Tarzan et le jaguar maudit

Mike Henry returns for another Tarzan adventure. Barcuna is a ruthless tribe leader who attacks and destroys villages, and takes young men as slaves so he can continue his reign of terror. Barcuna claims to own the jungle, and is feared by the tribesmen.

Tarzan is called upon to track down Barcuna, and stop him. He hitches a ride on the river with Captain Sam Bishop and a young orphan kid, Pepe, whom Sam looks after. Sam is to deliver medical supplies to Dr Anne Philips, who treats the natives. I enjoyed the bond that formed between Tarzan, and Sam and Pepe.

There's plenty of action and adventure in true Tarzan style. I've said this before and I'll say it again: Mike Henry is still the best cast actor to portray Tarzan. He is the epitome of a hunk with that muscled body and big stature, and does the famous character justice.

The nature setting allows for some stunning views, and the final fight scene between Tarzan and Barcuna on a bridge was quite thrilling, actually.

Would I watch it again? Well, even if just to drool over Mike Henry, yes!

In Brazil, nasty native Rafer Johnson (as Barcuna) is attacking peaceful tribes and luring survivors into slavery. A widening circle of death and destruction threatens the entire free world. Naturally, the world's secret agent of the jungles, muscular Mike Henry (as Tarzan), is called into action. Donning his action-ready loincloth, Mr. Henry picks up old friends "Cheeta" the chimp and "Baron" the lion. Henry and his pet sidekicks join Captain Jan Murray (as Sam Bishop) and orphaned native boy Manuel Padilla Jr. (as Pepe) on their small boat. Next to join is beautiful blonde doctor Diana Millay (as Ann Philips), who wants to inoculate natives against disease. The three guests offer more characterization than was usual for the "Tarzan" movies...

The trigger-happy Tarzan from the last film is gone; he remembers the name of his pet chimpanzee and notes its increased size. The cinematography is good, the dubbing and sound are not - we have a cartoon-like quality. There are some rough transitions and plot concerns - the diamond hunt is cast adrift - but "Tarzan and the Great River" is a good entry in the series. It is interesting and educational to see how the lion "Barron" leaves to hunt for food, in a small segment. The supporting cast is good enough for a series of their own - Murray, Millay and Manuel could have sailed on that boat for weekly TV adventures, without Tarzan. Their appeal was available, separately; at the time, Murray was doing some episodic television, Millay was showing some wicked versatility on "Dark Shadows", and Manuel was a regular on the "Tarzan" TV series starring Ron Ely.

***** Tarzan and the Great River (9/13/67) Robert Day ~ Mike Henry, Jan Murray, Diana Millay, Manuel Padilla Jr.

Tarzan and the Great River (1967)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

After the horrendous TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD, I really wasn't expecting too much out of Mike Henry's second Tarzan film. This time out he heads to Rio de Janeiro where his friend is murdered by an evil jaguar cult lead by a native known as Barcuma. Tarzan jumps aboard a small cargo lead by the captain (Jan Murray) and his orphan mate (Manuel Padilla, Jr.) to try and warn other native tribes while also trying to reach a doctor trying to spread medicine to them. Again, going into this film I really wasn't expecting too much after the previous film that tried to make Tarzan and James Bond like agent. I got worried early on as we got the silly opening credits sequence and once again the first time we see the ape man he is in a tuxedo that he apparently got in New York City. However, once the action starts the film turned out to be a worthy entry in the series. It's certainly not going to make people forget Johnny Weissmuller or Gordon Scott but it's worth watching for the action. Another major benefit here is that there's some terrific wildlife footage including a rather stellar fight between a couple large lions. I know some might be worried about watching two animals fight but it did look like the real thing and not something just staged for the camera. Another intense sequence has Tarzan tipping over a couple of the enemies boats so that they are in a river trying to get away from some crocodiles. The underwater footage is really terrific and includes some beautiful moments of the crocs just swimming around. It's clear that this was filmed separate from the "action" going on but it still looks great. Another major plus is that the cult members look quite effective in their uniforms and the jacked up violence also puts you on edge. Murray actually delivers a pretty fun performance as the captain who never wants to get further into trouble but constantly finds himself going along for the ride. I was also impressed with Padilla who was fun in his part. However, Henry just isn't working for me as Tarzan. While he's certainly better here than he was in the first film, there's still no question that his personality just isn't right for the ape man.

Plenty of eye-candy in the awesomely athletic form of Mike Henry, but too much monkey business (literally), too much "precocious orphan boy" stuff, and not nearly enough action until the climactic mano-a-mano fight between Tarzan and the evil tribal chief. The story is plodding and tiresome, and the direction is sometimes inept - strange, because it was done by the same man (Robert Day) who also made the solid "Tarzan The Magnificent" in 1960. ** out of 4.

What's with Jan Murray as a faux-Bogart from The African Queen? I can't even begin to describe how insane this movie is.

And what about Olympic decathelete Rafer Johnson as the evil Barcuna? -- Incidentally, how did all of these folks end up in Brazil? Jan Murray's interplay with little Pepe is like nothing I've ever seen.