Tarzan e il safari perduto

Tarzan protects a group of passengers of a private plane who crash-landed on the jungle from a hostile native tribe that wants to sacrifice them to their gods. Just another day at the office. The film is technically well-made, but padded and tedious, with relatively little action. Gordon Scott is still mightily impressive as Tarzan, but the best thing in the film is the athletic, outdoorsy leading lady Betta St.John (she actually looks like she worked out regularly, long before it became "the norm" for women). ** out of 4.

Average Tarzan fare with Scott leading the passengers of a crashed airplane to safety. Of course there are some baddies along the way and of course all ends well, but it all seems too uninspired to enjoy. Forget this one, there are better Tarzan adventures than this(e.g. TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE). 5/10

TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI (Solar Film Productions, 1957), directed by Bruce Humberstone, returns Gordon Scott as the muscular jungle hero, Tarzan, to the screen since his debut performance for the Sol Lesser production unit of TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE (RKO, 1955). As with the previous installment, this second Gordon Scott/Tarzan adventure has him going solo, with the exception of his pet chimpanzee, Cheta, venturing without the presence of his mate, Jane. Unlike Scott's Tarzan debut, TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI not only has the distinction of being the first "Tarzan" adventure in the series to be photographed in color (compliments of Eastman Color), but was reportedly filmed on location Uganda, Kenya and in the Belgian Congo as opposed to indoor jungle sets or outdoor filming near the Hollywood studios. The supporting cast is basically English, naturally since it was produced by a British studio. Though sources label this the first Tarzan movie release through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer since 1942, prints exclude the traditional MGM lion logo for its opening. Regardless, TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI ranks a more update improvement in the series, and though many fondly remember Johnny Weissmuller as the jungle warlord for many years, Scott holds his own as possibly the second best next to the Olympic champion Weissmuller, who enacted the role of Tarzan longer than any other actor.

Following opening credits superimposed over African jungle wildlife and huge waterfall background, an airplane flies over the jungle bound for Cairo consisting of Dick Penrod (Peter Arne), the pilot; his wife, Diana (Betta St. John); and passengers, Gamage Dean (Yolande Donain); Carl Kraski (George Coulouris); and society columnist, Doodles Fletcher (Wilfred Hyde-White). Dick and Diane are constantly bickering, with Diane finding that their marriage is on the verge of divorce. As Dick flies low so his guests can have a close look at animallife such as giraffes and zebras, a flock of flamingos cause the airplane to crash land on the cliff ledge. Tarzan (Gordon Scott) comes to their rescue moments before airplane plunges down the canyon. After Diana is abducted by Opal tribesmen, Tarzan fights them off while hunter, "Tusker" Hawkins (Robert Beatty) rescues Diana from becoming a sacrifice to the tribe. In order to get the safari safe to civilization, Tarzan leads them through the jungle, swamps and other dangerous surroundings. In the meantime, Tarzan shows strong dislike towards Hawkins, feeling he has other plans for his stranded guests that are not so honorable.

Also In the cast is Orlando Martins as Chief Ogonorro. Even Cheta the chimpanzee gets screen credit for her performance. For the rest of the cast, Yolande Donian makes one think about character actress, Iris Adrian, through her performance as the flirtatious blonde after Tarzan; and Betta St. John short haircut and features in a physical sense of a younger actress, Fay Wray, from the 1930s. While other actors in the cast may be unfamiliar faces and names, only George Coulouris may be familiar to American audience through his Hollywood movie roles in the 1940s.

Though TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI is leisurely paced, it's never dull through its 80 minutes. Naturally for a Tarzan adventure, there has to be a villain, along with some near death experiences including one where Diana's swimming is interrupted by an approaching crocodile followed by traditional extended Tarzan vs. crocodile segment as in the past. There's even a rare moment in the series where Tarzan talks about his jungle upbringing following the death of his parents, to as a boy surviving the jungle through manhood, yet, no mention about his companion, Jane. There's plenty of suspense involving the Tarzan and his safari involving poisoned spiders, and how they will survive the ordeal as they are observed from afar by the tribesmen to when they intend making their attack by throwing spears. And naturally Chetah gets laughs being both brat and helpful to Doodles by lighting his cigarette lighter for his cigarette.

Naturally color and location screening add to this screen adventure. Gordon Scott's broken English isn't as much as Johnny Weissmuller's interpretation from the past, yet, as the series progressed, Scott would soon be speaking in the manner of an educated man, the way its creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs, initially intended through his books

Never distributed on video cassette though available on DVD, this and many Tarzan adventures did enjoy frequent commercial television broadcasts dating back to the 1960s before shifting to cable television in later years, including American Movie Classics (1997-2000) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: September 10, 2011). Next in the series: Tarzan (Gordon Scott), Jane (Eve Brent) and Tarzan Jr., known as Tartu (Randy Sorensen) returning to formula format from the Weissmuller days for TARZAN FIGHT FOR LIFE (MGM, 1958) for the final time in the series. (**1/2)

Released in 1957, "Tarzan and the Lost Safari" stars Gordon Scott as the ape man who assists five survivors of a plane crash near the Opar tribe, savage Africans known for sacrificing white people. A "great white hunter" enters the picture and seems to want to help the survivors, but Tarzan smells something fishy. This incidentally was the first Tarzan film in color.

The plot's great and the movie features many positives. For one, Scott's one of the best actors to play Tarzan and went on to star in a couple of the best Tarzan films, 1959's "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" and 1960's "Tarzan the Magnificent." The African locations are meshed well with the studio work and the studio sets look great, considering the time period. It's sometimes hard to distinguish between authentic Africa and studio "Africa." There's quite a bit of action, numerous shots of animals and I enjoy the scenes where Tarzan interacts with the wildlife, like the lion (which isn't faked).

Unfortunately, there are some bad elements. For instance, the eye-rolling way a vine is always conveniently nearby for Tarzan to easily swing/climb to where he needs to go. Why sure! Then there's this kiddie vibe that's hard to explain, like the producers were trying to appeal to five year-olds, which is strange because there are quite a few adult-oriented elements. What could've been a quality Tarzan flick is sunk for these two reasons.

While Scott's interpretation of the ape man is good the writers have him speaking limited English in the manner of Weissmuller, which is in contrast to Burroughs' book version where Tarzan can speak several languages fluently. I can live with this, however, as it's a movie interpretation of the character. This changed with Scott's two last films as the ape man, noted above, where his portrayal was more faithful to Burroughs.

The film runs 86 minutes and was shot in the Congo, Africa, as well as Iverson Ranch, CA, and studio sets in England; plus stock African footage.

GRADE: C+

This is the 3rd movie that starred Gordon Scott as the celebrated Ape Man. Besides the excellent production values, location scenes, and music by Lou Levy with real performances by an authentic African dance troupe, the acting is good all round. Gordon brings this version of Tarzan way up from the previous portrayals of the screen incarnations. Tarzan is clever and more intelligent than seen before. The fact that he is a loner and therefore not hampered by a romantic interest turns him into even a more serious action hero. The movie does have the same racial failings as in past Tarzan movies. The sets and lighting give the dark suspenseful mood and the music increases the dangerous atmosphere. Gordon and Bette St. John swim just as well as the pair in Tarzan and His Mate. In fact the script allows more dialog with better articulation from Tarzan and the men of Opar. I hope all of the Gordon Scott movies finally see the light of DVD day. Post script 6/26/2010.... all of the Sy Weintraub produced Tarzan films are now available through WARNER BROS HOME VIDEO ARCHIVE section. My wishes have been fulfilled