Reading here that an assistant director on this film was killed in the rapids no doubt filming the final action sequence of Duel In The Jungle, makes me wonder was it worth it. This poor man didn't exactly die for the making of Citizen Kane.Duel In The Jungle finds Dana Andrews heading the cast of a British production where he's an insurance investigator sent to Africa to investigate the death of David Farrar, a rich adventurer on whom the company has written a million dollar policy. The company doesn't want to fork over that kind of loot without it's own investigation.Andrews also devotes time to harassing and that's the only way you can describe it, Farrar's fiancé Jeanne Crain. That's all right because Farrar is a nasty villain.The film was shot on location in South Africa and Rhodesia and good location shots were wasted on a rather predictable action/adventure film. It isn't The African Queen or King Solomon's Mines you'll be seeing with Duel In The Jungle.

Dana Andrews plays Scott Walter, an insurance investigator from the States. While in London on business, he's asked to stop by and look into an unusually large life insurance policy written on the life of a diamond magnate. It seems Walters' bosses are worried about issuing a million dollar policy. While there doesn't seem to be a lot for Walter to do, he does have a great time sexually harassing the secretary of the man obtaining the policy during his visit. He is actually very boorish about all this.Walter soon is ready to leave for his next meeting abroad when he finds out the insured man (who he hasn't yet me) was reported dead-- washed overboard and no trace of him. This seems fishy...and when the sexy fiancée (Jeanne Crain) leaves suddenly, he decides to follow as she might lead him to the dead man...if he is, in fact, alive. This results in a twisted trail that leads to a merchant vessel, a safari and, eventually, to see the dead man...quite alive and openly admitting the insurance fraud. Obviously, the man has no intention of allowing Walter out of the African back country alive.This is a bizarre film for Dana Andrews as well as Jeanne Crain. You just don't expect to see these actors in such an international film--which filming in the UK, South Africa and Rhodesia (since renamed Zaire). It's a nice chance to see Africa as it once was...as I have visited some of these same regions since the film was made in the 1950s and they have often changed dramatically. That's progress for you.So is it any good? Well, yes...but the first portion is a bit bad. They really have Andrews acting like a sexual harrasser....which is nothing like his usual nice-guy image. His pursuit of the lady before he realizes there might be insurance fraud is pretty sad--and he is a guy who sure won't take no for an answer, at least until she shows him her engagement ring. From here on, it's actually a grand adventure-- filled with thrills and lots of great footage. Sadly, occasionally the filmmakers resorted to some obvious stock footage...though mostly it was real footage in glorious color. And seeing Victoria Falls...well that was a treat as well as all the animals. Plus, the film certainly is unique and exciting.

When I saw the synopsis of this movie showing on our "oldies" channel, I was intrigued because it spoke of Rhodesia, jungle and coast in the same sentence. I was brought up in Rhodesia and there is certainly no jungle to speak of (just rain forests) and it's a land-locked country. So it seemed like a good idea to watch it and see what it was all about.I guess I was hyper-critical of all the inaccuracies because of my background. Things that other viewers may not notice. Such as lions and leopards roaming the rain forest. Neither inhabit the forests in my experience. And neither would be on the prowl during the heat of the day. And a cobra just hanging around in the grass waiting for someone to stand on it by accident! Not likely. And other "dangerous" snakes like the pythons in the pit. If Vincent were to fall into the pit, he would have caused them more harm than they him. And the "monkey" that threw out the luggage looked more like a chimp to me. Not a native of southern Africa.But the thing that amused me the most was the strange mix of languages used. Especially the use of the word "bwana". This is a Swahili (Arabic) word. Swahili is spoken in some parts of eastern Africa NOT southern Africa. So it was funny to hear Vincent say "bwana" followed by him speaking Zulu to his colleagues. In reality he would have said "baba". It was also funny to hear the one guy talking Afrikaans, because this is really only spoken in South Africa (not Rhodesia) although a lot of Rhodesians would have learned it as a foreign language. The license plate of the vehicle (TJ XXXX) they were driving was a Transvaal / Johannesburg plate so I guess they were in South Africa for that scene. I don't speak Swahili, so I can't say for certain if that is what Henderson was speaking. But it wasn't any language I was familiar with. But besides these sorts of things, it wasn't a bad movie. A bit predictable. The plot line contained the helpless, clueless woman of course. Pretty much standard for movies up until very recently, so not unexpected.The views of Victoria falls made it worth watching in my opinion. I have very happy memories of visiting the falls when they were still accessible like shown in the movie. Now there are safety rails everywhere.

Interesting adventure in which Dana Andrews plays an insurance investigator who goes to Africa to check out the death by drowning of a man ( David Farrar ) who had a million dollar insurance policy. Also looking for info regarding the allegedly dead man is his wife, Jeanne Crain. Pretty fast paced drama, the last portion of the film set in the African jungle. Dana Andrews & Jeanne Crain were one of the great film pairings. Besides this film, they were also in State Fair, Madison Avenue, and Hot Rods to Hell. I had seen this film as a kid & it had kept me on the edge of my seat. It doesn't get much play these days--but I did find a DVD thru a collector. Seeing the film again was a thrill.