The film stars Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds, Lois Collier and Acquanetta.

[3] As a coroner and a District Attorney investigate the death of Paula Dupree, Dr. Carl Fletcher admits that he has murdered her.

A flashback shows Fletcher at an opening night of the Whipple Circus where the witnesses Cheela the Gorilla's heroic act that saves the life of Fred Mason.

Upon the arrival of his daughter Joan and her fiancé Bob Whitney, the girl suddenly becomes verbal identifying herself as Paula.

Paula later meets with Bob in private, showing him bruises on her shoulder, injuries she claims were inflicted by Dr. Fletcher.

Dr. Fletcher has the lock and perfume bottle analyzed by a fingerprint expert, learning that although different in size, the prints do indeed match.

Bob has Paula examined by Dr. Meredith (Pierre Watkin), who does detect mental instability and extreme physical strength.

After a search of Paula's room fails, Dr. Fletcher tells Bob to check the rest of the house.

The Coroner parades the group, including the jury, to the morgue to re-examine the body of Paula Dupree.

[2] This led to a meeting between the Breen Office, executive producer Will Cowan and Maurice Pivar was set up to tone down the more lurid implications of the screenplay.

[7] The authors of the book Universal Horrors stated the film was a "disguised attempt" to rewrite Cat People with a woman turning into an Ape instead of a leopard when she is sexually aroused.

[9] From contemporary reviews, "Char" of Variety commented on the cast noting J. Carrol Naish had his "usual steady performance" while Samuel S. Hinds, Milburn Stone, Douglass Dumbrille, Lois Collier and Richard Davis were suitable.

[10] Frank Quinn of New York Daily Mirror found that the "story is told reasonably enough" and that "Naish turns in the most convincing performance as the puzzled medico".

[6] Kate Cameron of the New York Daily News referred to the film as a "sequel on the economic scale" noting the use of old footage and that Acquanetta acted with "a stilted air, while the other members of the cast go through their parts [...] with assurance, trying to give the absurd story a semblance of reality".

[6] The New York World-Telegram commented that "after Jungle Woman is over you may have furtive desire to turn yourself into a gorilla just once - and wreck the theater".

[12] Film historian Wheeler W. Dixon reports that LeBorg emphatically dismissed Jungle Woman, an example of a "punishment project" imposed on him by Universal.

The handling of the material suggests that LeBorg went to great lengths to endow the project with a measure of "nuance" and "visual flair."