The Lurid Misfire That Was 1984’s SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE
REEL RETRO CINEMA: New looks at old flicks and their comic-book connections… By ROB KELLY Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, a co-creation of the legendary Will Eisner and Jerry Iger, debuted in a 1937 British comic book and then moved to American shores a year later, in Jumbo Comics #1 (cover dated Sept. 1938—making this her 80th anniversary year). Massively popular from the start, Sheena would receive her own series in spring of 1942, making her the first female comic-book hero to headline her own title (beating DC’s Wonder Woman by a few months). Sheena continued to be a comic-book star well into the late 1950s, then jumped into live action with a syndicated TV series that ran for one season in 1955-56. Unlike her fellow jungle hero Tarzan, who has never truly gone away, Sheena pretty much laid dormant for a few decades as an ongoing concern (though she was mentioned in 1970s songs by the Ramones and Bruce Springsteen, proving she left an impression on a lot of young boys). Documentary filmmaker Paul Aratow got the idea to make a Sheena movie in the 1970s, and in quick succession had a deal with Universal Pictures with the idea it would star Raquel Welch. But then, as happens with a lot of movies, the momentum seemed to stall, and by the time Sheena, Queen of the Jungle was finally put into production in 1984, it was quite a different movie than the one intended. Gone was Welch, as was the script by David Newman (who worked on the screenplay for 1978’s Superman). Now with director John Guillermin (The Towering Inferno, 1976’s King Kong) at the helm, Lorenzo Semple Jr. was brought in to write, which was an indication of the kind of film Guillermin intended to make. After all, you don’t hire the guy who helped craft the campy tone of Batman ’66 and 1980’s Flash Gordon unless you’re going for a lighter tone. Guillermin cast former Charlie’s Angel (and future Bond Girl) Tanya Roberts in the lead role, and TV actor Ted Wass as Vic Casey, a reporter who plays Lois Lane to Sheena’s Superman. Sheena, Queen of the Jungle opens in the past, with geologists Philip and Betsy Ames investigating supposed “healing powers” that emanate from the sacred Gudjara Mountain. When the Ameses are killed...
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