Come On, Tarzan

If you like horse action and Ken Maynard you will be in third or fourth heaven with this movie that focuses on horse rustling! Tarzan gets a chance to be the star of the show in this film, and he doesn't disappoint. He runs like the wind, warns of problems, gets shot, single-"handedly" rustles other horses, gives nods of approval, and even helps in a river rescue. But most of the time he regally stands guard on top of a bluff reviewing the varied action below, ready to step in and save the day at just the right time. But Tarzan isn't the only horse in this film, of course. In fact, horses are seen all the time, often thrillingly running at full tilt, singly, and in groups with and without riders. Ken Maynard in 1932 was still quite stilted in his acting, but he tries so earnestly to emote that one just has to forgive him and go with the flow. Ken isn't the only one with stiff acting moments, but there is such spectacular outdoor scenery throughout the program that the movie's acting limitations become of less and less consequence. Many of the scenes are shot alongside bending rivers and other obviously outdoor settings with the windswept swaying of plants and dust kick-ups lending authenticity to the proceedings. Interiors are excellent, too. "Come on, Tarzan" has its limitations, yes, but nonetheless it can be a fun experience for B-Western fans.

No Johnny Weissmuller, nope - it's not even Johnny Sheffield who is accused of rustling the horses. It's another "Tarzan" altogether and he's got four legs. What this especially bright animal does know, though, is just who is pinching the herds and so sets about freeing his brethren. Meantime, tha conniving "Frazier" (Niles Welch) manages to convince the nice but dim sheriff (Jack Rockwell) that "Tarzan" is a menace to society and so is to be hunted down. Luckily, our wild stallion has a pal "Ken" (Ken Maynard) and his new boss, ranch owner, "Pat" (Merna Kennedy) who have his back and so "Ken" decides to get to the bottom of just who is really the offender, here - and to find out just what his real agenda is. Now we know who the baddie is all along, so essentially this is just an excuse for some superb and engaging animal handling delivering an aww-some performance from the horse and some mediocrity from just about everyone else. It's been done on a shoestring, but when the horse gets messed with the photography does manage to generate just a bit of a sense of peril as it's hooves stamp into the sand perilously close to folk's heads! It all follows a fairly predictable pattern with a join the dots mystery, but it's just about worth it for the horse.

The Tarzan in the title to this film is NOT referring to the famous Edgar Rice Burroughs character, but the horse ridden by Ken Maynard in his films. Often the horses of B-western stars like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were mentioned in the title or in the opening credits....and it must have been a bit demeaning for actors credited below the horses!

The film stars Ken Maynard, an actor who was very prolific in the 1930s but who pretty much wore out his welcome by the mid-1940s. How? Apparently, Ken was a drunk and one of the most hated cowboy stars of the day and folks got sick of him. Read up on him on IMDB to learn more about this. Despite this, I decided to try another one of Maynard's films.

Much of the plot from "Come On, Tarzan" was repeated in a later Hopalong Cassidy film, "Partner's of the Plains". I love Cassidy films (he's my favorite B-western star)....but it's among his worst mostly because the female character in the film is so annoying, ridiculous and one-dimensional!

When the story begins, a group of jerks are rounding up wild stallions and shooting them for their hides. They wander onto land that belongs to the ranch where Ken is the foreman...and instead of leaving, they try to beat up Ken and keep killing horses!! Later, the crooks convince the dim-witted sheriff that the horse, Tarzan, is a menace and should be destroyed.

In the meantime, the new owner of the ranch, Pat Riley, has arrived and Ken and his workers arrange for a rootin', tootin' welcome. However, it turns out the heir to the ranch is an heiress...and one with a broom stuck up her....well, you can fill in the rest. She assumes the worst of Ken and fires him. However, when the will is read, it turns out that Ken is the designated administrator of the estate....and he has to okay any of Pat's decisions until Ken is sure she has sound judgment. This turns out to be pretty wise, as Pat thinks she knows everything about the ranch...even though she's from back east and knows nothing about the west. Is there any way that Pat and Ken can work out a real working arrangement between them? And, can Ken and his men thwart the evil intentions of the gang of horse shooters, as they not only want to kill the horses but plan on robbing the ranch of its livestock.

This film is a bit better than the Hopalong Cassidy film simply because Pat is less obnoxious and hateful than the lady in Hoppy's film. Her nasty attitude changes much sooner than the lady in the Hoppy movie...and that makes it more believable. As for Maynard, he's okay. He has less charisma than some of his contemporaries but he's not bad. But I couldn't believe the insane stunt...and it looked as if Maynard actually did it himself. Watch the scene where three guys are riding on two horses and you'll see what I mean!!

By the way, the ranch owner in this film was played by the ill-fated Merna Kennedy, the ex-wife of Busby Berkeley. After the divorce, she remarried and died only four days later...at age 36 of a heart attack!