James Dannaldson
Encyclopedia
James Melven Dannaldson (born July 17, 1915, Omaha, Nebraska, died August 12, 1984, Tarzana, California (age 69)) starred in the Frank Buck
film Jacaré
.
was a shot put star at Hollywood High School
in 1934, when he suffered his first animal mishap. A pet rattlesnake nipped Dannaldson’s finger when he playfully stuck his thumb into the reptile’s mouth . Dannaldson was not deterred, and kept a barn filled with three rattlesnakes, five king snakes, ten turtles and one hoot owl when he was a University of Southern California
student. The neighbors were not pleased.
(1942) Dannaldson traveled up the Amazon to catch specimens. In the film, Dannaldson worked with jaguars and caymans, whose jaws had been wired shut. He said his only close call came when an anaconda he wrestled got a loop around his neck and almost strangled him before the natives could unwrap it. Dannaldson’s most primitive adventure occurred on Marajó
Island, at the mouth of the Amazon, where the movie company spent four weeks, ran out of imported food and had to subsist for five days on moldy doughnuts filled with small worms and on chickens which, Dannaldson said, seemed to be 90 per cent vulture. Producer Jules Levey
incorporated a narration by Frank Buck
and music by Miklos Rozsa
into the finished film.
Dannaldson came home from the Amazon with a rare eagle from Manaus
, obtained as a fledgling from a native hunter. Dannaldson presented the eagle to the San Diego Zoo
in 1943.
(1982) (zoological specialist)
... aka John Steinbeck's Cannery Row
Jennifer
(1978) (zoological specialist)
... aka Jennifer Power (Philippines: English title)
... aka Jennifer the Snake Goddess
Damnation Alley
(1977) (zoological specialist)
... aka Survival Run
Sisters of Death (1977) (animal trainer)
The Hills Have Eyes
(1977) (snakes)
... aka Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (USA: LD title)
Snakes (1974) (snake handler)
... aka Fangs
... aka Holy Wednesday
The Wild Bunch
(1969) (provided ants, scorpions, and vultures)
Earth vs. the Spider
(1958) (spider handler)
... aka Earth vs. the Giant Spider
... aka The Spider (USA: promotional title)
The Land Unknown
(1957) (lizard handler)
The Cyclops
(1957) (animal sequences)
The Hellstrom Chronicle
(1971) (special thanks)
Jacaré
(1942) (as James M. Dannaldson) .... Adventurer
... aka Jacare, Killer of the Amazon
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
film Jacaré
Jacare (film)
Jacaré was a film made in 1942 of James Dannaldson’s expedition to the Amazon.Clyde E. Elliott, Charles E. Ford and James Dannaldson led the film crew, which shot some 260,000 feet of film on the lower reaches of the Amazon River in Spring 1942...
.
Early life
Dannaldson was the son of James Jerrmiel Dannaldson and Lulu Belgium Rola Hiatt. Young Jameswas a shot put star at Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
in 1934, when he suffered his first animal mishap. A pet rattlesnake nipped Dannaldson’s finger when he playfully stuck his thumb into the reptile’s mouth . Dannaldson was not deterred, and kept a barn filled with three rattlesnakes, five king snakes, ten turtles and one hoot owl when he was a University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
student. The neighbors were not pleased.
Jacaré
In JacaréJacare (film)
Jacaré was a film made in 1942 of James Dannaldson’s expedition to the Amazon.Clyde E. Elliott, Charles E. Ford and James Dannaldson led the film crew, which shot some 260,000 feet of film on the lower reaches of the Amazon River in Spring 1942...
(1942) Dannaldson traveled up the Amazon to catch specimens. In the film, Dannaldson worked with jaguars and caymans, whose jaws had been wired shut. He said his only close call came when an anaconda he wrestled got a loop around his neck and almost strangled him before the natives could unwrap it. Dannaldson’s most primitive adventure occurred on Marajó
Marajó
Marajó is an island located at the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. It is part of the state of Pará.- Geography :With a land area of 40,100 km² , which compares to the size of Switzerland, it is the largest island to be completely surrounded by freshwater in the world...
