Cliff notes on
“Perils of Nyoka”

Hadn’t thought of “Perils of Nyoka” in years until a friend mentioned that “Jurassic Park 2” reminded her of the riveting serial that drew us to the picture show every Saturday.

So taken were we kids with these cliffhangers that we relived them every school day during recess. Our movie set was a deep and wide ditch in back of San Jacinto Elementary School in Baytown.

Insisting we needed more variety in our lives, one of our teachers asked why we didn’t choose another recess subject. Didn’t we get bored re-creating “Perils of Nyoka” day after day?
“No ma’am,.” we’d say, remaining loyal to Nyoka and continuing our dialog in the ditch until the bell ran.

At the time we didn’t know the serial had won critical acclaim, and we didn’t care. All we knew was that no-fear Nyoka was our super heroine.

“Perils of Nyoka,” according to the critics today, ranks as one of the best serials in film history. It had it all -- great cast, exciting stories, awesome stunts and even an outstanding musical background score.

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg reportedly studied this serial closely before filming “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Who now, among you, can name the actress who played Nyoka.

As we faithfully followed every harrowing escape in the story line, most of us had no idea who Nyoka was in real life.

Envelope, please. ...And the answer is ... Kay Aldridge, a former fashion model who made her movie debut in a Gene Autry movie. Although her film career was brief, Aldridge had a legion of fans and she often lectured on her life as a serial queen.

Lorna Gray, a raven-haired beauty, portrayed Vultura, Nyoka’s nemesis. The villainess had a pet gorilla named Satan; that should tell you something.

After starting out in a John Wayne western at Republic Studios, Gray enjoyed a lengthy if not a high-profile screen career.

An unknown actor named Clayton Moore, who soon would be riding to longtime fame as the Lone Ranger, played Dr. Larry Grayson, the hero in “Perils of Nyoka.”

As the story begins, Dr. Grayson arrives in a small town in Africa, seeking the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates. These tablets are reported to contain the cure for cancer, besides giving the location of a vast treasure.

Vultura and her henchmen didn’t care about curing cancer. The report of a treasure is what drew their interest.

Enter Nyoka. She’s searching for her father, a noted scientist who vanished while looking for the tablets. She’s spunky, energetic and downright cute -- a fresh-face campfire girl in contrast to the mean and mysterious Vultura.

And Nyoka had terrific dog named Fang, the good animal in contrast to Vultura’s bad animal.

A stunt man, wearing a blonde wig, did all the life-threatening work for Kay Aldridge, dangling over hot lava, plunging 80 feet into water, leaping from rocky slags onto startled villains.

Renamed “Nyoka and the Tigermen,” a video of this serial has been made but it’s hard to find.

If you really want to get your hands on the video, don’t give up, keep trying, show some spunk.

That’s what Nyoka would do.

© Wanda Orton
Baytown Sun Columnist
"Wandering" December 17, 2012 columns