"Thru Thin and Thicket, or Who's Zoo in Africa" is an incredibly dumb film. However, what saves it is that it deliberately tries to be dumb...and never takes itself seriously.
There's not a ton of plot here. An expedition led by Professor Backwash (James Finlayson) arrives in the African countryside. Soon, the reporter Scoop Skinner (Eddie Borden) arrives and he soon spots a female Tarzan, called 'Tarkana' (Dorothy Granger). Soon she and Scoop are making out and having a grand time. But Backwash is jealous and wants her for himself, so he incites the locals who soon attack. Can Tarkana and her animal friends save the day?
As I said, the film is dopey but tries to be. Tarkana calls all sorts of creatures to help....and soon they're not only showing footage of African predators but salmon on a run and rabbits hopping about for no particular reason. Not all the jokes work but they come so often that you hardly have time to notice. Entertaining...in a low brow sort of way.
By the way, I mention "Strange Interlude" in the summary and that's because that's one of the jokes in the picture. It is referring to a Clark Gable-Norma Shearer film written by Eugene O'Neill (based on his play) where you can hear the thoughts of the actors in the story. This also occurs when Scoop drinks the 'Strange Interlude Cocktail'!
