Tarzan, l'homme singe

I'm sure I saw bits and pieces of "Tarzan, the Ape Man" on television when I was a kid, but I never really paid much attention to it. I just recently checked out the DVD from my local library, and I was amazed to discover what I had been missing all these years.

This movie made me feel like a young boy, craving excitement and adventure. This first installment in the MGM Tarzan movies delivers big time. Yes, the special effects and interweaving of the stock footage looks a bit dated, but remember that this film was only made three years after the first "talkie" (i.e. a sound picture, not a silent movie). There are certain techniques that obviously stem from the silent movie days. But to me, this just adds to the charm.

The animal footage is excellent. For the first time in a long time, I was actually on the edge of my seat during a movie. The CGI effects today are amazing, but they're so overdone (most of the time). The thrills and suspense in "Tarzan" are heightened, because you know everything you see is physically tangible, not an actor reacting to a green screen.

I still don't know how they did some of those scenes without anyone getting hurt. Swinging from the treetops, wrestling with lions, wrestling with leopards, being chased by wild animals--all of these things make for great entertainment and adventure.

I should also mention that the relationship between Tarzan and Jane is one of the most captivating I've ever seen in a movie. It's very understated, yet very sexy. Today, they would ruin the story by making the couple have sex after five minutes. But because the sexual chemistry is only hinted at, the entire relationship is one of Jane flirting and Tarzan pursuing. It just builds and builds. This romance actually has excitement to it. Definitely one of the best screen romances of all time.

Despite a few minor shortcomings in the special effects of the time, this is a thrilling movie. Great adventure, great excitement, great entertainment. Don't miss it!

Of course, Tarzan and His Mate is by far the best film in the wonderful 1930s MGM series. But you shouldn't therefore overlook its forerunner, Tarzan the Ape Man. This is also a great movie and has some fantastic moments. In particular, get a load of the lighting and the way in which the jungle's well-defined shadows are cast across Tarzan's (equally well-defined!) torso. Also worth watching, of course, to discover what Tarzan really says, as he certainly DOESN'T ever say 'Me Tarzan, You Jane'. While Tarzan and His Mate is often cited for its sexy content, this movie is also pretty hot in places; a beautiful pre-code film, which is a must for any Tarzan fan to see.

I hadn't seen Johnny Weissmuller's debut film Tarzan The Ape Man for many years so I was struck by the fact that Neil Hamilton and Maureen O'Sullivan got first billing with Weissmuller down the opening credits in an 'introducing' category. As if no one in America, let alone the movie going public didn't know who Johnny Weissmuller was.

The fuss over swimming champion Michael Phelps is nothing compared to what Johnny Weissmuller's celebrity was like. In the Roaring Twenties when each sport seemed to have an icon that became a legend, Weissmuller was that for swimming. The records he set in the Olympics stood for many years, with today's athlete conditioning methods I can only speculate what he could do today if he were alive and in his prime.

Still Louis B. Mayer was nothing if not cautious in protecting an investment in a non-actor to be a lead in a major film. He kept Weissmuller's dialog to grunts, guttural jungle utterings, and a few choice words that Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane teaches her new jungle man toy.

With tons of footage left over from MGM's African location film of Trader Horn, Tarzan The Ape Man had all the background needed to make the film look good. It's fairly obvious that when you see shots of Neil Hamilton and Maureen O'Sullivan they're shot against a background of real natives. They never got further to Africa than Toluca Lake in the shooting.

It's also obvious that Weissmuller couldn't act at all which was why he was only given grunts and dialog of one and two words. Later on he did become a competent enough actor. But quite frankly who cared when they saw him in a loin cloth.

Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane Parker comes to Africa to visit her father C. Aubrey Smith and she finds that Smith and his partner Neil Hamilton are planning an expedition into some unexplored territory in search of the fabled elephant's graveyard. A lot of loose ivory to be picked up there without the danger of actually trying to kill the beasts. Hamilton's interested in her, but when white jungle man Tarzan rescues O'Sullivan, Hamilton doesn't have a prayer.

Tarzan The Ape Man is still an exciting adventure film even to today's more sophisticated eyes. And Weissmuller and O'Sullivan's appeal as a romantic couple is timeless.

All right so they haven't got the dialog from Romeo and Juliet, who cares?

This week I also watched the first two entries in the MGM Tarzan series by way of Warner's elegant 4-Disc Set. I actually took some persuading to purchase these films (the very positive online buzz is what got me), and I finally relented some time ago thanks to a generous 20% sale on the part of Deep Discount DVD!

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by them: solid (though primitive) production values, a bevy of exciting action sequences, and gleeful doses of eroticism and sadism made for great (if somewhat repetitive) fun. Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O' Sullivan created a wonderful (and spontaneous) rapport and generally inhabited their roles very nicely, making them the screen's definitive incarnations of these characters.

TARZAN AND HIS MATE (1934; ***1/2) edges the original slightly because of the former's (necessary) tendency towards exposition: the sequel dives straight into action (though, curiously enough, it still takes quite a bit before Tarzan makes an appearance!) but also features lecherous villainy from Paul Cavanaugh and even takes time to develop the lovable personality of Cheetah (especially in a lengthy sequence where it is beset by assorted creatures while journeying through the jungle to alert Tarzan of the [invariably] impending danger)…and then, of course, there's that famous nude swimming scene! The lion-infested finale, too, is every bit as remarkable as the pygmy sequences at the climax of TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932; ***) – if anything, it's even more ambitious.

