Tarzan, l'homme singe

Johnny Weissmuller,the former Olympic champion in swimming,makes his debut as Tarzan.The movie spawned a lot of sequels and Weissmuller continued as Tarzan for 11 more films during the next 16 years. I had seen this early and somewhat primitive talkie a couple of years back and found it hard to sit through.I decided I'd give it another chance and was surprised at how much more I enjoyed it.Weissmuller is stunning, he fits the part excellent and looks amazing.There's screen charisma by the thousands.Maureen O' Sullivan as Jane really made the role her own.The African footage, shot during the making of "Trader Horn" is exciting and must have been worth the ticket on its own back in the thirties.There's some bad rear-projection used,but it doesn't spoil the movie if you don't let it bother you. So enjoy this entertaining film.

I hadn't seen Johnny Weissmuller's debut film Tarzan The Ape Man for many years so I was struck by the fact that Neil Hamilton and Maureen O'Sullivan got first billing with Weissmuller down the opening credits in an 'introducing' category. As if no one in America, let alone the movie going public didn't know who Johnny Weissmuller was.

The fuss over swimming champion Michael Phelps is nothing compared to what Johnny Weissmuller's celebrity was like. In the Roaring Twenties when each sport seemed to have an icon that became a legend, Weissmuller was that for swimming. The records he set in the Olympics stood for many years, with today's athlete conditioning methods I can only speculate what he could do today if he were alive and in his prime.

Still Louis B. Mayer was nothing if not cautious in protecting an investment in a non-actor to be a lead in a major film. He kept Weissmuller's dialog to grunts, guttural jungle utterings, and a few choice words that Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane teaches her new jungle man toy.

With tons of footage left over from MGM's African location film of Trader Horn, Tarzan The Ape Man had all the background needed to make the film look good. It's fairly obvious that when you see shots of Neil Hamilton and Maureen O'Sullivan they're shot against a background of real natives. They never got further to Africa than Toluca Lake in the shooting.

It's also obvious that Weissmuller couldn't act at all which was why he was only given grunts and dialog of one and two words. Later on he did become a competent enough actor. But quite frankly who cared when they saw him in a loin cloth.

Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane Parker comes to Africa to visit her father C. Aubrey Smith and she finds that Smith and his partner Neil Hamilton are planning an expedition into some unexplored territory in search of the fabled elephant's graveyard. A lot of loose ivory to be picked up there without the danger of actually trying to kill the beasts. Hamilton's interested in her, but when white jungle man Tarzan rescues O'Sullivan, Hamilton doesn't have a prayer.

Tarzan The Ape Man is still an exciting adventure film even to today's more sophisticated eyes. And Weissmuller and O'Sullivan's appeal as a romantic couple is timeless.

All right so they haven't got the dialog from Romeo and Juliet, who cares?

This week I also watched the first two entries in the MGM Tarzan series by way of Warner's elegant 4-Disc Set. I actually took some persuading to purchase these films (the very positive online buzz is what got me), and I finally relented some time ago thanks to a generous 20% sale on the part of Deep Discount DVD!

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by them: solid (though primitive) production values, a bevy of exciting action sequences, and gleeful doses of eroticism and sadism made for great (if somewhat repetitive) fun. Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O' Sullivan created a wonderful (and spontaneous) rapport and generally inhabited their roles very nicely, making them the screen's definitive incarnations of these characters.

TARZAN AND HIS MATE (1934; ***1/2) edges the original slightly because of the former's (necessary) tendency towards exposition: the sequel dives straight into action (though, curiously enough, it still takes quite a bit before Tarzan makes an appearance!) but also features lecherous villainy from Paul Cavanaugh and even takes time to develop the lovable personality of Cheetah (especially in a lengthy sequence where it is beset by assorted creatures while journeying through the jungle to alert Tarzan of the [invariably] impending danger)…and then, of course, there's that famous nude swimming scene! The lion-infested finale, too, is every bit as remarkable as the pygmy sequences at the climax of TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932; ***) – if anything, it's even more ambitious.

It's a pity, therefore, that the special effects (once considered ground-breaking) have not withstood the test of time: innumerable back-projection shots, the conveniently-placed (and thinly-disguised) series of trapeze which allow Tarzan to swing from one tree to the other, all-too-fake snakes and alligators, the rotoscoping of lions into a scene to make them appear as if they were fighting elephants, etc. Unfortunately TARZAN AND HIS MATE (and probably all the others that follow) took a ridiculous turn by having Jane mimic the famous Tarzan cry/yodel, which I felt to be an unwise decision on the part of the studio! Still, I do look forward to the rest of the series, hoping that they're at least as entertaining (even if reviews claim production values got progressively more lavish, and thus unrealistic, and the plots cornier).

I'm sure I saw bits and pieces of "Tarzan, the Ape Man" on television when I was a kid, but I never really paid much attention to it. I just recently checked out the DVD from my local library, and I was amazed to discover what I had been missing all these years.

This movie made me feel like a young boy, craving excitement and adventure. This first installment in the MGM Tarzan movies delivers big time. Yes, the special effects and interweaving of the stock footage looks a bit dated, but remember that this film was only made three years after the first "talkie" (i.e. a sound picture, not a silent movie). There are certain techniques that obviously stem from the silent movie days. But to me, this just adds to the charm.

The animal footage is excellent. For the first time in a long time, I was actually on the edge of my seat during a movie. The CGI effects today are amazing, but they're so overdone (most of the time). The thrills and suspense in "Tarzan" are heightened, because you know everything you see is physically tangible, not an actor reacting to a green screen.

I still don't know how they did some of those scenes without anyone getting hurt. Swinging from the treetops, wrestling with lions, wrestling with leopards, being chased by wild animals--all of these things make for great entertainment and adventure.

I should also mention that the relationship between Tarzan and Jane is one of the most captivating I've ever seen in a movie. It's very understated, yet very sexy. Today, they would ruin the story by making the couple have sex after five minutes. But because the sexual chemistry is only hinted at, the entire relationship is one of Jane flirting and Tarzan pursuing. It just builds and builds. This romance actually has excitement to it. Definitely one of the best screen romances of all time.

Despite a few minor shortcomings in the special effects of the time, this is a thrilling movie. Great adventure, great excitement, great entertainment. Don't miss it!

Of course, Tarzan and His Mate is by far the best film in the wonderful 1930s MGM series. But you shouldn't therefore overlook its forerunner, Tarzan the Ape Man. This is also a great movie and has some fantastic moments. In particular, get a load of the lighting and the way in which the jungle's well-defined shadows are cast across Tarzan's (equally well-defined!) torso. Also worth watching, of course, to discover what Tarzan really says, as he certainly DOESN'T ever say 'Me Tarzan, You Jane'. While Tarzan and His Mate is often cited for its sexy content, this movie is also pretty hot in places; a beautiful pre-code film, which is a must for any Tarzan fan to see.