Tarzan et la belle esclave

I've seen the begining of this film and I've seen the ending of this film but not both at the same time, due to its presentation at unusual time schedules on tv. Nonetheless, I've seen enough to know that it's a pretty fair "Tarzan" low-budget action film.

Lex Barker plays Tarzan with Johnny Weismuller's pidgin English, but with a California accent. Vanessa Brown plays Jane with a lot of spirit, just the way Jane should be played. Let's face it, if a woman is going to be running around the jungle with an ape man and chasing slave hunters, she better have her wits about her, and Brown's Jane certainly does.

The story opens with Barker and Brown riding their elephants through a Hollywood jungle when they hear screams. Ever-alert to danger, Tarzan swings down off of the elephant and runs to a local village, thinking that the screams came from there, with Jane and the monkey sidekick Cheetah close behind. When they get to the village (inhabited by people who look more Middle Eastern than Central African), they find the witch doctor performing a ceremony, but the chief says that they did not scream, so Tarzan darts back to the river to check on the local village girls who were there gathering water. When they get there, they find a bowl one of the girls was using and Tarzan gets hot on the trail. Tarzan catches up to a group of three slavers, who look vaguely Egyptian. He subdues one, but the other two escape after conking Tarzan on the head.

The villagers take the captured slaver back to the village to make him talk, but he's infected with a disease and can't stand up, grabbing his knees and falling to the ground. Soon, other villagers are grabbing their knees and falling to the ground, so Jane tells Tarzan to go to a mission to get a doctor. Tarzan goes and brings back the doctor and his voluptuous assistant, who looks very European and speaks with a French accent but wears a sarong.

At some point in the story, Jane and the voluptuous assistant Lola are captured by the slavers and taken to a lost city, along with the other village girls. Presented to the ruler of the city, the girls are informed that they are to be either sold as slave girls or will join the harem. Naturally, Jane and Lola resist and must be punished, eventually being sealed inside a pyramid to die. Tarzan learns where they are and he tries to save them. I won't go into too much detail here because I don't want to ruin the drama, but essentially Jane comes through at Tarzan's darkest hour and together they free the slave girls and escape from the city.

Now, even though the title has "slave girl" in it, don't think for a second that there's going to be nudity or anything prurient like that. However, we do get to see Vanessa Brown in a two-piece leather outfit (rare for a Jane character, it seems) that reminds me of a cheerleader costume - full cut shoulder straps, V-shaped neckline, longer top gathered in the middle with a mid-thigh cut skirt. This has the effect of making Brown look very athletic (which she is) and really shows off her perky figure well. And, as I mentioned earlier, Lola comes in a sarong and has the full figure to pull it off (nowadays, she'd never make it as a B-movie actress but back in the 50s I'm sure she was a ticket). The other actresses look quite lovely in their sarongs and, later, in their harem costumes, too. Some of them look like they could've modeled for Vargas paintings or nose art on WW2 bombers.

This film certainly isn't a high point of modern art, but fans of "Tarzan" and cheap weekend movies will appreciate it for what it is: a piece of 1950s nostalgia and good, clean fun.

Out of all the Lex Barker Tarzan movies, I love this one the best because of Denise Darcel. She plays Lola, a feisty, buxom beauty who steals every scene she's in! Her sassy ways and sharp tongue gets her in a lot of trouble, but she doesn't care. She sets her sights on any handsome man she sees and isn't reluctant to let them know she's interested. Darcel's character is funny, too. She gets into a fight with Jane and gets tossed around the room! Too funny! It was nice to see a Jane who could handle herself, but there was no chemistry between this Jane and hunky Tarzan. The jungle trip to the secret city is also very good because it's creepy and full of suspense. In my opinion, it's one of the best!

Lord of the jungle Lex Barker (as Tarzan) and leggy mate Vanessa Brown (as Jane) are riding the elephant when they happen upon a damsel in distress. As it turns out, she's been kidnapped by a tribe of "Lionians" who like to make slaves of attractive women. When a mysterious disease threatens everyone in the area, Mr. Barker brings doctor Arthur Shields (as E.E. Campbell) into the picture. Tagging along are his full-figured blonde nurse Denise Darcel (as Lola) and her boozy boyfriend Robert Alda (as Neil). The former does everything she can to get into Barker's loincloth, and the latter provides Cheeta with another drunk scene...

Eventually, Ms. Brown and Ms. Darcel are abducted into the slave harem, which is run by handsome Hurd Hatfield, the Prince of the Lionians. Again, Darcel indicates her readiness for a good-looking male. Former silent screen star Robert Warwick is the tribe's high priest. But the lead villain is Anthony "Tony" Caruso (as Sengo), who keeps stroking his scar and dreaming of Brown. Fortunately for romantics, Barker and Brown remain true to each other. This was Brown's only appearance as "Jane" in the series, with rotating mates becoming the norm. She, Darcel, and the scantily-clad harem girls provide a lot fodder for sexual fantasy.

***** Tarzan and the Slave Girl (6/21/50) Lee Sholem ~ Lex Barker, Vanessa Brown, Denise Darcel, Anthony Caruso

In this second Tarzan picture starred by Lex Barker had more action and adventure, after a tribe's woman has been kidnapped by strange people Tarzan captures one of them, his man has an unknown illness, some warriors and Tarzan try find those tracks and try reach where they living, meanwhile Jane and Lola were kidnapped too, there a fabulous Egyptian civilization hidden on the rain forest, two things call my attention, a new Jane was introduces, sadly wasn't in the same level as Brenda Joyce, another is about the Prince of the Lionians, the great actor Hurd Hatfield, a lavish sets were the main attraction, a marvelous harem of a dozen beauties were stunning and finally the wild Lola who stolen the show, engaging with his sex appeal, fine picture!!

Resume:

First watch: 1978 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 6.5

Watching this Tarzan movie can be a multi-cultural experience. Tarzan and Jane are of English extraction living in Africa, which as usual looks more like a South American rain forest. One of the native tribes here is black, but others look more like South Pacific islanders, or just bronzed Caucasians. There's an Irish doctor who is assisted by a feisty Latin nurse. The tribe that's capturing slaves has a culture that looks vaguely Egyptian, but they're building a temple that is more Mayan with the help of Indian elephants, which respond to Tarzan's famous yell just like the African ones. Finally, the captured slave girls resemble Veronica Lake or Linda Darnell and dress like Dorothy Lamour.

Of course, everyone knows what they're getting with a Tarzan movie, which are not examples of cultural, geographical or political correctness. Lex Barker in the title role is almost interchangeable with Johnny Weissmuller. Vanessa Brown, in her only appearance as Jane, is lovely but might seem a bit too young and dainty for some tastes, though she does handle herself pretty well in a fight with Lola the nurse. If you're ever overcome with a wave of nostalgia you may want to watch this.