Nostalgia Nugget - Welcome to the Jungle

A couple years ago I tried to figure out if the adventure genre film was dead. That blog was inspired by reviewing the Tarzan movies. I managed to see Tarzan the Ape Man a few days after revisiting Raiders of the Lost Ark.


Now that I've wrapped up eight Tarzan flicks from the Weissmuller era, I was wondering, what happened to all the jungle flicks? Was this a product of the time, or is Tarzan like Sherlock Holmes and Dracula - we'll just keep seeing reincarnations of these flicks time and again.

The answer seems to be, a bit of both actually.

Jungle films seemed to be a staple of Hollywood from the the 1920s all the way up to the 1950s or so. After a while, people just weren't coming in droves to see what happens in darkest Africa when you send some guys in pith helmets to search for fortune and glory. Tarzan films were a dime a dozen at the time. Sure Weissmuller was the most popular, but you also had Lex Barker and Gordon Scott playing the role after Weissmuller left. There were also classics like Jungle Goddess from 1948 and Queen of the Amazons from 1947.

But the jungle flick had pretty much disappeared by the time I was heading to the movies. There wasn't room for these types of films in the experimental 60s or gritty 70s. Escapism has pretty much been cornered by James Bond, and the closest he got the jungle was in Live and Let Die. 

I think part of it was that the darkness of Africa was no longer considered a frontier. Instead, the news was showing us the all to grim realities of Africa, and the romance was effectively shattered. On top of that, the treatment of the native people could no longer be reduced to the classic timid baggage carriers and blood thirsty cannibals. Jungle movies just couldn't survive in that type of environment.

That did not kill Tarzan. It seems like every decade gets a film or two about Burrough's most famous creation. Partially, I think it is because the Weissmuller films did create a powerful impression on people. Hell, I think most folks can identify the Tarzan call, even if they've never seen a Tarzan movie from the '30s or '40s. But Tarzan is seen as a recognizable name, something that may pull people in. Because if Tarzan promises anything, it's a muscular guy running around in a loincloth.

One of the big catalysts for a group of jungle flicks was the huge box office for Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. Not only did this film influence a bunch of low budget immitations. But it also forced James Bond to switch gears, leading to the very Indiana Jones styled Octopussy. But suddenly, the old fashioned adventure film seemed like it could bring in the bucks, and why not just resurrect the most classic of these films. 

That brought us the wonderfully ridiculous Tarzan the Ape Man (also 1981) with Bo Derek as Jane, and none other than Miles O'Keeffe as the shirtless wonder himself. O'Keeffe would go on to play Ator in films like Cave Dwellers but really Tarzan is an afterthought in this movie. Mostly it's about director John Derek filming his wife Bo in as many stages of undress as he could. Oh and John Philip Law is in the film too, and if memory serves he's only slightly more subtle here than he was in Space Mutiny.

If you must check out a Tarzan flick from the 1980s, then go for the interesting Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. This movie gives us an origin story for Tarzan and plays the whole thing very straight. Christopher Lambert does a solid job as the ape man. But the film also includes roles for Ian Holm and Ralph Richardson. The movie ends up being more of a drama, than a typical jungle adventure, but its an interesting twist on the story.

But if you really want some laughable fun (and the thought of Bo Derek running around half naked just isn't working for you). Then you can always go for the hilariously silly Sheena from 1984. Future Bond girl Tanya Roberts galavants around summoning animals and saving the jungle from evil white mercenaries. While it sticks close to the spirit of Tarzan, the entire thing is mostly cheesecake, hilarious acting and a bad movie lovers dream come true. 

By the time the 1990s rolled around, the jungle movie was gone again. But there was a small exception. Again it was because of Spielberg and one of his blockbusters. Jurassic Park was a huge hit in 1993, and it made the work of writer Michael Crichton hot. Many of his books were rushed into theaters during the '90s including Sphere, Disclosure, Rising Sun and The 13th Warrior (which was an adaptation of his novel Eaters of the Dead). None of them quite met the popularity of the his dinosaurs run amok story. 

One of the films was Congo in 1995. This flick actually sticks pretty close to the classic jungle movie mold. You've got your white hunters penetrating the jungle searching for treasure. While the book itself was a fun read, the translation to screen was ridiculous. You have scenes with a gorilla using sign language to speak, which is based on fact. But in the film she wears what looks like the old Nintendo Power Glove, that translates her sign language into a digitized voice. Combine that with a wonderful scene of Laura Linney blowing away guys in ape suits with a laser cannon and you've got riffing gold. 

