The titular bride is Gina, living on a rubber plantation in the jungle owned by her older husband Claus. She is desired by both his foreman Barney Chavez ( Raymond Burr ) and friend Dr Viet ( Tom Conway playing the same part as in The Seventh Victim ) . Barney kills Claus but the only witness, a native servant chooses to turn him into a gorilla with a curse rather than hand him over to the authorities. A visibly deteriorating Lon Chaney Junior plays the police commissioner.
Despite the silly premise, this is actually a decent film with three dimensional characters played by a good cast.
Barbara Payton ( as Gina )
Sex : The busty blonde has longer clinches with Burr than would have been permitted in the forties.
Death : Gina is mauled by the transformed Barney but the film leaves it ambiguous whether or not she's been killed.
Barbara, was a former model whose career began in the late forties. At the turn of the decade she was being considered for major roles but her promiscuous private life eventually undid her and her career unwound in the mid-fifties. She became an alcoholic and eventually a prostitute. She returned to her parents' home to die of heart and liver failure aged 39 in 1967.
Carol Varga ( as Larina )
Sex : Wears a revealing two-piece outfit throughout. An early scene suggests she is having an affair with Chavez but this is never really followed up suggesting some of her scenes were cut.
Death : Presumably survives having deserted the plantation
Carol made over a hundred films between 1949 and 1970 , split between Hollywood and The Phillipines. She died in 2008 aged 77.
Felippa Rock ( as Stella )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
This tiny role was Felippa's only credited film part but she later became a respected casting director. She's still alive aged 92.
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