Les Nouvelles Aventures de Tarzan

Exceptionally dumb, even for a movie serial. They went to Guatemala to "film" this. Much ado about nothing.

Or mad, and a bit interesting, take your pick. Herman Brix/Bruce Bennett is a good, athletic Tarzan, rather oddly at home in Africa, Latin America and England, equally comfortable in a loincloth or jungle fatigues, and even (in the final episode) fancy dress. His Tarzan cry is especially memorable, sounding as if he has just trapped his testicles in his desk drawer.

Unlike many serials, the plot develops in nearly linear fashion rather than repeatedly cycling round, and the Guatemalan locations are fascinating and well-used. The animals that Tarzan fights look less like pyjama cases than usual. There is a lot of evidence of cutting and rewriting, so it would be a stretch to say that it all made sense.

Some of the major characters disappear after Chapter Four for no obvious reason, only to reappear in the final summing up (the serial certainly improves when the cast is slimmed down; they are not missed). George, the comedy relief, degenerates from someone capable of machine-gunning dozens of natives to death early on, into a babbling cretin in the later episodes. He is literally unable to pick up a valuable clue without dropping it into the nearest river, or to walk in a straight line without falling into a cunning trap. And to cap it all, the final scene takes place at a party where everyone is dressed as a Tyrolean gypsy - why?

Herman Brix is Tarzan, aka Lord Greystoke, splitting his time between England and Africa. While in Africa he is asked to go to Guatemala to help look for an idol. As close to Edgar Rice Burroughs idea of the character as we are likely to see, Burroughs produced, this a bit different then the Tarzan of the movies we are used to, Tarzan is intelligent and speaks in full sentences. He is still a man of action. To be certain the independent nature of the serial and its budgetary limitations make this a little rough at times, but at the same time the story and its dangers are as real as they come. I know that some people have complained that how Tarzan gets out of things isn't always spectacular (he expands his chest to help get ropes off of himself), but its probably closer to reality then most serials would dare. Worth a look to how Tarzan of the pages really should look on screen.

I bought this Tarzan serial 16 years ago, it was time for me to discover Herman Brix, quite handsome, expressive in the efforts with sharp glances when observing danger. He's the real Greystoke, speaking English, it's not surprising as it was produced by Burroughs Tarzan Enterprises Inc., the original author. The print I saw was absolutely not restored, it didn't matter, I was hypnotised by charismatic Herman Brix, fighting wildly against dozens of natives and lions and panthers. Shot in Guatemala, in jungle and seaside, there are strong violent scenes like this awsome shooting with machine gun against natives (did you see it, Sam?). Maybe a better director than cinematographer Edward Kull would have improved direction. The only bad surprise is Tarzan's scream, it seems in the middle he's been hit with a hammer, finally finishing singing a yodel, but it's the yell used in a previous Tarzan radio serial from 1932. Last bad surprise on the DVD extras, I didn't find the Vincent Sherman interview.

I have to review what I see and sad to say other than interesting location cinematography in Central America, there's not much to recommend The New Adventures Of Tarzan.

Edgar Rice Burroughs who was personally involved in the making of this film would have been better to have left it in the hands of the professionals at MGM who while they changed his legendary character knew how to make a film. They would also have advised him to not shoot on location as they did in Trader Horn. The production costs nearly bankrupted MGM and the costs here rendered impossible any kind of profit.

In addition what I saw on TCM was a cut down feature film taken from a movie serial. The serial ran over 4 hours and the film 75 minutes. You can't make anything coherent from that.

Bruce Bennett is quite the well built Tarzan. He's starring in this under his real name of Herman Brix, the same name for which he won a Silver Medal in the Shotput in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Later when he became Bruce Bennett he learned his craft as actor and is best remembered for The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre and Mildred Pierce as an actor.

I'm sure Bennett did a bit of cringing when he saw this film or was reminded of it in the 100 years of life he had on planet earth.