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As
a child I wouldn't dare miss a showing of the original Tarzan
films whenever they were run on a local TV station on Saturday
afternoons. Was there any boy of my generation (or older) who
didn't swing on the monkey bars or climb trees while
trying to imitate Johnny Weissmuller's trademark jungle yodel?
These unpretentious adventure yarns, with their simple morals
and breakneck, cliffhanging action scenes, stoked the imaginations
of children from all walks of life and of all races. Though
the films were about white people —
despite their 'African' setting —
and carried with them the racist baggage of the era in which
they were made, the black kids I grew up with loved Tarzan just
as much as I did. Tarzan's appeal transcended race and creed
because he was, first and foremost, a great hero —
his inner strengths of uncompromising honesty and loyalty were
equal to the unsurpassed physical prowess which made him Lord
of the Jungle. What kid wouldn't want Tarzan as their dad, or
to grow up to be just like him?
More than 30 years had passed since I last
saw these films; at best they were a fond but very dim memory.
I never bothered to catch up with any of them when occasionally
run on cable channels like AMC or Turner Classic Movies. But
Warner Home Video's new Tarzan Collection on DVD, which
presents the six original MGM-produced classics starring Johnny
Weissmuller on four discs, gave me the opportunity for a nostalgic
safari to the yesterdays of my youth. I'm glad I made the trek.
Tarzan the Ape Man
(1932): There'd already been silent film adaptations of Edgar
Rice Burroughs' popular character, but it was this first talkie
production that really captured the public's imagination. Because
of it Johnny Weissmuller's fame as a movie star would eclipse
even his considerable notoriety as a champion Olympic athlete.
Although totally inexperienced as an actor, Weissmuller's physical
grace and athleticism made him a natural for the role. That
he was paired with the sexy, vivacious Maureen O'Sullivan resulted
in a screen chemistry that elevated Ape
Man above its already impressive (for the early '30s)
action scenes and special effects. The film concerns a safari
led by Englishmen James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) and Harry Holt
(Neil Hamilton, Commissioner Gordon of TV's Batman) to
the unmapped Mutia Escarpment, beyond which lies the fabled
Elephant's Graveyard — a treasure trove of ivory promising untold
wealth. Against his better judgment they're joined by Parker's
beautiful, plucky daughter Jane (O'Sullivan), newly arrived
in Africa and keen to experience the exoticism of the Dark Continent.
The rigorous, dangerous journey takes a deadly toll of the company's
African bearers; like the 'Red Shirts' on Star Trek,
these hapless fellows are quite expendable. When the safari
is ambushed by hostile natives, Jane is spirited away by the
"Great White Ape" of local legend: Tarzan, a primitive, loincloth-wearing
white man who's never before seen people of his own race. (In
a marked departure from Burroughs' novel, his origin — of how
he came to be there and his raising from childhood by apes —
is never explained.) Parker and Holt begin a search for Jane,
whom Tarzan has taken to his crude but comfortable aerie high
in the treetops. Of course she eventually falls in love with
this handsome, noble savage, thus beginning one of the most
endearingly charming movie romances of all time. After further
adventures the safari eventually comes to grief, with all but
Holt killed by a tribe of pygmy cannibals (most of which are
obviously Caucasian dwarves painted black), though Tarzan does
his best to save them despite earlier ill-treatment at their
hands. Parker is buried in the place he so fervently sought,
the Elephant's Graveyard, whose treasure remains undefiled;
Jane elects to stay with her jungle lover in his private paradise.
The lucky Holt is sent on his way back to civilization.
Tarzan and His Mate
(1934): Surprisingly violent and titillating for its time, this
is hands-down the best film of the bunch. Arguably it's the
best Tarzan movie ever made. The film is perhaps most famous
for Jane's nude swimming scene —
featuring a body double, not O'Sullivan —
which was ultimately cut at the insistence of the censors (but
which is fully restored on the DVD). Neil Hamilton reprises
his role as Harry Holt, mounting another expedition to Tarzan's
domain in quest of the Elephant's Graveyard. Securing a fortune
isn't his only goal, however. He's brought along the latest
Parisian fashions and perfumes in a bid to entice Jane to return
with him to England. At first Jane is delighted to see someone
from the outside world, bringing news from civilization, and
she even flirts a bit with Holt's slickly handsome partner,
Martin Arlington (Paul Cavanaugh); the two Englishmen almost
forget about the ivory when exposed to her considerable charms...
especially since she's 'gone native' and sports a very revealing
jungle bikini. (The subsequent films would unfortunately clad
O'Sullivan in much more demure attire.) But Jane's love for
Tarzan and the freedom of his unsullied world proves stronger
than any homesickness for England. Ultimately the white men's
greed puts them in conflict with Tarzan, who wishes to protect
the Elephant's Graveyard from poaching. Yet another of the escarpment's
tribes looks unkindly on their trespass, attacking the safari
and trapping the survivors (including Jane) in a canyon. The
slam-bang climax, involving a pride of man-eating lions vs.
Tarzan and his elephant army, rivals anything seen in Spielberg's
Indiana Jones movies. It's so exciting that, even 70 years on,
one can easily forgive the now creaky-looking special effects
(which were state-of-the-art in their day). An earlier sequence,
pitting Tarzan in an aquatic death-struggle against a monster
crocodile, is every bit as thrilling. But the real star of this
entry is Maureen O'Sullivan... She's positively radiant, oozing
sex appeal and giving the film its strong undercurrent of eroticism.