In an odd twist of fate it was Disney who brought us a Tarzan flick for the '90s. Their animated adaptation of Burroghs book was promoted by the use of cutting edge computer animation (for 1999), Rosie O'Donnell as the voice of a pompadoured ape, and songs by Phil Collins. At the time of it's release, the film was well received, but these days seems to be one of the forgotten films form Disney's animated cannon.

Actually this wasn't the last of the Tarzan incarnations. 1998 gave us Tarzan and the Lost City. Supposedly closer to the Burroughs novels than any of the previous incarnations, we get Casper Van Dein (of Starship Troopers fame). While this was probably timed to preempt the Disney film (and grab some of it's potential income), the film wasn't much more than a blip in the box office and home video. Once again it appeared that Tarzan was well and truly dead.

Except now I'm hearing that there is a new Tarzan flick in the works, one that will start off a whole new franchise if it is successful. I'm not sure if the creators are hoping the hard bombing of John Carter was just a fluke, or if this got scuttled because of the failure of that Burroughs property. What it boils down to is that the ape man may  be immortal. If so, that means the jungle adventure movie may once again return to the big screen.

And for your enjoyment, one of my favorite ridiculous scenes from Congo. I love how Jerry Goldsmith's score is working overtime to make this whole thing less silly than it really is.

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)

Introduction:

Here we are, my final review of a Tarzan movie from the Weissmuller era. Yeah there were a few more made after this, but the sets I received contained only eight flicks, and I think I’ve seen the best the series has to offer. Does that mean this film ends my reviews on a high note, or is this the lowest point?

Summary:

While Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) is on a shopping trip with Jane (Brenda Joyce) in the village of Zambesi, a horribly injured man arrives on an elephant. He’s been ripped up by horrible claws and claims the caravan that he was on was destroyed by a pack of bloodthirsty leopards. Tarzan is skeptical, because the wounds are claws only, and any good ape-man knows that leopards will bite their prey as well.

Soon a hunting expedition is organized to track down the leopards, and much to Tarzan’s chagrin, a whole mess of leopards are caught and killed. But Tarzan is correct; the whole thing is a ruse. A tribe of Leopard worshiping cultists is determined to destroy any semblance of civilization in the jungle. Their priestess, the lovely Lea (Acquanetta) has her sights set on our favorite jungle family. Will anyone survive unscathed in the battle between Tarzan and the Leopard Woman?

Good Points:

• Tarzan is back in action with this film
• The character of Kimba creates an interesting twist on villainy
• The villains in general are a refreshing change of pace

Bad Points:

• The antics of Cheetah come back with a vengeance
• Contains some of goofiest moments in any of the Tarzan films
• Jane is even more useless in this film

Overall:

This is a definite improvement over the tepid Tarzan and the Amazons. Tarzan gets to use his strength and wits in several action scenes. Boy even gets in on the action when Jane becomes the target of a cultist. Unfortunately the leopard tribes’ outfits are so silly that it makes them look less than threatening. The leopard hunt is also unintentionally funny. With that said, it’s not a bad way to spend a lazy Sunday.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 3

Sound: 3

Acting: 3

Script: 3

Music: 3

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 3

Total:  3

In Depth Review

Tarzan saves a bevy of beauties this time around.

When it comes to Tarzan and the Leopard Woman you have equal parts goofy with equal parts adventure. There are some unusual elements to the plot and execution of this film. At the same time it is missing some of the key elements that made the earlier films so entertaining. In a way, it’s a middle of the road entry, and yet it’s also one that can be a lot of fun if you look at it the right way.

The jungle family from the previous film has returned, but there’s a bit more meat for everyone to chew on in this film. Weissmuller is back to the running, jumping and fighting that we expect. An exciting sequence has him attempting to rescue a band of young women from the deranged leopard cultists. It allows Weissmuller to show off his swimming, swinging and fighting techniques. But Tarzan also uses his brain to set up traps for the pursuers and use the jungle to his advantage. With the lack of jungle adventure in the previous two films this was a welcome bit of fun. The only thing missing is the traditional Tarzan call to summon his animal friends. Either this was considered cliché, or the call was owned by MGM and RKO couldn’t use it.

Boy doesn't trust Kimba, who is obviously not a white lion.

Boy and Jane get more to do in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, when they meet Kimba (Tommy Cook). This young man is about Boy’s age. He’s lost in the jungle and happens upon the family. Jane and Boy take to Kimba pretty quickly, but Tarzan senses something wrong about the lad. Of course, Tarzan is right, Kimba is a member of the leopard tribe and he has his sights set on killing Jane.

