Tarzan the Ape Man

Unrated

4/2/19321h 40m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Mothered by an ape—he knew only the law of the jungle—to seize what he wanted! ~

Overview:

James Parker and Harry Holt are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich. Parker's beautiful daughter Jane arrives unexpectedly to join them. Jane is terrified when Tarzan and his ape friends abduct her, but when she returns to her father's expedition she has second thoughts about leaving Tarzan.

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$652,675.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

based on novel or book
africa
expedition
hippopotamus
tarzan
jungle
black and white
pre-code
chimpanzee
ape man
stampede
elephant stampede

Cast

Johnny Weissmüller

~ as ~

Tarzan

Maureen O'Sullivan

~ as ~

Jane Parker

Neil Hamilton

~ as ~

Harry Holt

C. Aubrey Smith

~ as ~

James Parker

Doris Lloyd

~ as ~

Mrs. Cutten

Forrester Harvey

~ as ~

Beamish

Ray Corrigan

~ as ~

Ape (uncredited)

Ivory Williams

~ as ~

Riano

Johnny Eck

~ as ~

Bird Creature (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
By my reckoning, it takes around twenty-three minutes before our intrepid explorers C. Aubrey Smith ("Parker") and his on-screen daughter "Jane" (Maureen O'Sullivan) hear the jungle call of vine-swinging Johnny Weissmuller and the pace of this treasure hunt really starts to get going. Our travellers, alongside Neil Hamilton ("Holt") are in search of the legendary elephant's graveyard - riches beyond the dreams of avarice. Of course this journey through the hitherto unknown wilderness is perilous: lots of treacherous rivers, mountains and beasties - oh yes, lots and lots of hungry beauties. Much of the imagery is back shot (or stock footage) which isn't great, but there is still quite bit of chemistry once the agile and handsome "Tarzan" comes to the screen and kidnaps/rescued (depending on your point of view) the beautiful "Jane" and the stuff of cinema legend is established. The quality of the production struggles a bit 90-odd years later, but the story is a characterful boy meets girl affair with plenty of action, noise and a good bit of loin-cloth clad romance. I imagine that at the time, this may have been the first exposure many people would have had to a jungle scenario and it must have been quite exciting to watch... There are plot holes a-plenty, but I'd suggest that you don't judge it by modern standards (though I'd say it is still better than any of the 1981, 1984 or 2016 iterations). It's a fun adventure story that is there to be enjoyed on face value.