Synopsis

Curucu [pronounced Cur-Ah-Sue] opens with the title and credits running over a dry, dusty cattle ranch somewhere in Brazil. We get the ball rolling immediately with a clawed creature pulling the jungle vegetation apart to spy on a girl in a white dress and hat hauling a water jug down to the river's edge. As she fills the jug, she senses someone or something near, but continues her task. She notices strange footprints in the wet sand. We get a brief glimpse of something that resembles a giant mutated parrot or toucan. It attacks the woman and the scene ends with the fallen water jug emptying its contents. A man on horseback, wearing a red shirt, rides into the plantation crying, "Curucu, Curucu, es aqui." The workers scatter.A police car is waiting for an airplane to land. Rock Dean (John Bromfield) greets the Captain of Police, Casaras (Sergio de Oliveira). Casaras explains to Dean that all the plantation workers have abandoned their jobs and returned to the jungle. Casaras takes Dean to examine the body of the girl killed earlier. Tupanico (Tom Payne) arrives on scene and explains that this is the monster's fifth victim. He goes on to describe the creature as having claws like a giant bird and is said to live behind the falls in Curucu.At an impromptu gathering of plantation workers, a man agitates the crowd to leave the plantation and return to the jungle. Dean decides, in his words, to "have a talk with the man". This entails pushing through the crowd and starting a fist fight with the rabble rouser. The crowd scatters. Next we are treated to an aerial view of Rio de Janeiro and passengers exiting a Lockheed Super Constellation airplane at Aeropuerto do Galeao. Dean has arrived in the city and is taken by cab to the B.A.T.C. company headquarters. He flirts briefly with Rita (Andrea Bayard), the company secretary, then enters the office of the company president, his father. Dad asks his son about the monster, but assumes the real situation is a strike action and that all the plantation workers want is money. Dean explains his plan to have someone travel up the Amazon to the Curucu Falls because the legend indicates that is where the monster lives. He proposes to go up, dispel the myth and allay the worker's fear, and by doing so the workers will return to the plantations. Prior to his departure, Dean visits a hospital for a physical and some inoculations for his jungle trip-namely Tetanus, Yellow Fever, and Smallpox. Dr. Vale explains to Dean that his assistant will be giving him his shots, and she is a very capable young woman. She is an American woman working in Brazil during a sabbatical. Dr. Andrea Romar (Beverly Garland) enters the room, sporting wavy red hair, and matching lipstick. As Dean dresses, Dr. Vail gives him a prescription for malaria. Dean explains to Dr. Vail and Dr. Romar that this is a dangerous mission, and he might not return. In his crude, 1950s fashion, he proposes a going away celebration with a mildly interested Andreas Romar. She agrees to the dinner and dancing date. Dean has no idea that she has her own agenda.At the nightclub we meet Vivian (Larri Thomas). Dean and Andrea smoke and chat at their table as they watch Vivian gyrate around the stage and dance floor. Andrea tells Dean about her cancer research and that the headhunters have a drug she is interested in getting. Vivian joins them at their table, and she warns Andrea, "Don't get involved and don't fall for his charm." After Andrea tells Vivian she is going up river with Dean, she finally agrees to dance. During the dance, Dean tells Andrea he plans to take Tupanico as his guide. Dean announces that he has no intention of allowing Andrea to accompany him up the Amazon River. That pretty much ends the date.At the Port of Belam, Gateway to the Amazon, Tupanico meets with Rock Dean in front of a pile of crates. Tupanico explains that he is a chieftain's son and that he is happy his people are returning to the jungle. Dean tells Tupanico he is ready to depart, but Tupanico has made arrangements with Andrea to be her guide. Rock Dean is not happy he has been outmaneuvered, but agrees to a joint venture. They travel up river with their first planned stop to see Father Flaviano. They switch to a canoe and continue their journey. We are treated to a great deal of stock footage and a snake that falls onto their boat. It and a crocodile are dispatched by Rock Dean and consumed by the piranha.As they trek through the jungle they encounter a native tribe. Dean explains to Andrea that she should accompany him to meet the natives, reasoning that a man traveling with a woman is a sign they are not looking for trouble. The sound of a rattle and drum indicates someone is sick and Andrea springs into action claiming, "That's my department." She barges into the scene of a sick native, Tico (Wilson Viana) overseen by the tribe witch doctor. She quickly diagnoses Tico has appendicitis. She insists that Tico be taken to the clinic run by Father Flaviano. They hack their way through the jungle with the sick native on a stretcher until they reach Father Flaviano (Harvey Chalk). As Andrea prepares her patient for an appendectomy, another man is killed in the jungle by the monster. The body is brought to Father Flaviano. Tupanico tells the priest that the perpetrator is the Curucu monster. Dean grabs his gun and goes out looking for it. Tupanico tell Andrea what Dean is up to and she leaves her patient to go find him. They return to the clinic and Andrea explains to the priest and Tupanico of her mission to find this plant extract. Tupanico agrees to take Andrea to his tribe and get the formula and a sample. The substance may have some therapeutic value, but the natives use it to aid in shrinking heads. Tico enters the room with a dagger and a bandage over his surgical wound. His tribe has arrived to see him. He presents the ceremonial headhunter dagger to Andrea as a gift. Tico leave with his tribe.Dean and Andrea head off through the jungle for the Curucu Falls and Tupanico's tribe. They camp along the river. Dean and Andrea have dinner in her tent and encounter a tarantula, but Dean dispatches it with the rifle. The gunfire attracts Tupanico, who offers to clean and reload Dean's weapon. The porters have had enough and leave. Dean wants to head back, but Andrea insists they continue. Tupanico agrees to take them to his tribe. Asleep in her tent, Andrea is startled by the monster. She is abducted and carried through the jungle, with Dean in hot pursuit. He shoots at the creature, but it has no effect. He uses the rifle butt to beat the creature. The mask falls off Tupanico and he is exposed. He runs off into the jungle. Dean escorts Andrea back to the encampment, and along the way discover and examine the costume. They are soon captured by Tupanico's tribe. The pair are marched past the Curucu Falls to the village and thrown into a hut under heavy guard. Later they are moved to another hut for an audience with Tupanico. The snake dancer (Luz del Fuego) performs a ritual dance. Tupanico presents Andrea with the formula and a sample of the drug she sought.Tico's tribe attacks Tupanico's village. Many are killed on both sides and huts are burned. Rock Dean and Andrea manage to escape the burning hut. They run into the jungle and back past the Falls. Exhausted, they stop to rest. The pair board a raft along the river and are attacked by a native. They float and paddle down river, reenter the jungle and encounter snakes and other critters. They make it back to their encampment before the rain starts. The two finally manage to get back to the Clinic run by Father Flaviano, aided by Tico and some of his tribe members. The movie closes with Dean and Andrea embracing, and Tico presenting Dr. Andrea Romar with some gifts. He has recovered the medicine, her dagger and the shrunken head of Tupanico.

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Oct 8, 2023 at 11:20 PM