Tarzan et le jaguar maudit

Plenty of eye-candy in the awesomely athletic form of Mike Henry, but too much monkey business (literally), too much "precocious orphan boy" stuff, and not nearly enough action until the climactic mano-a-mano fight between Tarzan and the evil tribal chief. The story is plodding and tiresome, and the direction is sometimes inept - strange, because it was done by the same man (Robert Day) who also made the solid "Tarzan The Magnificent" in 1960. ** out of 4.

Mike Henry returns for another Tarzan adventure. Barcuna is a ruthless tribe leader who attacks and destroys villages, and takes young men as slaves so he can continue his reign of terror. Barcuna claims to own the jungle, and is feared by the tribesmen.

Tarzan is called upon to track down Barcuna, and stop him. He hitches a ride on the river with Captain Sam Bishop and a young orphan kid, Pepe, whom Sam looks after. Sam is to deliver medical supplies to Dr Anne Philips, who treats the natives. I enjoyed the bond that formed between Tarzan, and Sam and Pepe.

There's plenty of action and adventure in true Tarzan style. I've said this before and I'll say it again: Mike Henry is still the best cast actor to portray Tarzan. He is the epitome of a hunk with that muscled body and big stature, and does the famous character justice.

The nature setting allows for some stunning views, and the final fight scene between Tarzan and Barcuna on a bridge was quite thrilling, actually.

Would I watch it again? Well, even if just to drool over Mike Henry, yes!

In Brazil, nasty native Rafer Johnson (as Barcuna) is attacking peaceful tribes and luring survivors into slavery. A widening circle of death and destruction threatens the entire free world. Naturally, the world's secret agent of the jungles, muscular Mike Henry (as Tarzan), is called into action. Donning his action-ready loincloth, Mr. Henry picks up old friends "Cheeta" the chimp and "Baron" the lion. Henry and his pet sidekicks join Captain Jan Murray (as Sam Bishop) and orphaned native boy Manuel Padilla Jr. (as Pepe) on their small boat. Next to join is beautiful blonde doctor Diana Millay (as Ann Philips), who wants to inoculate natives against disease. The three guests offer more characterization than was usual for the "Tarzan" movies...

The trigger-happy Tarzan from the last film is gone; he remembers the name of his pet chimpanzee and notes its increased size. The cinematography is good, the dubbing and sound are not - we have a cartoon-like quality. There are some rough transitions and plot concerns - the diamond hunt is cast adrift - but "Tarzan and the Great River" is a good entry in the series. It is interesting and educational to see how the lion "Barron" leaves to hunt for food, in a small segment. The supporting cast is good enough for a series of their own - Murray, Millay and Manuel could have sailed on that boat for weekly TV adventures, without Tarzan. Their appeal was available, separately; at the time, Murray was doing some episodic television, Millay was showing some wicked versatility on "Dark Shadows", and Manuel was a regular on the "Tarzan" TV series starring Ron Ely.

***** Tarzan and the Great River (9/13/67) Robert Day ~ Mike Henry, Jan Murray, Diana Millay, Manuel Padilla Jr.

What's with Jan Murray as a faux-Bogart from The African Queen? I can't even begin to describe how insane this movie is.

And what about Olympic decathelete Rafer Johnson as the evil Barcuna? -- Incidentally, how did all of these folks end up in Brazil? Jan Murray's interplay with little Pepe is like nothing I've ever seen.

Infamous Tarzan movie because of accident suffered by Mike Henry: he was bitten on the chin by Dinky, the chimpanzee playing Cheetah, which was "destroyed" for its action. But it is not as bad as I had been told. It is a welcome and nice, wide-screen change of setting in the Amazonian jungle, where the Ape Man goes after diamond-greedy Rafer Johnson and his bunch of painted mercenaries, all belonging to the ancient Jaguar cult. But as Henry's hair and make-up are in place most of the running time, the plot that could have been resolved in 70 minutes was "spiced" with footage and more footage (quite often scratched) of wild animals, vast views of the jungle, monkey's humor, the Amazon river, more animals, and a never-ending duel between ex-linebacker Henry and decathlon champ Johnson. But in the end the movie is colorful and bearable nonetheless.