O Filho de Tarzan

Most people I talk to about Tarzan films, always seem to remember this one best - it certainly was aimed at the Saturday Afternoon Matinée Audiences of the 1930"s, and from their points of view, it probably did not disappoint. It really is a kids movie, but provides escapist entertainment, and the introduction of their "son" creates new interest to a somewhat tired storyline - there are only so many elephant stampedes you can have! The acting of the principals is the same as always, with Johnny W. having a very limited script to worry about. Jane (Maureen O'S.) looks good, while Johnny Sheffield is an appealing "Boy" who became a real pain in sequels! Henry Stephenson and Freda Inescort were good support for Ian Hunter, and in a very small bit part was Laraine Day, presumably in her debut movie. I must say the Metro Tarzan movies had more class than those that followed from lesser studios.

With Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) nicely settled into their treetop des-res (complete with all mod cons), it was only going to be a matter of time before we heard the pitter patter of little footsteps (other than Cheetah's, of course). However, with the Hays Code in full effect, and our arboreal lovebirds not actually wed, they sure weren't going to be permitted to have a child of their own via the normal method.

The writers of the Tarzan series get around this problem by having a child delivered from the sky by 'the great metal stork'—a plane that crashes in the jungle with a baby boy as the only survivor. Cheetah finds the wailing bundle of joy and whisks him off to Tarzan and Jane, who decide to adopt the lad, naming him Boy (Tarzan's second choice, after having Elephant rejected by Jane).

Five years of blissful family life later, and an expedition turns up at the escarpment searching for the plane and any possible survivors. But Tarzan and Jane have become rather attached to their little tyke, and aren't about to give him up, especially when they discover that two of the visitors only want Boy for his vast inheritance.

Aimed at the matinée crowd, this particular instalment features none of the graphic nastiness or raciness that can be found in the first two Tarzan films (the obligatory native killing at the end of the film—via a huge skull-cracking device—is brief and non-explicit); instead, we get mild peril as Boy is attacked by pipe-cleaner tarantulas and a back-projected rhino, comic relief courtesy of Cheetah the chimp, and a lot of fun interplay between Tarzan and his 'son', the best scene being an impressively shot moment of underwater horseplay.

6.5 out of 10, happily rounded up to 7 for the bit where Cheetah turns her lips inside-out to amuse the new arrival (which makes me laugh just thinking about it).

Tarzan and Jane adopt a baby boy, the sole survivor of a plane crash. The boy's parents perished and so Tarzan and Jane adopt the little tyke. A few years later and he's a boy grown into the guise of Tarzan...complete with Tarzan's abilities to swing vines and talk to jungle animals. Only unknown to Tarzan and Jane, this "Boy" they made their son is actually a wealthy heir and his relatives have come to their jungle hideaway searching for him. Now Tarzan and Jane are faced with a most difficult choice..let "Boy" return to civilization and lose him forever or hold on to him themselves and have him remain in the jungle at all costs and despite the many dangers.

This one is powerful and moves the viewer through a wide range of emotions as the plight of Tarzan and Jane over Boy really puts one through the wringer. Suitable for family viewing for the most part although a scene or two may disturb more impressionable kids.

Well unlike the previous movie, this one actually lived up to its title, which was actually quite unexpected. I thought it would be about Tarzan having a son, but instead it's just about him literally finding one and raising him. The plot's pretty basic, with a family having a plane crash into Tarzan's jungle and him finding their infant whom he and Jane raise. Five years later, people come to take the child back. I will admit that this wasn't as good as the other movies. I think it's because the Tarzan films are starting to become formulaic. This is still by no means a bad movie. There are some really good scenes in this.

My favorite is probably when Tarzan and the kid are swimming. It's just a long scene that has no dialogue but is so wonderfully shot. It probably helps that I've lived near the ocean for more than a decade of my life. I just love this imagery and how quaint it is. I think the movie got a bit weak when it did the same thing where the natives were the villains. But honestly, it was still handled pretty well. I especially like the final fight with them. It's not very long, but what it does show is quite entertaining. I guess I was getting a "Swiss Family Robinson" vibe from it. ***

When a young couple (MORTON LOWRY and LARAINE DAY) are killed in a plane crash over the jungle, only their infant son survives. Cheetah rescues the baby from the plane and brings it to the jungle hideout of Tarzan and Jane (JOHNNY WEISSMULLER and MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN). Sullivan decides the boy's name will be simply "Boy" because that's what Tarzan wants.

So begins this formulaic fourth in the series from MGM, given a bigger budget than usual but still lacking Technicolor for all of the great location photography and underwater scenes. It's good looking in B&W thanks to the glossy MGM photography and Richard Thorpe manages to keep things moving busily enough despite his reputation for being a slow paced director.

A search party looking for the boy is headed by HENRY STEPHENSON, HENRY WILCOXON, IAN HUNTER and FRIEDA INESCORT, their mission being to find the boy and profit from his having inherited quite a bit of wealth. It's up to Tarzan and Jane to decide whether to hand over the boy or not. Things get a bit complicated from that point on, but the predictable happy ending is never too far out of sight--even though it was changed to have Maureen O'Sullivan survive her wounds when the original ending met with a platoon of negative protests. And incidentally, she looks lovelier than ever.

It's a well-produced jungle film with all the familiar ingredients tacked together neatly enough to please Tarzan's fans. The water sport playfulness between father and son is nicely filmed in a series of underwater segments.

Only drawback: Boy's laughter seems artificial and forced every time he thinks a situation is hilariously funny.