What follows is one of the most surprising elements of the film, an obviously homicidal and sociopathic young man plotting the demise of a woman who is treating him like a son. Cook does a good job playing the part, his eyes going cold when he thinks no one is watching him, and his friendliness coming across a bit strained. Eventually Boy figures out what is going on and attacks Kimba just as he’s about to murder Jane.

Tarzan and Jane go shopping... SHOPPING!

What follows is a hand-to-hand battle between Boy and Kimba. And once again the writers for Jane have no idea what to do with her. Instead of leaping to Boy’s aid, or trying to get help, Jane stands there and frets and gasps. Yes, Tarzan and the Leopard Woman offers no change the suburban mom portrayal of Jane. It’s easy to say Brenda Joyce is the problem, but I don’t think it’s the case. She’s playing the role she was given. And if that means going on a shopping trip with Tarzan in the opening moments of the movie – well then that’s what we get.

That brings me to the element of the film that keeps it from really taking off. There are some amazingly goofy visuals in this movie. The first is the entire shopping trip sequence. Seeing Tarzan in his loincloth and Jane in her jungle garb wandering around a bizarre and haggling for items is just plain odd. I kept waiting for Jane to hand Tarzan her purse while she tried on tunic. Of course some of this is played for laughs (especially the scenes with Boy and Cheetah getting into mischief with a snake charmer). But the visual oddity of it makes you wonder how much director Kurt Neumann was in on the joke.

Time for beddie bye with these cute leopard pajamas.

But the real humdinger here is the whole leopard cult. From Lea’s high priestess outfit, to the flailing about during the ceremonies to the assassin garb the leopard killers use – well it’s all pretty silly looking. The men end up looking hilarious in what almost appears to be leopard footy pajamas with sharp claws on the ends. Kimba’s killer outfit is the best, because it actually includes a mask over the eyes making him look even funnier. It is impossible to take any of the scenes seriously when these guys are running around.

The other element of comedy in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman is the leopard hunt itself. To throw Tarzan and the community of Zambesi off the scent of the cult, the villains actually unleash a group of leopards on the hunting party. This convinces the folks of Zambesi (and Boy and Jane) that real leopards were responsible for the lost caravan, and makes Tarzan look like an idiot for believing otherwise. It’s actually a pretty clever ruse by the villains. If only the leopards didn’t look so obviously stuffed. During this action climax hilarity ensues as stuffed leopards are tossed around at folks (with some footage of real leopards mixed in). These plushies seems to have strawberry preserves on their paws and they end up getting everyone they touch all messy with jam. Tarzan manages to tap some of them with his knife and that knocks them over long enough to save some of more important members of the hunting party. But in the end you just want to know if all the strawberry jam was used for toast or maybe a PBJ.

This poor man is terribly allergic to plush toys
and strawberry jam.

These moments make Tarzan and the Leopard Woman one of the most unintentionally funny Tarzan flicks I’ve seen. This is actually perfect for a movie riffing night. You also get the scenes where Tarzan is tied to a wooden pole while the leopard priestess threatens to hurt him… and well… the riffing just writes itself.

But there is an interesting serious side to the film. Of all eight of the Tarzan films I’ve seen, this is the first one to actually not feature the white civilized man as the primary enemy. Instead we have a cult of leopard worshipers who think nothing of killing women and children to get what they want. But what doe they want?

Here is the irony, the leopard cult actually wants what Tarzan has always stood for – to leave the jungle and it’s people and animals untouched. The leopard tribe fears that the white influence in the town of Zambesi will spread into the jungle and destroy their way of life. To protect their culture they attack caravans, attempt to murder a group of young teachers, and then attack Tarzan’s family.

Tarzan and the Temple of Doom?

What is strange is that Tarzan takes the side of the white civilization in this film. Much like Jane, who’s been completely suburban-ified. Tarzan has been turned into a defender of civilization – not the jungle. It’s an interesting twist, one that is made personal once Kimba attempts to kill Jane and Boy. Once that happens, Tarzan takes the gloves off. He literally wipes out the entire tribe by causing a cave in that crushes them all. Only the two traitors Kimba and Lazar (who pretended to be helping the commissioner of the village) survive, but just long enough to kill each other. The message here may be that savagery consumes and destroys itself.

To add another layer to the whole thing, the shining example of white imperial civilization in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman is in the form of the Commissioner (Dennis Hoey). This man is portrayed as clueless, stuck up, lost, befuddled and just plain moronic from the moment we see him. It’s all played for laughs, but you wonder why Tarzan would help this guy out, when in previous films someone like the Commissioner would be the first one to be eaten by lions. On the flip side you have Lazar (Edgar Barrier) who is capable, clever and resourceful (but also a bit full of himself). He’s the villain, but he feels more like the typical ally in one of these films.

