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| The
Mystery of the Black Jungle |
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| AKA
I misteri della giungla nera 1954 (Italy) |
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| Directed
by Gian Paolo Callegari and Ralph Murphy |
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| Starring:
Lex Barker, Fiorella Mari and Luigi Tosi |
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A group of religious fanatics in India, the Thugs, prey
upon Europeans and natives alike, capturing and offering
them up in sacrifice to their frightful goddess, Kali.
The Governor of the Province sends Tremal-Naik, a famous
Indian hunter, on an expedition to end the savagery.
He is accompanied by Major Kennedy and Major Maffertis,
the latter with a personal reason for wanting to destroy
the Thugs and their sinister leader, Suyodhana. Maffertis,
once stationed in the district with his family, is certain
that his young daughter was a victim of the cult, but
he has no proof and has not heard anything of her since
her disappearance years ago. Tremal-Naik also has his
own troupe made up of his faithful companions Kammamuri,
Aghur and Urti, and his tiger Darma. Later, Tremal-Naik
sees and falls in love with Ada a young woman the Thugs
are holding captive. She begs him to forget her and
warns him of the danger to both of them if he tries
to penetrate the mystery surrounding the large banyan
tree where he first saw her. Ignoring the warning when
his companion Urti is killed near the tree, Tremal-Naik
discovers that it is the entrance to the temple where
Ada is an unwilling priestess. |
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| The
movie was followed by the sequel: The Black Devils
of Kali. It was remade in 1965 as The Mystery
of Thug Island. In 1991, Kabir Bedi played Kammamuri
in an eight part minseries based on Salgari's
novel. |
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