Le Défi de Tarzan

This is Tarzan at its best. A man of nature dealing with the nature of man. Defending the spiritual from the corporeal. Terrific allegory. Jock Mahoney, although a bit old at the time of this film, is a terrific Tarzan. My favorite.

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'S THREE CHALLENGES (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1963) a Sy Weintraub production, directed by Robert Day, stars Jock Mahoney in his second and final role as Tarzan, the jungle lord. An immediate sequel to TARZAN GOES TO INDIA (1962), this time Tarzan heads out for more adventure out of Africa. Produced in Metro-color and breaking the traditional stories featuring Tarzan, Jane, Boy and their chimpanzee, Cheta, none of these characters exists here nor does the famous Tarzan yell. With the exception of Woody Strode, who assumes second billing after Mahoney in the casting credits, many of the supporting players are virtually unknown to American audiences, which is just as well, mainly to give the impression of watching actual people from Thailand rather than marque named performers playing characters from another country.

The plot development deals with Tarim (Woody Strode), a dying leader of Sun Mai, who has summoned Tarzan from Africa to guide Kashi (Ricky Der), the true heir and chosen one, to Sun Mai to claim his throne. Tarim has a jealous brother, Khan (Woody Strode), who believes his own son, Hani (Jimmy Jamal) should be the successor and attempts on keeping Tarzan from fulfilling his mission. Parachuting from a passing airplane, Tarzan (Jock Mahoney), immediately deals with Khan's men getting in his way. He soon befriends Hani (Salah Jamal) whom he uses as his guide. After passing his test of strength and wisdom, Tarzan meets Kashi, along with Cho San (Tsuruko Kobayashi) and Mang (Earl Cameron) to accompany him on his long and dangerous mission. With the journey completed, both Tarzan and Kashi find themselves individually put to difficult tasks and challenges. Featuring Anthony Chinn (Tor); Christopher Carlos (Sechung) in the supporting cast. Both Ricky Der and an elephant named Hungry get special introduction billing in the opening credits.

Location scenery, color photography and good story make up for the fact that Jock Mahoney does not eradicate the memory of Tarzan actors who preceded him, namely Johnny Weissmuller. Although a lot of effort was put into TARZAN'S THREE CHALLENGES to make this both different and uplifting to this long running series, Jock Mahoney doesn't seem the right fit for the Edgar Rice Burrough's created character. Speaking in articulate manner is fine. He venturing from Africa to Thailand only in loincloth, with his predecessor Gordon Scott being a muscular build, Mahoney's physical appearance shows him to be the slimmest Tarzan thus far. Regardless of these minor flaws, Mahoney, as in TARZAN GOES TO INDIA, does his best with his role. With Mahoney reportedly a stunt man before turning to acting, it's been said Mahoney did his own stunts here, and it shows. At least of all the movies featuring Jock Mahoney, he would be best remembered for being one of many actors to have played Tarzan. Woody Strode, however, stands out as the villain (what Tarzan movie never had a villain?), especially when fighting with knives on a net over a pit of burning coals with Tarzan, one of the true highlights of the story. A straightforward 100 minute adventure with slight humor going briefly to the elephant named Hungry.

Never distributed on home video but available on DVD, TARZAN'S THREE CHALLENGES did have cable television broadcasts including American Movie Classics (1997-2000) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: August 5, 2010). Next TARZAN adventure: TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD (1966) introducing Mike Henry as the new and muscular Tarzan. (***)

Although this film was shot in Thailand, the small inaccessible kingdom where the action of the film takes place looks more like a Tibetian type culture. Jock Mahoney plays Tarzan for the second and last time in Tarzan's Three Challenges. And the title is a misnomer, the heir to the kingdom has three challenges, Tarzan is his champion in the fourth which is a kind of medieval wager of battle.

Woody Strode is both the old and dying king and his younger ambitious brother. A young child played by Ricky Der is named the heir probably in a process similar to how the Dalai Lama is chosen. The brother who is a warrior and has trained his son to be the same thinks the time has come for a warrior to lead in this modern age and the hell with traditions of pacifism.

Tarzan comes to this kingdom to aid young Master Der on his journey to claim his rights. And of course Strode the warrior tries to stop him as the king Strode dies. When Der completes his three challenges Strode does the wager of battle thing that involves barrels of hot oil. Quite a good challenge as Tarzan is the only guy around who would have chance against Strode.

Actually Strode the warrior does make some rather valid points about moving into the 20th century. Even the Dalai Lama in exile has come to grips with modernity in some ways.

Tarzan's Three Challenges holds up very well for today's audiences, these films shot on location are so much better than those shot on the back lot of RKO back in the day.

It's surprising so few people have commented on this movie since it enjoyed a degree of success upon its original release and still qualifies as one of the better Tarzans. The plot follows the traditional pattern of a guide/protector leading a party through dangerous territory toward a sought-after destination. The guide/protector in this case is Tarzan who's come from Africa to parachute into an Asian kingdom that looks a lot like Thailand. His job is to escort Kashi, a boy who's been chosen as the "Successor" to the kingdom'e dying leader. The leader's evil brother, however, seeks power for himself and is determined to keep Kashi from reaching the city where his ordination will occur. The middle part of the movie is thus filled with dangers and obstacles which Tarzan must face and overcome. Along the way, of course, are snippets of the usual wildlife footage plus an "adorable" baby elephant who here serves the same purpose Cheetah did back in Tarzan's African movies. Even better, though, are the scenes of exotic temples, statues, and ceremonies which have been well photographed in Metrocolor and widescreen. These scenes alone make a look at this movie worthwhile.

The title refers to three challenges which Tarzan must pass before he is entrusted with the case of the Successor. The first is a test of skill involving archery and the third is a test of wisdom which requires Tarzan to answer a question. In between comes a test of strength which provided this movie with its most distinctive image. Tarzan stands between two tall posts. Ropes with attached handles have been looped over the tops of these poles. Tarzan takes hold of these handles and then is told: "You will be required to resist the pull of two buffalo for five strokes of the gong." The buffalo, tied to the other ends of the ropes, are then driven in opposite directions, causing Tarzan to be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d like a wishbone after Thanksgiving dinner. This "stretching," similar to feats of strength in such "Hercules" movies as "Goliath and the Barbarians," gives Jock Mahoney a chance to show off his sweaty, muscular, and carefully-shaved physique in a "bondage" situation that's quite sensual.

Alas, Mahoney's physique looks haggard in the movie's final reel in which he faces a fourth challenge -- a test of might which culminates in a sword fight vs. Woody Strode taking place over a netting stretched above cauldrons of bubbling liquid. (Why isn't the title, "Tarzan's Four Challenges?") Much has been made of the illness striking Mahoney during the filming which resulted in this haggard look, but the truth is Mahoney was about ten years too old for his part. Still, his age gives him a certain "gravitas" missing in most of the other Tarzans and he has no need for apologize for his performance which projects an image of quiet strength and mature judgment. Rocky Der is also commendably good as Kashi, managing to be appealing without resorting to "cuteness" and he has a great smile.

One question: Tarzan's bids farewell to his new friends in the final scene and then runs off down a country road. Where is he going? Does he plan to run all the way back to Africa?