I can’t decide if this switch is an attempt to break up the standard plot and give the whole thing a bit of freshness. Or maybe it was a conscious effort to make Tarzan more suitable to the times. Instead of fighting civilization, he is now defending it, a hero closer to the hearts of those folks in 1946, instead of the one who was born in Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932.

The Leopard woman is holding one hell of  a
back scratcher.

As far as production values go, this film looks a little better than Tarzan and the Amazons. There’s a bit more outdoor locations used, and the action scenes are filmed and edited well, building on each other. The chase scene is handled really well, and could have come from one of the better MGM flicks. The musical score by Paul Sawtell is typical golden age style scoring for an adventure flick. It contains lots of big musical moments with swelling strings and horns. Very influenced by the work done by Max Steiner for King Kong.

What it boils down to is that you have a fun jungle adventure movie that has enough visual silliness to make it entertaining for a riffing night. It falls in the middle of the pack of eight Tarzan flicks I reviewed, the best of the lot still being Tarzan and his Mate. It was fun revisiting these flicks, and I’m sure I’ll be giving one or two of them another spin in the future.

Tarzan and the Amazons (1945)

Introduction:

MGM closed out its Tarzan franchise with Tarzan’s New York Adventure. But such a moneymaking concept couldn’t be left along for long. RKO wanted a piece of the jungle pie and even managed to get Weissmuller and John Sheffield to come back. Unfortunately O’Sullivan was done with the series, so it was time for a new actress as Jane. RKO was looking to restart the franchise, would they go back to the adventure style roots, or keep it family friendly?

Summary:

The jungle is abuzz because Jane (Brenda Joyce) is on her way back from Europe. Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Boy (Johnny Sheffield) hurry to meet her and her new archeologist pals lead by Sir Guy Henderson (Henry Stephenson). Along the way, they save a lovely woman named Athena (Shirley O’Hara) from certain death by leopards. Turns out she’s an Amazon – and Tarzan isn’t surprised to see her!

We can all blame Cheetah the chimp for revealing the secret of the Amazon kingdom to the archeologists. These guys want to meet them but Tarzan refuses to show them the hidden land. He wants to keep the hot babes to himself! Well that and the simple fact that the Amazons kill anyone who enters their kingdom (except for Tarzan of course). But the explorers get gold fever and are convinced the Amazons have a huge treasure trove. So they enlist the help of Boy, and soon it all goes to hell. Will the safari survive or will they meet their fate at the hands of Tarzan and the Amazons?

Good Points:

• Amazons! Need I say more?
• A full musical score helps the action
• Tarzan and Boy have some good moments 

Bad Points:

• Once the safari shows up, the plot gets stale
• Suffers from padding
• The action is pretty toned down

Overall:

This is certainly a weaker entry, but not a bad movie. While the Amazons are the highlight, they don’t do too much. The new Jane is a let down, and the stale plot dealing with the safari suffering from gold fever (just like Tarzan’s Secret Treasure) is tiresome. But some of the action and Tarzan and Boy moments make up for it.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals:  3

Sound:  3

Acting: 3

Script: 2

Music: 3

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 2

Total:  3

In Depth Review

Athena the Amazon or Wonder Woman 1945?

RKO reduced the budget for their Tarzan films and the result was something a little less grand than what we saw in the MGM days. There was still some fun to be had and Weissmuller was still game to play the role. The result is a movie that could have been entertaining, but ends up missing the mark due to a lot of little things.

The basic plot to Tarzan and the Amazons is OK, but for the first quarter I thought it was going to be more about Tarzan and his family encountering and dealing with the Amazons. Instead the tired old “white men safari” shows up again and with it all the same plot points we’ve seen before. Once certain members of the safari get gold fever, we know exactly how this will play out. Any thrills the film attempts to generate when these clowns are captured and then picked off are weak at best. No, we are more concerned about Boy, who gets into the mess because Tarzan is hiding things from him.

This was the most interesting part of the film. We can see that Tarzan knows about the Amazons, but he refuses to tell Boy or Jane about them. Does Tarzan have a little something going with a kingdom ruled by hot women? No, he’s as loyal as you could wish for. But he knows that anyone that enters the kingdom is doomed to death, because of the Amazon’s religious beliefs. So he wants to keep his family safe. But because he wont’ say anything at all about it, Boy becomes more and more curious about this hidden kingdom.

Boy's been blinded by science.

When the safari shows up with their scientific equipment and gadgets, Boy is fascinated. But Tarzan writes all that off as pointless. This drives a deeper wedge between the two. Tarzan’s stubbornness pushes Boy to help his new friends find the Kingdom. And of course that dooms all of them.