Tarzan Escapes
(1936): Easily the least of the six MGM Tarzan films. Yet another
safari is mounted to the Mutia Escarpment, this time financed
by Jane's cousins (William Henry, Berita Hume), who need her
signature on a document in order to receive a substantial inheritance.
They hire big game hunter Captain Fry (John Buckler) to lead
the expedition. But Fry has his own agenda, in that he hopes
to capture Tarzan and take him back to England as a circus attraction.
The safari is attacked by stock footage of the native war party
lifted from Mate; Tarzan and Jane
appear when the survivors reach the base of the escarpment and
lead them to safety. Fry's double-cross soon has Jane and her
cousins trussed for sacrifice by the barbaric Hymandi tribe
(there are a lot of hostile tribes in Tarzan's neck of the woods,
apparently) and the Jungle Lord imprisoned in a specially-designed
steel cage. As made obvious by the title, our hero escapes captivity
with the help of his elephant friends, rescuing Jane and her
relatives and ensuring that the villainous Fry gets his comeuppance
(via flesh-eating iguanas!). Alas, Tarzan can't save this film
from by-the-numbers tedium. That it's heavily padded with entire
sequences lifted from the first two flicks only compounds the
sense of déjà vu.
Tarzan Finds a Son!
(1939): More fun —
and a lot less reliant on stock footage —
than its predecessor, the 4th film sees Tarzan and Jane adopting
the infant survivor of a plane crash. Brought to their treehouse
by faithful chimp companion Cheeta, Tarzan and Jane decide to
adopt the orphaned child as their own. (In the bizarro world
of cinema under the Hays Code, the couple could never procreate
on their own because they're not legally married.) Five years
pass, and happy young "Boy" (as he's called at Tarzan's insistence)
is well on his way to becoming a "Little Tarzan" under the protective
tutelage of the Ape Man and his mate. Their domestic bliss is
disrupted with the arrival of another safari on the escarpment:
relatives of Boy's natural parents have come to ascertain their
fate. A fortune rides on the outcome so of course treachery
comes into play. Once again Tarzan must summon the elephants
to help him rescue Jane and Boy, captured with the other whites
and slated for execution by angry natives. It's a cop-out to
use the same climax as the first three films but what comes
before is a delightful improvement over the disappointing Escapes.
Ebullient, athletic child actor John Sheffield is perfectly
cast as Tarzan's adopted heir; he obviously looked up to Weissmuller
and their 'father-son' chemistry translates to the screen.
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
(1941): Film No. 5, Safari No. 5. This time the expedition is
a scientific one, led by the benevolent Prof. Elliott (Reginald
Owen). Elliott admires Tarzan and his naturist way of life,
so he and the Ape Man get along quite well. But two of the professor's
companions, Vandemeer (Phillip Dunn) and Medford (Tom Conway),
learn from Boy that Tarzan knows where a huge vein of solid
gold is located. Greed turns them against Elliott, whom they
allow to die, untreated, of the plague. Jane and Boy are threatened
with death if Tarzan doesn't lead them to the gold. As usual,
angry natives intervene. Amidst the chicanery and danger we
get regular doses of comic relief courtesy of Cheeta and the
lovable Mr. O'Doul (Barry Fitzgerald), a broad Irish stereotype.
(Numerous whiskey jokes, natch.) The series finally gets 'round
to featuring a black character who says something other than
"Yes, Bwana!" as Boy befriends a young lad from a
nearby village. Still, it's all pretty much ho-hum for the most
part until the spectacular, action-packed climax, the longest
sustained action sequence of the six films... Tarzan has to
cross a huge gorge, run and swing through the jungle, then swim
down a crocodile-infested river to pursue and single-handedly
attack a flotilla of native war canoes. It's a terrific sequence,
overflowing with old-fashioned thrills —
even if it does borrow footage from the 'Tarzan vs. Monster
Croc' scene we've already been subjected to at least three times
in the course of the series.
Tarzan's New York Adventure
(1942): Interlopers again intrude upon Tarzan's world when an
airplane carrying a party of American trappers lands atop the
escarpment. While capturing animals for a circus, the group's
ruthless leader, Mr. Buck (Charles Bickford), decides to kidnap
Boy and take the youngster back with them to the States —
he's sure the lad's skill handling wild beasts could make him
a star attraction. Tarzan and Jane wouldn't stand for this,
of course, but Buck's scheme is made easier when the Jungle
Lord and his mate are believed killed in yet another attack
by natives. With their son whisked away aboard the plane, Tarzan
and Jane, accompanied by Cheeta, must follow the trail all the
way to New York City to get Boy back. For once it is Jane, with
her knowledge of civilization, who must lead the way —
otherwise the mighty Tarzan would be lost. Briskly paced, with
more comedy than action, this is the silliest of the films but
a definite (and needed) change of scenery; it's the one the
kiddies will most readily enjoy. Cheeta the chimp gets a starring
role, engaging in all sorts of comedic hijinx, and Tarzan's
'fish out of water' experiences in New York are quite amusing
as well. It's thoroughly cornball but still works as clean,
wholesome fun.
Warner Home Video is to be commended for
bringing these classics into the digital age, hopefully to be
discovered by a new generation of kids for whom "Tarzan"
is just a Disney cartoon. These old movies still hold up as
rock 'em-sock 'em adventures loaded with cliffhanging action,
humor and romance. And though he didn't play the educated, multilingual
Lord Greystoke of the Burroughs novels, Johnny Weissmuller will
forever be the cinema's ultimate Tarzan —
one of the great film icons of the 20th Century. With the strong
and beautiful Jane at his side, we can take solace in knowing
that peace, justice and harmony will always reign in their far-off
jungle Eden. In an Africa that never was.
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