Tarzan et la vallée de l' or

Ex-L.A. Rams linebacker Mike Henry makes his debut as Tarzan in this 1960s adventure. His arrival in Mexico wearing a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase is quite jarring, as is his subsequent "James Bond style" gunfight. But, not to fear, this is just to show us that this Tarzan is handy with modern weapons and is at ease in any environment. He does go into the jungle(in his loincloth)accompanied by a couple of wild animals and this is where the film gets interesting. He has to find the legendary Valley of Gold and protect its citizens from greedy villain Vinaro(David Opatashu) and his well organized(not to mention armed-to-the-teeth) army. The story is a little hokey at times, and seeing Tarzan use guns, grenades and a tank is a little hard to take, but overall the characterizations are good and the Mexican scenery is nothing short of spectacular(especially the Aztec pyramid city).Opetashu is perfect as the smooth, slick villain who sends his enemies exploding wristwatches. Henry is a little serious as Tarzan but he does excel in the action sequences. On the whole a groovy movie experience( jazzy musical score and all).

One of the later Tarzans with Mike Henry playing him. He always made Tarzan seem more like James Bond even in the opening scene where Tarzan is all decked out in a suit speaking suave English.

In this one Tarzan is needed to locate a boy who is being used as a guide to the lost treasure by a greedy tycoon. This guy is using tanks and helicopters in the jungle which is still no match for Tarzan. There is no Cheetah in this one instead you get Dinky the Chimp. Tarzan just doesn't seem the same without him.

Exploding watches and Tarzan driving tanks is what keeps you watching this one. It is better than Mike Henry's other Tarzan flicks.

David Opatoshu one of the most distinguished actors of the Yiddish Theater back in the day came to Hollywood rather late in his career. In doing so however he created a series of varied and distinguished roles. But none I liked better than his playing of international criminal David Vinaro in Tarzan and the Valley of Gold.

Tarzan's been sent for by the Guatamalen government because a mysterious young boy played by Manuel Padilla, Jr. emerges from the jungle saying he's from a lost city that has vast uncounted gold. Of course that interests Opatoshu and he kidnaps the kid and forces him to lead a well armed expedition back to the lost city.

Of course they're no match for Tarzan as played in this film by Mike Henry. In addition to his jungle skills, Henry has a good command of both the Queen's English and of modern weaponry which he demonstrates during the film. He also in the end gets Nancy Kovack who is Opatoshu's mistress out of harm's way. Naturally she likes the idea after one look at Henry in a loin cloth.

Still Tarzan and the Valley of Gold belongs to David Opatoshu. He clearly loves the part he has and the end he meets in the Lost City is a poetical one to beat all.

Perhaps the makers of this film thought it was time to update Tarzan and cash in on the secret agent craze that swept movies and television in the 60's. In this picture Tarzan played by Mike Henry is first seen stepping out of a helicopter in a suit and tie carrying a briefcase. Later he engages in a gun battle ala James Bond.

Eventually he ends up back in the jungle sheds his coat and tie along with his pistol for his loin cloth and knife and takes on the bad guys who are equipped with machine guns, tanks and hi-tech explosives. Actually this Tarzan film although not one of the best is a great deal more entertaining than the 1981 Tarzan The Ape Man with Bo Derek. Along as his sidekicks are Manuel Padilla Jr who takes on the "BOY" role with the name of Remel and Nancy Kovacks who becomes sort of his Jane decked out in sexy female jungle safari clothes. His chimpanzee buddy goes by the name "Dinky". If your a Tarzan fan this film should be included in your viewing keeping in mind that the Tarzan character like Superman has been able to adjust to change through out the decades.

Other than the hip musical score which seemed out of place for another Tarzan adventure flick even for 1966, Mike Henry did more than an admirable job in playing a modern day Tarzan who gets attacked by planes, helicopters and even army tanks! After retiring from a successful career in the National Football League (NFL) as a buff and bruising linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1959-1961) and then the Los Angeles Rams (1962-1964), Mike Henry thought it would be an easier gig playing the tree swinging Tarzan in a trio of films starting with the 1966 film Tarzan and the Valley Of Gold. But boy oh boy was he wrong.

Although the film was made under the hot sun of Mexico, he appeared to be running through the dense jungles of Africa. Mike Henry as Tarzan also showed no fear when he opened the cage of a fierce leopard and he put a chain around the leopard's neck before releasing him in an effort to hunt down his little friend Ramel (Manuel Padilla Jr.) who was captured to lead the greedy villain named Augustus Vinero (David Opatoshu) into the valley of gold.

Tarzan is going to face the villain Augustus Vinero and his army of planes, helicopters and army tanks with his three (3) animal friends, a monkey, a leopard and a lion. You can visibly see the sculptured thirty (30) year old body of retired professional athlete and now film star is in great shape, but what the silver screen does not tell you how hard Mike Henry worked whislt filming in Mexico. After his third feature Tarzan film, Mike Henry sued film produce Sy Weintraub after suffering animal bites, food poisoning, infections, and severe working conditions in both Mexico and Brazil. During his short tenure as Tarzan, Mike was bitten in the face by a chimp and had to have his chin sewn up with twenty stitches. In addition he suffered from dysentery, an ear infection, and a liver ailment. Just watching Tarzan (Mike Henry) running in just his bare feet and a thong suit through those woods had me shouting "ouch"...'"ouch" ... and "ouch" again.

This is in my humble opinion a better than average Tarzan film and Mike Henry's physique is more fit than the best known film Tarzan former Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller's physique. Tarzan and the Valley of Gold also has its own "Jane" in the lovely actress Nancy Kovack who plays the lady in distress in the jungle Sophia Renault.

I give it an exceptional 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.