This dynamic tension between Boy, who is now a pre-teen. and the stoic father is actually handled well. Boy is curious about the world. The new sciences are fascinating to him. Then there’s a kingdom populated by warrior women that his father obviously knows all about, but has never spoken of before. Boy is hurt by what he perceives as Tarzan’s lack of trust, and enticed by new wonders that are forbidden. Of course the tension is resolved by the end of the short film, but I like how they tried to do something a little different with the relationship of Boy and Tarzan.

Unfortunately the new dynamic between Jane and Tarzan is the real let down. I don’t want to blame Brenda Joyce. She plays the part as well as you’d expect and looks good in her jungle garb. It’s a bit odd to see a blonde Jane (and no comment about it from Tarzan or Boy). But it’s not the physical differences that are the issue.

Blonde Jane frets with her European explorer friends

The writers of Tarzan and the Amazons just didn’t get the character of Jane, or didn’t care and wrote her as a typical suburban mother. This is not a woman who had survived in the jungle for years, faced death countless times and formed a strong and loving bond with her husband. This Jane is helpless during a crisis. When an alligator attacks Boy, she frets and watches as Tarzan springs into action. Jane in the previous films would have jumped into the water to help her son or Tarzan (most likely both). This transformation continues through the rest of the movie. She ends up wandering around like a third wheel as the men (and Boy) actually engage in the plot. It’s surprising and disappointing. You could say that Jane lost her edge while she was away in Europe. But there is a line tossed about how she was helping with the war effort. To think that she got softer after helping during World War II, well that’s just ludicrous.

Maybe I’m reading too much into this. Maybe the writers just didn’t care and were writing in default “mother” character mode. Joyce does a decent job, but the chemistry that made O’Sullivan and Weissmuller click so well is not present. Here, Jane is just a plot point and a pretty face.

"When Amazons Attack!" next on Spike.

When you’ve got Amazons swarming all over the place, do you need another pretty face? But seriously, this was another missed opportunity. The Amazons could easily be replaced with any tribe you want and the plot wouldn’t change. I was hoping for something a bit unique with the idea of a kingdom controlled by warrior women. But it’s really just an excuse to have women run around in short leopard print skirts and shoot arrows at stupid safari guys. I don’t have a problem with that, but I was hoping for a little more creativity. The movie She did more with the concept a kingdom ruled by women, and it was made nearly a decade earlier.

Finally there’s the simple fact that Tarzan ends up getting sidelined in his movie. For the first half, he’s involved with Boy and Jane getting the family together again. But once the scientists show up the focus shifts to Boy. Tarzan is off screen for much of the film, and when he finally does show up, he spends most of the time running in the jungle. There’s actually very little jungle action and adventure here. The chase scene with the Amazons doesn’t involve him. And even his race against time, to save Boy from becoming a sacrifice to the Amazon god, is pretty lifeless.

Tarzan: friend to all Amazons.

Sounds like I’m coming down hard on Tarzan and the Amazons, but its got some good points too. I already mentioned the scenes with Boy and Tarzan, but I also appreciated that they toned down Cheetah’s role in this one. She’s still goofing off and getting in trouble, but she wasn’t in nearly every scene like Tarzan’s New York Adventure.  The Amazon city looked pretty cool for a low budget film. The sequence where Tarzan saves Athena was funny, only because of the awesome stunt plush used when Tarzan attacks a panther with his knife.  Even the final chase with the Amazons is handled well, and has some interesting elements to it.

But this is one of those movies that if you ask me about it a couple months from now, I won’t remember much about it, other than the funny plush panther scene. It passes time and his harmless enough, but lacks the elements that made the MGM films solid entertainment. At least it was better than Queen of the Amazons.

Tarzan’s New York Adventure (1942)

Introduction:

For the sixth film MGM decided to wrap up the Tarzan series. But they wanted to do something a little different. What follows is the lightest and fluffiest of the Tarzan adventures.

Summary:

It seems that Boy (Johnny Sheffield) is just around to get the plot rolling. This time he meets up with some men who are collecting lions for their circus in New York. After a series of adventures, in which Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) threatens these guys, the hunters take off in their plane with Boy in tow. They assume Tarzan and Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan) are dead. They thought wrong!

Now Tarzan is going to take to the streets. He’s going to find the men who took his son. He’s not going to let the law of the city rule him. He only knows one law – the law of the jungle! Yes sir, Tarzan is going to take out the garbage. Johnny Weissmuller IS Tarzan in “Above the Jungle LAW!”

