When I hearken back to my days as a kid, I can count on three heroes during my personal golden age - Superman, The Lone Ranger, and... Tarzan! I remember seeing this film back in the day, as I recall the business about finding the elephant graveyard. "Tarzan the Ape Man" reinvigorated the franchise for the first time in the talkie era; I was actually surprised to learn that this picture came out in 1932. I mark progress in cinema to a large degree by the stunning achievements of 1933's "King Kong", so in some respect, this was an ambitious film in it's own right.
At the time, Johnny Weissmuller held sixty seven world records in swimming, and five Olympic gold medals. For me, he's the definitive movie Tarzan, wisely chosen for his athletic physique contrasted to that of bodybuilder types that would arguably hold sway today. Even if not a great actor, there's a naturalness to his presence in this film one might expect from someone portraying a savage.
Then there's Maureen O'Sullivan. That early scene when she first encountered her father (C. Aubrey Smith) was a bit strange, with a crying jag that went a bit over the top. There are more than a few pre-Code moments that command the viewer's attention, the first being that venture into soft porn territory when she removes her dress and washes her face. Her father rather wisely wished to excuse himself; you're just going to have to see it for yourself. By the way, the quote in my summary line was uttered by Jane Parker, but to her father, and not as you would expect, to Tarzan.
What got me hooked as a Tarzan fan back in my youth was the presence of all the wild animals, though watching today, I realize that a lot of the apes were actually men in monkey suits. There's also the issue of geographical integrity that Weissmuller's alter ego, Jungle Jim, encountered in every picture I've seen of that franchise. In this picture, Tarzan's first battle with a jungle cat brought him into contact with a jaguar, not a leopard as most viewers would suspect. Jaguars are only found in South America, so thumbs down there for authenticity. Or maybe I'm just being nit-picky.
But hey, how about that battle with the pygmy (dwarf?) natives? That was as surreal as it gets when it comes down to your standard jungle lore. That along with the knife in the eye of the gorilla brute made for some heavy action without requiring a vine swing. I'm not sure if younger viewers today can appreciate all the stuff going on here when everything produced today seems to go for all action all the time. With Tarzan, you get back to a primitive minimalism, with life and death at stake in hand to claw combat. I can just hear the gasps of 1930's era movie goers when Tarzan hit the big screen.
Finally, I can't finish this review without mention of Cheeta. Can you believe Cheeta is still alive as I write this? Weissmuller and O'Sullivan are long gone, as are all the other principals from the film. I keep checking every so often since I learned of Cheeta's longevity, but as of right now, though retired, he's still in the swing of things.
Addendum - NOTE*** Cheeta passed away on December 24th, 2011.
At the time, Johnny Weissmuller held sixty seven world records in swimming, and five Olympic gold medals. For me, he's the definitive movie Tarzan, wisely chosen for his athletic physique contrasted to that of bodybuilder types that would arguably hold sway today. Even if not a great actor, there's a naturalness to his presence in this film one might expect from someone portraying a savage.
Then there's Maureen O'Sullivan. That early scene when she first encountered her father (C. Aubrey Smith) was a bit strange, with a crying jag that went a bit over the top. There are more than a few pre-Code moments that command the viewer's attention, the first being that venture into soft porn territory when she removes her dress and washes her face. Her father rather wisely wished to excuse himself; you're just going to have to see it for yourself. By the way, the quote in my summary line was uttered by Jane Parker, but to her father, and not as you would expect, to Tarzan.
What got me hooked as a Tarzan fan back in my youth was the presence of all the wild animals, though watching today, I realize that a lot of the apes were actually men in monkey suits. There's also the issue of geographical integrity that Weissmuller's alter ego, Jungle Jim, encountered in every picture I've seen of that franchise. In this picture, Tarzan's first battle with a jungle cat brought him into contact with a jaguar, not a leopard as most viewers would suspect. Jaguars are only found in South America, so thumbs down there for authenticity. Or maybe I'm just being nit-picky.
But hey, how about that battle with the pygmy (dwarf?) natives? That was as surreal as it gets when it comes down to your standard jungle lore. That along with the knife in the eye of the gorilla brute made for some heavy action without requiring a vine swing. I'm not sure if younger viewers today can appreciate all the stuff going on here when everything produced today seems to go for all action all the time. With Tarzan, you get back to a primitive minimalism, with life and death at stake in hand to claw combat. I can just hear the gasps of 1930's era movie goers when Tarzan hit the big screen.
Finally, I can't finish this review without mention of Cheeta. Can you believe Cheeta is still alive as I write this? Weissmuller and O'Sullivan are long gone, as are all the other principals from the film. I keep checking every so often since I learned of Cheeta's longevity, but as of right now, though retired, he's still in the swing of things.
Addendum - NOTE*** Cheeta passed away on December 24th, 2011.