Les aventures de Tarzan à New-York

A group of big game hunters land on Tarzan's escarpment in a 'metal bird', which piques Boy's curiosity about the wonders of modern civilisation. After the fearless lad approaches the hunters and foolishly displays his remarkable command of animals, Buck Rand (Charles Bickford), leader of the hunt, sees dollar signs and plans to take the lad to the US and sell him to a circus.

Rand's opportunity comes when a tribe of savage natives attack the group, and both Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) are seemingly burnt alive as they try to swing to the rescue: with Boy's parents dead, he is free to abduct Boy. However, thanks to the quick thinking of their faithful chimp Cheetah, Tarzan and Jane prove to be still very much alive, and together they travel to the 'Big Apple' to try and find their son.

After the formulaic Tarzan's Secret Treasure, it's great to see the legendary ape-man finally get a change of scenery. Tarzan, a fish out of water in the city, takes a while to adjust to his new surroundings and much fun is to be had from his unfamiliarity with modern technology and his coming to terms with NY etiquette; but, after he and his wife fail to convince the authorities to return Boy in court, Tarzan soon forgets all about doing things the civilised way, and switches back to jungle-mode in order to settle matters.

This involves an exciting rooftop chase (the 1940s equivalent of freerunning/Parkour), a daring climb up the Brooklyn bridge, a high dive into the river, and a finale that features—surprise, surprise—an elephant stampede. It might not be the greatest of all Tarzan's adventures, but seeing the lord of the jungle stepping out on the town is still a lot of fun.

Some men come to Africa by plane looking for lions for their circus. Despite Tarzan's warnings to stay away from them, Boy is fascinated by the plane and tries to get a closer look. He's kidnapped by the circus owner, hoping to turn Boy into a big attraction back home. Tarzan, Jane, and Cheeta all head to New York to rescue him. Once there, Jane makes Tarzan obey the law and try to get Boy back the legal way. So they have to go to court to gain custody. Weird. Don't worry, this isn't a courtroom drama. There is plenty of action. Tarzan's escape from the police and the circus rescue is exciting stuff. There's also quite a bit of 'fish out of water' humor with Tarzan having to wear a suit and discovering radio and indoor plumbing for the first time. Cheeta's also lots of fun in this. That crazy laugh is something else. The phone call scene with Mantan Moreland will NOT sit well with everybody, so sensitive types be forewarned. Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Johnny Sheffield are all great, as usual. Good support from Paul Kelly, Charles Bickford, Virginia Grey, Chill Wills, and Cy Kendall. This is the sixth and final Tarzan film from MGM before the series relocated to RKO. It's also the last film with Maureen O'Sullivan, who didn't act again for six years. The subsequent RKO Tarzans are fun but it's hard to beat the MGM series which had, among other attributes, the wonderful chemistry between Weissmuller and O'Sullivan.

Ask anyone over the age of 30 who is the best Tarzan and you may receive several answers. Ron Ely would be a popular choice; so would Gordon Scott. But I'll lay good money that the top answer would be Johnny Weissmuller.

By the time Tarzan's New York Adventure came to be made, Weissmuller had made the loin cloth his own and something new had to be done. As sacrilegious as it sounds, it was the taking of Tarzan out of his own environment that made this the best in his long list of jungle capers.

The plot is unimportant. Tarzan's son is taken away to New York and he travels there, accompanied by Jane, to bring him back. But it's the way that the whole premise is handled that ensures that this film will remain in the memory (it's remained in mine ever since I saw it, aged 7). You know Tarzan will win but you don't expect the way that he does it.

Weissmuller was a fine actor with little to say. And here, he doesn't need to say much. There's action, drama, and humour - everything one needs. Even the effects (apart from an occasional speeded up film shot) are sufficiently effective.

As MGM knew Maureen O'Sullivan was departing the 'Tarzan' series, and budget and talent constraints were forcing the long-running series out of the studio (RKO would soon be Tarzan's new home), they decided to end things with a bang, clothing Johnny Weissmuller in a double-breasted suit, and setting him loose in New York's concrete jungle. The gamble worked, magnificently!

The premise is simple; Boy, thinking Tarzan and Jane are dead, after falling into a raging fire during a tribal attack, is whisked away by an evil circus big game hunter (Charles Bickford) in a chartered plane. (How so many planes land safely in the middle of the jungle in these films is never explained...)

Rescued by Cheetah, Tarzan and Jane hike across Africa, dress in more modern attire (a VERY funny scene!), and fly across the Atlantic to try and retrieve their son.

The fun begins when the pair reach New York. Tarzan's bemused reaction to a black taxi driver, his takes on radio, indoor plumbing, and nightclubs, are priceless (and were recreated years later in Paul Hogan's wonderful 'Crocodile Dundee'). There are a few slightly offensive racial stereotypes displayed, but considering the period of the film, these are really quite tame.

A few nagging questions about the series are addressed in this film...'What happens if Boy gets sick?' and 'How is he being educated?', although the biggest question is never addressed...How does a boy with a British 'mother' and an Ape Man 'father' end up with an American accent?

When the courts fail to return Boy (the jungle couple can't prove legal custody), Tarzan takes matters into his own hands, breaking out of the courthouse, and performing an extraordinary series of rooftop swings, leaps and acrobatics to get to the New Jersey home of the circus, climaxing with a breathtaking 100-foot dive off the Brooklyn Bridge. The sequence is still fabulous, over 50 years after the film was released!

The film concludes with the almost stereotyped rescue scene, as elephants rescue Tarzan and Boy, yet again! Evil is vanquished, the family is reunited by the court, and the judge is going to catch some really BIG fish when he comes to visit!

If you're looking for gritty realism, you won't be popping a Tarzan flick into the VCR, anyway, but if you want thrills, laughs, and wonderful escapism, look no further!

This is the last of the six great "Tarzan classics" with Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. And I frankly didn't think I would like it: who, after all, wants to see Tarzan anywhere but in the jungle?

But this turned out to be a delightful tale after all. We are given enough of Tarzan, Jane, Boy, and the animals in the jungle to set the stage; and then are whisked to New York for a story full of situational humor, social commentary, and adventure.

Cheetah perhaps plays a bigger role in this movie than in any of the others. Cheetah provides us with great scenes of fun and good humor, opening the movie at the beginning and closing it at the end in the jungle. In both scenes, Cheetah opens with the elephants with delightful playfulness. In between, we have Cheetah going to New York with Tarzan and Jane for a series of easy-going, hilarious romps that help to really provide this movie with a special humor to offset what is I'll admit I really didn't like Boy's "tricks" with the baby elephants at the beginning of the movie. This all seemed very unnatural, and that really undermines the movies depiction of Boy in the Jungle.

However, the perhaps predictable but mordant social commentary contrasting "civilization" and Tarzan's jungle was to me a very good fit for a movie that really more than usual emphasizes environmental contrasts. The adventure/action scenes of Tarzan high above the streets of New York, and far above the Brooklyn Bridge, were wonderful.

The cinematography was excellent, crisply precise. The pace occasionally lagged, but in general, was good. All in all, this is a very worthwhile addition to the great Tarzan canon, and I would recommend it to anyone.