Sorry, thought I was writing copy for a Steven Segal film. Anyway Tarzan, Jane and Cheetah the chimp head for New York. They get into all kinds of silly adventures. Tarzan tries to wear a suit. Cheetah freaks out some hat girls at night club. And Jane has to explain to Tarzan why you don’t’ take a shower with your clothes on. The movie climaxes with a trial, Tarzan on the run, and stampeding elephants. New York will never be the same.

Good Points:

• The movie seems to know its ridiculous fun and just goes with it
• The chemistry with the jungle family is still a joy to watch
• Tarzan’s romp through the city in the finale was fun

Bad Points:

• Lots and lots of Cheetah and hi-larious antics in the movie
• The finale is lacking excitement
• Animals and people of color are belittled and abused some more

Overall:

Light and fluffy and going for laughs, this Tarzan movie breezes by. If you enjoy the antics of Cheetah, then you might enjoy it more than I did. Overall it’s not a bad way for MGM to end the series, but it’s not something I will revisit any time soon.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 3

Sound: 3

Acting: 3

Script: 2

Music: 3

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 2

Total:  3

In Depth Review

So the final MGM Tarzan film finishes in a similar way Tarzan the Ape Man started – as a fish out of water story. But in Tarzan’s New York Adventure we get to see our hero navigating through the “stone jungle”. Since the series had evolved from rip roaring adventure into family fun, it is no surprise that this movie feels like it was made for young boys to go ape over.

The focus on laughs and silliness means we get less adventure and action. Most of the first act, occurring when the hunters arrive in the jungle is pretty typical. They show up. Tarzan tells them to go away. They refuse. They get into trouble, and Boy helps them. When they see Boy’s skill with the animals they hatch a plan to take him back to New York. But Tarzan isn’t about to let that happen and swings to the rescue with Jane on the same vine.

Then, the unexpected happens, an angry native cuts the vine that Tarzan and Jane are on. Of course it was kinda funny to see the little dolls go plummeting. But then the shock kicked in: in all these movies no one has thought to get the jump on Tarzan that way. Give that native an extra shrunken head in his envelope this year. The natives then ignite the brush around Tarzan and Jane. Thus Boy and the hunters assume our jungle man is a goner.

This is the set up to get Tarzan and Jane to New York to find Boy and take him back home. It also allows us plenty of scenes with Cheetah eating everything in Jane’s makeup case. Yep, most of the humor kicks in at this point as well. It’s pretty simplistic stuff revolving around the chimp doing goofy things. But Tarzan’s reactions to the modern world are pretty great too. Weissmuller provides plenty of great reaction shots when he first sees a taxi, or gets measured for his suit.

For me, the best scenes in Tarzan’s New York Adventure are when he discovers the shower and Jane has to explain its function to him. This must have inspired a similar scene in the old ‘80s flick, Crocodile Dundee. Now that I think about it, this Tarzan movie could have been an outline for the later film. The other classic scene is where Tarzan is put on the witness stand during the custody hearing. Yeah you read that right; Tarzan and his monosyllabic vocabulary are in a trial. Most folks will cheer when Tarzan gets fed up and hoists the lawyer over his head and tosses him.

But rest assured, this is a Tarzan movie, and he will be involved in an action scene or two. Of course without his trusty jungle friends, and trees covered with vines to deal with, Tarzan has to improvise a bit. He climbs buildings, swings across alleyways on telephone wires and pole vaults up a circus tent. Once the baddies know he’s around they do what they can to hold him off, but little do they know that Tarzan is a friend to all animals (kinda like how Gamera is a friend to all children). Once Tarzan arrives at the circus, he uses his patented call to summon the animals to his aid. And since there are Asian elephants pretending to be from Africa around (and since they keep in close touch with their Asian buddies in Africa, they spring to Tarzan’s side and proceed to stampede and rampage around.  All this noise and commotion sends our villains and their car flipping into a ditch. Still not sure how the physics of that worked out.

This movie marks two firsts for the Tarzan films. The main villain does not have a mustache of any kind. Second, the villains do not get eaten by animals of any kind. But the older gent, played by Chill Wills in this case, still gets killed for helping Boy.

Here is what it boils down to. This is the final appearance of the entire jungle family as portrayed the original cast. In that way, Tarzan’s New York Adventure feels more like a fun fill celebration of the whole franchise, than an actual solid story (kind of like Die Another Day in that respect). The humor is dialed way up, and the whole thing seems like a lark. There is a lot of Cheetah in this movie (more than the previous films) and my tolerance was pretty low for the chimp, so keep that in mind. But it was also great to see Weissmuller, O’Sullivan and Sheffield all throw in for one more fun filled romp.