Island, at the mouth of the Amazon, where the movie company spent four weeks, ran out of imported food and had to subsist for five days on moldy doughnuts filled with small worms and on chickens which, Dannaldson said, seemed to be 90 per cent vulture. Producer Jules Levey
Jules Levey
for the television producer please see Jules LevyJules Levey was the producer of the Frank Buck movie Jacaré.-Early career:...
incorporated a narration by Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
and music by Miklos Rozsa
Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
into the finished film.
Dannaldson came home from the Amazon with a rare eagle from Manaus
Manaus
Manaus is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination....
, obtained as a fledgling from a native hunter. Dannaldson presented the eagle to the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
in 1943.
Later life
In his later years, "Jungle Jim" Dannaldson provided animals for Hollywood films, especially reptiles, spiders, scorpions and insects for horror films. In 1977 he was to appear on the Tonight Show with a six foot angleworm from Australia . Dannaldson was author of two books, Serpent Trails (1937) and A Trek in the Amazon Jungles (1949).Filmography
Cannery RowCannery Row
Cannery Row is the waterfront street in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California. It is the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973...
(1982) (zoological specialist)
... aka John Steinbeck's Cannery Row
Jennifer
Jennifer (1978 film)
Jennifer is a 1978 horror film directed by Brice Mack, starring Lisa Pelikan. The story has some similarities to the 1976 classic Carrie, about a social misfit with psychic powers who gets revenge on her cruel classmates. The original music score is composed by Porter Jordan. The film's tagline is:...
(1978) (zoological specialist)
... aka Jennifer Power (Philippines: English title)
... aka Jennifer the Snake Goddess
Damnation Alley
Damnation Alley
Damnation Alley is the title of a 1967 science fiction short story by Roger Zelazny, which he expanded into a novel in 1969. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1977.-Plot introduction:...
(1977) (zoological specialist)
... aka Survival Run
Sisters of Death (1977) (animal trainer)
The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)
The Hills Have Eyes is a 1977 American horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Susan Lanier, Michael Berryman, and Dee Wallace. It is about a family on a road trip who become stranded in the Nevada desert, and are hunted by a clan of deformed cannibals in the surrounding hills...
(1977) (snakes)
... aka Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (USA: LD title)
Snakes (1974) (snake handler)
... aka Fangs
... aka Holy Wednesday
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
(1969) (provided ants, scorpions, and vultures)
Earth vs. the Spider
Earth vs. the Spider
Earth vs. the Spider is a 1958 American black-and-white science fiction horror film produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon, who also wrote the story, upon which the screenplay by George Worthing Yates and Laszlo Gorog is based...
(1958) (spider handler)
... aka Earth vs. the Giant Spider
... aka The Spider (USA: promotional title)
The Land Unknown
The Land Unknown
The Land Unknown is a sci-fi, CinemaScope adventure film about a naval expedition trapped in an Antarctic jungle. The story was allegedly inspired by the discovery of unusually warm water in Antarctica in 1947. It starred Jock Mahoney and Shirley Patterson and was directed by Virgil W. Vogel...
(1957) (lizard handler)
The Cyclops
The Cyclops
The Cyclops is a science fiction film starring James Craig and Gloria Talbott.-Synopsis:A test pilot is missing and a search party is sent out in the jungles of Mexico...
(1957) (animal sequences)
The Hellstrom Chronicle
The Hellstrom Chronicle
The Hellstrom Chronicle is an American film released in 1971 which combines elements of documentary and science fiction to present a gripping depiction of the Darwinian struggle for survival between humans and insects. It was conceived and produced by David L...
(1971) (special thanks)
Jacaré
Jacare (film)
Jacaré was a film made in 1942 of James Dannaldson’s expedition to the Amazon.Clyde E. Elliott, Charles E. Ford and James Dannaldson led the film crew, which shot some 260,000 feet of film on the lower reaches of the Amazon River in Spring 1942...
(1942) (as James M. Dannaldson) .... Adventurer
... aka Jacare, Killer of the Amazon