Le Défi de Tarzan

In an Asian country, the old ruler Karim is dying. His child heir Kashi is threatened by his evil uncle Gishi Khan (Woody Strode). Tarzan (Jock Mahoney) is summoned to protect Kashi from Khan.

I didn't know that Tarzan gets summoned around the world like a superhero. In some material, Tarzan is treated like a superhero. I certainly didn't expect Tarzan to show up in Asia. He's old and in his loincloth. Did he get a drum signal? How does he get there from Africa? Did he take a plane? Did he fly coach or first class? Where does he keep his money? These are my questions for this movie. I guess none of that matters. It's The King and Tarzan. It's such an oddity and a little fascinating. It's got good Thailand locations and exotic local flavors. Tarzan veteran Woody Strode is doing yellow-face, but I'm ignoring that. As a movie, it's rather boring except for the locations, animals, and other secondary exotic stuff.

Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963)

** (out of 4)

Strange entry in the never ending series has Tarzan (Jock Mahoney) going to an oriental country when he learns that their leader is dying. The throne is suppose to go to the dying man's son but his evil brother (Woody Strode) plans on stealing it. This film does have some nice touches here and there but sadly the screenplay takes way too many easy spots and in the end there's just not enough to carry the 93-minute running time. I think Mahoney makes for a rather strange Tarzan because outside the outfit and people calling him Tarzan you'd never really know he was the legendary character. I say that because Mahoney really doesn't give him much of a personality and so many of the classic things are missing here including the famous yell. I'm really not sure how much blame should go towards the actor since he apparently got dysentery and dengue fever while filming this movie. You can actually see that his body weight is different in various scenes in the film and there are times that he appears so white you'll be thinking he's playing a ghost. I'm really not sure of the full story so I don't know if the actor got sick early on and this impacted everything going forward or not but there are many scenes where it's obvious the actor isn't in the best shape. Strode is pretty fun as the bad guy but the screenplay really doesn't leave him too much to do except be mean and act tough. The rest of the supporting cast fit their roles nicely even if no one really sticks out. The title refers to three challenges that Tarzan must go through and these here are certainly the highlights. One of the best moments happens during the strength challenge when Tarzan's arms are attached to two bull pulling in the opposite direction. Another very good scene happens at the end when Tarzan and the brother must battle to see who will get the throne. Having a kid as a side kick was certainly due to this film being aimed at children but I didn't mind this too much. I only wish the screenplay had added a tad bit more of a story or at least thrown in a few more interesting characters. This isn't a totally worthless film but I don't see anyone except Tarzan junkies eating this thing up.

There's a TARZAN curse when you look into the actors: Johnny Weismuller was golfing in Cuba during the Castro takeover, and decades later ended up doing his Tarzan call throughout the lonely corridors of an old folk's home; Lex Barker died middle-aged before marrying a younger woman; Mike Henry was bitten by a chimp and suffered from monkey fever; and far worst of all, Ron Ely hosted Name That Tune with Kathie Lee Gifford...

At least Gordon Scott turned out okay, but his replacement in actor/stuntman Jock Mahoney... after getting through TARZAN GOES TO INDIA without trouble... dared to swim across a giant, extremely polluted Thailand river and caught amoebic dysentery, never gaining back complete strength for future stunt or acting roles...

Which supposedly explains why he looks so frail here... but even in INDIA he was the skinniest Tarzan ever, appearing more like an in-shape long-distance-runner than the kind of bodybuilder type the part's known, and, given the character's legendary strength, most often calls for...

But he makes a decent vine-swinger... and his initial CHALLENGES happen in the course of eight-minutes, leaving the rest of the picture for villain Woody Strode, evil uncle of a child about to rule over the Asian country, trying to get his own young son to replace him...

Taking place within the vibrant yet antique oriental cities and monasteries, providing terrific visuals between random jungle romps, Tarzan could have used more action and less of the baby elephant...

But he does finally have an effective sidekick that's not some vulnerable kid or a goofy adult forcing comic relief... but a swift and agile local (Jimmy Jamal) who unfortunately dies too soon...

Which is normal since anything with enough potential peters out quickly enough to where the audience forgets the villain's motivation, or Tarzan's motivation in stopping him: a shame being Jock's last romp while Woody Strode (though his voice was dubbed) definitely looks the part of a worthwhile adversary...

But most of the time they seem in two different movies... until squaring-off in an adjoined-competition/challenge that takes far too long to happen, and ultimately aren't very... challenging... except for the incredible final sword-fight over a roped-covered flame-pit that (with the casting of Strode) could even put SPARTACUS to shame.

Tarzan is called in to watch over the heir to a kingdom whose uncle, played by Strode, is determined to make his son ruler instead. The movie is filled with the uncle trying to keep Tarzan from making it to the end of the obstacles or 3 challenges. The fight scenes are good. The story was good, the other actors were OK. Strode was great, in my opinion. I've never seen him play a bad guy before and he did a wonderful job. There was a lot of action and a pretty good plot. It kept my attention. However, as a lover of Tarzan movies since I was a kid in the 60's, I was shocked to see such a frail looking actor play Tarzan. I learned, as an adult, that he had been sick. Then they should have replaced him. Tarzan movies didn't call for great acting skills, but it did require "presence" Sadly, he didn't have it. Poor Mahoney certainly looked different from the funny guy in the 3 Stooges movies who was in love with "Nell, honey!"

In a far eastern country, dying chieftain Woody Strode (as Tarim) wants pre-teen son Ricky Der (as Kashi) to take over as successor, but Mr. Strode's wicked brother Kahn (the main role played by Strode) has other plans. From Africa, jungle king Jock Mahoney (as Tarzan) is summoned to sort out the mess. "Tarzan's Three Challenges" was the better of Mr. Mahoney's two outings as Tarzan. He was an older Tarzan, and reportedly quite sick for a couple of scenes, but remains tough. The Thailand location is used well by director Robert Day and the crew. Mahoney's strength test, the raging fire, and a sustained pace keep it above average. There are several suspenseful sequences, topped by a grand finale featuring Mahoney and Strode dueling on a giant net.

****** Tarzan's Three Challenges (6/63) Robert Day ~ Jock Mahoney, Woody Strode, Ricky Der, Earl Cameron