peril. Playing more like a murder mystery set in the jungle, it gets by on the material and limited production values it has. Below average acting from newcomer Karen Sharpe, along with a not-so-convincing demise of one of the villains, can be contributed towards the film's weakness, but overall, a passable 72 minutes. Others members of the cast include Morris Buchanan in notable support as Kokoli, a native who risks his life assisting Bomba; Don Blackman, Bruce Carruther, Roy Glenn, and Bomba's pet monkey, N'Kimba, doing what Cheta of the "Tarzan" movie series did best, attracting whatever attention in the "comedy relief" department.Being the last "Bomba" adventure produced by Monogram, in fact, the last Monogram film ever release, the duration of the "Bomba" series (1949-1955) were distributed by Allied Artists. Unseen on cable television since Turner Network Television's broadcast in 1992 and 1993, BOMBA AND THE JUNGLE GIRL has joined forces, along with other "Bomba" adventures, as worthy presentations on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere January 21, 2012). Next in the series: SAFARI DRUMS (1953). (**)