The Bridge in the Jungle

Basically a plot-less mood-piece, this obscure film was adapted from a novel by the mysterious B. Traven - best-known for THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, which John Huston (the star of THE BRIDGE IN THE JUNGLE) had made back in 1948. While there's some pleasure to be had from observing the everyday details of the unhurried lifestyle in a small Mexican village (especially via the location photography and an evocative score), it's not enough to sustain feature-film length. Besides, though the first half seems to be setting up an eventual crocodile hunt - so that the film would turn into some form of an adventure, the proceedings are completely derailed by the endless search for a missing child! Still, the 'magical' way - through shaman Chano Urueta, the director of the notorious THE BRAINIAC (1961), here hired for his thespian skills - by which the body is ultimately discovered is a nice touch...but then, the sight of the boy's drunken father at the concluding funeral procession proves unintentionally comical. Charles Robinson is the bland young hunter looking for excitement in the village, a mannered Huston is an elderly American who has retired there (basically duplicating the role his father Walter had played in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE!), while Katy Jurado has a dual role (one of them - under layers of make-up - a foul-mouthed old witch!) for no obvious reason.