And just because MGM ended the franchise doesn’t mean that Tarzan was going to retire. Nope, Weissmuller returned, with a new Jane, a new studio and a return to the jungle adventure.  

Tarzan’s Secret Treasure (1941)

Introduction:

What happens when you combine gold fever with a Tarzan movie? Well you get pretty much the same stuff that happens in all the other Tarzan movies. But hey, you get to hear Tarzan say “nugget” and that’s pretty darn funny.

Summary:

While splashing around in the pool with a baby elephant, Boy (Johnny Sheffield) finds a gold nugget or twelve. He shows them to Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan) and she tells Boy of the wonders of civilization. Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) is not impressed by the tales and tries to impress on Boy how awesome the jungle is. But you know how kids are.

Quicker than you can say Cheetah, Boy runs off to see civilization. He gets captured by some vicious natives, but is rescued at the last minute by a safari lead by Professor Elliot (Reginald Owen). Elliot is on an expedition to find a lost tribe. Since he doesn’t have a pencil thin mustache, we know he’s a good guy. But Medford (Tom Conway) does have a pencil thin mustache. One look at the nugget Boy has on him and he wants gold, Gold, GOLD! From there you know how it goes. White men do stupid things and Tarzan is forced to kick butt with his jungle friends. It all ends with Tarzan inventing the sport of canoe tipping.

Good Points:

• The comic relief character is less annoying than you’d think
• The jungle family still has great chemistry
• The finale on the river was a nice change of pace and pretty exciting

Bad Points:

• The plot points are so obvious by now, it makes the movie dull
• The drunken antics of Cheetah and the comic relief character are terribly unfunny
• Treatment of any person of color and animals are suspect (as usual)

Overall:

This is pretty much a mediocre Tarzan movie from start to finish. It’s got some entertaining moments, but the formula is really wearing thin. What saves it is the chemistry of the jungle family. These actors work so well together that you just like them and want to hang out with them. Superior to Tarzan Escapes but I’d rather watch Tarzan Finds a Son again.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 3

Sound: 3

Acting: 3

Script: 2

Music: 3

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 2

Total:  3

In Depth Review

Here we are at the fifth Weissmuller and O’Sullivan Tarzan film and it feels like the gas is finally funning out of the concept. Adding Boy brought a bit of life to the formula stories, but here many of the elements that turned Tarzan Escapes into a snore-fest rear their ugly heads.

We have another comic relief character. This time he’s an Irishman named o’Doul who likes his booze. He has plenty of homespun wisdom to dole out, he makes some pratfalls and Tarzan takes a shine to him. But what makes him less annoying that the Jar Jar-esque moron of Escapes is that he has less screen time and that he’s less of an idiot. He comes to Tarzan’s aid late in the film and while he does end up palling around with Cheetah in the finale, at least I wasn’t chanting for him to die.

It was also funny to see Reginald Owen as a professor in a pith helmet. I’m so used to seeing him as Ebenezer Scrooge from the 30’s version of A Christmas Carol that it hard to see him as anything else. But he also played Sherlock Holms in A Study in Scarlet so I guess he can be the professor. True to form, any older gent in these movies must realize that the jungle family is wonderful. And then they are killed by the cad.

As far as cads go, Tom Conway is one of the lesser ones. He’s not as vicious as the one from Escapes. He even wusses out when he gets caught by the angry natives. But still the gold fever gets him and all he can think of is “it’s mine, Mine, MINE!” Also per the norm, he gets eaten by a jungle beasty.

The re-use of older Tarzan movie footage pops up again. It only takes up about 13% of the film, so you can tolerate it. But I started to panic when I saw the same footage used in Tarzan and his Mate show up for the umpteenth time.

But if you come for the family fun with our jungle pals, than you’ll enjoy the film. Weissmuller, O’Sullivan and Sheffield build on the relationships they established in Finds a Son and really make you feel like they are a family. Even the antics with the baby elephant and the ever-laughing Cheetah (that’s still creepy to me) make for some entertainment.

But the action-adventure kicks into high gear for the finale. Boy, Jane and the remaining members of the safari are transported down a river to their doom viea a canoe convoy. Tarzan springs into action, diving under the water and tipping the canoes over. He battles the natives under the water, dodges spears and watches as crocodiles make quick work of the villains. Of course one crocodile has to have a taste for Tarzan and his family, so we get to see re-used footage of his crocodile battle form And his Mate. But after that, Tarzan summons his elephant friends and it turns into a free for all. This is probably the most impressive climax since the no hold barred battle of And his Mate and is worth seeking out for that alone.