It's a pity, therefore, that the special effects (once considered ground-breaking) have not withstood the test of time: innumerable back-projection shots, the conveniently-placed (and thinly-disguised) series of trapeze which allow Tarzan to swing from one tree to the other, all-too-fake snakes and alligators, the rotoscoping of lions into a scene to make them appear as if they were fighting elephants, etc. Unfortunately TARZAN AND HIS MATE (and probably all the others that follow) took a ridiculous turn by having Jane mimic the famous Tarzan cry/yodel, which I felt to be an unwise decision on the part of the studio! Still, I do look forward to the rest of the series, hoping that they're at least as entertaining (even if reviews claim production values got progressively more lavish, and thus unrealistic, and the plots cornier).

"Tarzan The Ape Man",was without a doubt one the definitive "Tarzan" movie,and the first "Tarzan" talkie that started it all and it continues to go strongly to this day,a century after Edgar Rice Burroughs's most famous character was first introduced,generations ago. It also introduce to audiences Johnny Weissmuller who was an Olympic swimming champion and so forth and the introduction of actress Maureen O'Sullivan whom would star in all six pictures from 1932 to 1942. However,there have been numerous attempts to remake,update or improve on the classic story by Edgar Rice Burroughs(notably the pretentious 1984 Tarzan update of "Graystoke",directed by Hugh Hudson)on it,but have failed to near the original's entertainment value or even its technical quality,which still holds beautifully to this day.

This was in fact the "original" of a long series of Tarzan movies starring Weissmuller and O' Sullivan that were made by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer,which in turn made Tarzan a hot commodity and its studio a Hollywood producing powerhouse of great entertainment. Dubiously faithful to the Edgar Rice Burroughs story about the humble beginnings to where Tarzan is introduced has been remade numerous times,but this is the 1932 original where Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan bring a class of style of wit to the roles and the results are absolutely brilliant from beginning to end. Then in 1934,MGM made a sequel entitled "Tarzan And His Mate" which was the second entry in the lavishly produced MGM Tarzan series. Weissmuller and O'Sullivan cohabit in an unmarried bliss before the Hays Code of the era moved them into a treehouse with twin beds. There is also the swimming scene,which until now has been restored from the original print which has been banned for years until MGM reissued this scene back into the film. The scene where Maureen O'Sullivan is swimming with Weissmuller,completely nude was in its day very noticeable and very restricted toward adult audiences. Among the challenges that they face in there private domain is against nasty white hunters,savage natives,angry elephants,hungry lions and maneating crocodiles.

"Tarzan Escapes",was the third entry in the series released in 1936. In this sequel,Jane(O'Sullivan)is tricked by evil hunters into abandoning her fairy tale life with Tarzan(Weissmuller). So the Ape Man sets out to reunite with is one true love,and as he sets out to get back with Jane,trouble ensumes. The third entry in MGM's successful Weissmuller/O'Sullivan series is still among the better Tarzan movies thanks to the leads,but the Hays Office made sure that Jane was wearing a lot more clothes this time around since this was also aimed toward adult audiences. The series from this point takes a three-year hiatus. Then in 1939,the fourth entry in MGM's Weissmuller/O'Sullivan series went toward the kiddie fare with "Tarzan Finds A Son" which was family oriented material and a little more tamer than the first two installments. However,Weissmuller and O'Sullivan returned to their roles after three years with the addition of five year-old Johnny Sheffield as "Boy". He's an orphan whose awful relatives hope he stays lost so they can collect and inheritance. Tarzan and Jane fight to adopt the tyke and when the new family are captured by a wicked tribe only an elephant stampede and Tarzan's call of the jungle can save them.

Then in 1941,after a two year hiatus,the fifth entry in the series was really standard kiddie fare with "Tarzan's Secret Treasure". Tarzan saves an expedition from a savage tribe only to be repaid by having greedy hunters hold Boy and Jane hostage. They want Tarzan's help in finding a secret cache of gold hidden in the jungle. But Tarzan doesn't take kindly to threats against his family and teaches those evil-doers a lesson they'll never forget! This one was action-packed and it does show Weissmuller doing some of his own stunts. Then,in 1942,the last and final entry in the MGM Tarzan series titled "Tarzan's New York Adventure",marked Maureen O'Sullivan's final appearance as Jane. This one is so-so adventure with some very humorous moments when Tarzan meets the big city. When Boy is kidnapped by a evil circus owner,Tarzan,Jane and Cheta head out to rescue him.Then Tarzan shows off his jungle prowless by climbing skyscrapers and diving off the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River. This final Tarzan entry for both Weissmuller and O'Sullivan showcases some very interesting cameo appearances including one which features Elmo Lincoln,the screen's first Tarzan in a cameo appearance.

After the huge success of the Tarzan films for MGM,Johnny Weissmuller continue to played The Ape Man in six more films for RKO Pictures which began in 1943 and ended in 1948,where Weissmuller's final appearance as the Ape Man concluded in "Tarzan And The Mermaids",before he would venture into a new medium---television as "Jungle Jim" in the early-1950's. He also played "Jungle Jim" in several theatrical films for Columbia Pictures. As for actress Maureen O'Sullivan,after the success of the Tarzan films,she would go on to star in several films including "The Big Clock" and "Bonzo Goes To College" opposite Ronald Reagan and so many more. As for Johnny Sheffield,he would go on to continue the role of "Boy" in five more Tarzan films with Johnny Weissmuller until 1949,when he went on to star in more than twelve features as Bomba Of The Jungle under RKO Pictures and would continue that role on television.