El tesoro de Tarzán

Curly-haired Johnny Sheffield (as Boy) and chimp "Cheeta" are the main attractions in this fifth MGM "Tarzan" adventure. Beautiful jungle mate Maureen O'Sullivan (as Jane), who wanted to leave the film series after "Tarzan Finds a Son!" (1939), still tends the tree-house. The plot gets going when a swimming Sheffield finds gold in the jungle king's pool. Greedy white people and spear-chucking natives threaten young Sheffield, bringing Johnny Weissmuller (as Tarzan) into action. Whisky-soaked Barry Fitzgerald (as O'Doul) swings ahead of the guest stars. Watch "Cheeta" get drunk on Mr. Fitzgerald's Irish blend. Yes, a drunken monkey can walk a straight line on his hands. This one's nicely photographed, but obviously heavy on borrowed plots, reaction shots and stock footage.

***** Tarzan's Secret Treasure (12/1/41) Richard Thorpe ~ Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Barry Fitzgerald

I love the old Johnny Weissmuller/MGM "Tarzan" movies of the 1930s and 40s. I have them all six of them on laserdisc from the 1990s, but I have to wonder in what form they will arrive on DVD -- if ever? Watching "Tarzan's Secret Treasure" (1941) today I was amazed to hear for the first time, after many viewings, Barry Fitzgerald's O'Doul character refer to a little black native boy as a "pickaninny." In the earlier Tarzan movies the blacks are constantly called "boy" and other derogatory terms and often casually shot by white men for disobeying orders. I'm not sure, but I think there may be a problem with this being released on DVD today, but my point is that I DON'T want to see these films edited in any way. They're time capsules of entertainment from an earlier era, and they should be preserved.

Weissmuller made a dozen Tarzan films over sixteen years. Tarzan's Secret Treasure is just about in the middle of that run, and Weissmuller is a bit older and "thicker" but still has the muscular look of Tarzan. I always liked the Tarzan films when I was young and regretted that Weissmuller never had the opportunity to become John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, but remained a monosyllabic Tarzan. I had read all of Burroughs' books and believe only John Carter and David Yates' The Legend of Tarzan capture Burroughs' characters.

Regardless, Tarzan's Secret Treasure is an enjoyable Tarzan entry even though there is little new here; however, the rescue of Jane and boy and the fight with crocodiles is worth it at the film's end. Good film to kick back with on a winter weekend or rainy weekend and sofa down with popcorn and just go along for the fun.

Tarzan's secret treasure is not the gold they find in the water.In "Tarzan escapes" we had already seen Jane meeting her English cousins and displaying no interest in the rich inheritance .The beginning of the movie displays a true garden of Eden ,where you can have what you want for nothing ,so why bother to make money or use gold? This Rousseauesque side is all that makes these Tarzan movies (with Weissmuller) so endearing ;all the other ones are mediocre adventures flicks ,without heart and without emotion.It's only natural that Boy wants to know what civilization is.The movies the men from the cities show is good propaganda.This scene takes us back to the prehistory of cinema ,when the Lumiere bros' shorts used to scare the crowds who were afraid to get run over by a train.the rest of the plot is more conventional,but the scene on the river with hungry crocodiles is still impressive today.It seems that some scenes (the first victims of the nasty tribe) were taken from "Tarzan escapes" .

These black and white Tarzan movies have no contender ,with the possible exception of "Greystoke:the legend of Tarzan" (1982)

Well-paced and -produced jungle adventure with an heroic Weissmuller, a fetching O'Sullivan and a better-than-average supporting cast. I could have done without seeing the stock footage of Weissmuller battling that croc for the third time though. Not one of the best Tarzan adventures, but you could do a lot worse.