All in all, not a bad movie. Still family adventure all the way, with the sex not even appearing. But I know why the producers decided a change of venue was needed for the next Tarzan adventure.

Read about the other lessons I learned from Tarzan’s Secret Treasure at my review of the second collection of films over at DVD Verdict.

Tarzan Finds a Son (1939)

Introduction:

We all know that when a television series introduces a baby into the story it spells the end of the franchise. But with Tarzan, the series just plowed along. How did the franchise survive the dreaded baby film?

Summary:

The happy Lancing couple is on their way to fun trip to Africa with their baby boy. Of course they proceed to crash land in the middle of Tarzan’s (Johnny Weissmuller) plateau. Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan) and Tarzan rescue the only survivor, the baby, and raise him as their own. He is called Boy (John Sheffield) and he is a handful.

About five years later a safari shows up lead by Sir Thomas Lancing (Henry Stephenson) who is convinced his relatives survived the crash. With him are the greedy duo of Austin (Ian Hunter) and his wife Mrs. Lancing (Frieda Inescort). These two stand to inherit a ton of money if they can prove all the Lancings are dead. Well once Boy is reveled to be a Lancing all hell breaks loose. Can Jane be convinced that Boy would be better off in London? Will Tarzan ever trust any white people ever again? And what the heck are the angry natives up to this time?

Good Points:

• The plot around Boy actually moves the story along
• Great scenes with the jungle family
• A lot less reused footage

Bad Points:

• Boy is a little too cute at times
• Animals and non-white people are continuously abused
• Beware the fake-out death

Overall:

A huge improvement over the previous film, but not quite as good as the first two. Tarzan makes its transition from adventure entertainment to family entertainment, and it does it with style.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Acting: 3

Script: 3

Music: n/a

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 3

Total: 3

In Depth Review

After the dreadful Tarzan Escapes I was seriously frightened by the concept of introducing a child into the mix. I’d seen what happened when The Thin Man series got the baby on board and it reduced the fun of that franchise considerably. But Nick and Nora were born in a world of adult sophistication and lots of booze. Tarzan and Jane fit the adventure tropes and its not a big jump from that into a family adventure with a target toward young boys. And that’s where Boy fares into the whole thing.

The movie doesn't hang around with the baby for too long. There's some funny moments in there, but Finds a Son wants to get to the more interesting stuff involving Boy around age seven or so. Young Sheffield is obviously having a blast running around with Weissmuller and O’Sullivan. He gets to play in the water, swing on vines, hang out with elephants and chimps. You can tell its all fun and games, and it carries over into the audience reaction. You’re having a blast because he is. Sure the movie milks his cuteness a bit too often, but its par the course for this type of film.

The whole inheritance plot is a bit stale, since nearly the same thing happened with Jane as the focal point in Tarzan and his Mate, but it builds a logical story based off the plane crash. It also gives us plenty of fuel for the safari shenanigans to ensue, including crazed natives, and attacks by animals.

But most of the animal adventures are saved for Boy and Tarzan to experience. The best sequences are when Boy gets trapped in a giant web that Shelob would be proud of. I also liked the scene where Boy nearly falls off of a waterfall after some roughhousing with Tarzan. There is a little bit of reused footage here and there. Some of the swinging on vines scenes are taken from Tarzan the Ape Man and still look oddly out of place. The rear project rhino from Tarzan and His Mate makes another appearance. These critters must be the bane of Tarzan's existence. I did like how the whole family has adopted variant versions of Tarzan's patented call. How did they find a kid that could do that?

The best acting in Finds a Son still falls on O’Sullivan. Her moving speech to Tarzan trying to explain to him why Boy should go to London is handled well. As is the scene where she decides to betray Tarzan’s trust. When they meet again after this, and she’s been horribly wounded by a spear, the interaction is very effective. If I believed for a moment that Jane could die here, I would have been moved. But we all know that a spear to a back is only a flesh wound for main characters.

Turns out O’Sullivan was looking for a way out of the series at this point and the spear was intended to kill here. Boy was going to take over as Tarzan’s foil from that film on. But the studio was able to convince O’Sullivan to stay on. Can’t say I blame them, her chemistry with Weissmuller and Sheffield was excellent. Too bad she hated working with Cheetah the chimp.

All in all, Tarzan Finds a Son is a fun movie, but not as much fun as the first two. It’s a lot more family friendly and viewed in that vein it’s a good time. Worth checking out if you’re in the mood for some jungle action.

Read about the other lessons I learned from Tarzan Finds a Son at my review of the first collection of the films over at DVD Verdict.