100 YEARS OF MOVIE TARZANS and TARZAN MOVIES

(Investigator 188, 2019 September)


THE SILENT TARZANS

In 1918 actor Elmo Lincoln (1889-1952) placed a foot on a lion's carcass and emitted the victory cry of an ape. No one heard him because it occurred in the first Tarzan movie, Tarzan of the Apes (1918), in the "silent era".

The movie grossed over $1 million and Lincoln achieved instant stardom. He is often remembered as the first movie Tarzan but is actually the second since in the same movie Tarzan as a boy is portrayed by Gordon Griffith (1907-1958). Griffith was an actor from infancy and eventually starred in 60 movies. His big break was Tarzan of the Apes in which he did several nude scenes and his own stunts such as swinging from vines, climbing trees, and playing with a chimpanzee.

The jungle hero Tarzan originated in the mind of American fiction writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950). Beginning with Tarzan of the Apes (1912) Burroughs eventually authored 24 Tarzan novels.

The sequel to the first Tarzan movie was The Romance of Tarzan (1918) and again starred Elmo Lincoln. Actress Enid Markey (1894-1981) played Tarzan's love interest, Jane Porter.

Lincoln was not top-class as an actor, his physique was more portly than muscled, and although barely 30 he looked too old. Therefore, after appearing in the 15-episode serial The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) his career ended. He turned to mining but years later returned to the movies as an "extra", including in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) as a circus roustabout, and Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949) as a fisherman.

The Revenge of Tarzan (1920) starred 6' 2'' New York fire fighter Gene Pollar (1892-1971) and is the movie in which Tarzan married Jane played by American movie actress Karla Schramm (1891-1980). Pollar then quit acting and returned to fire-fighting.

He made news once more when he was 73 to declare himself the oldest living Tarzan after NBC brought together some previous Tarzan actors for a publicity event and wrongly called James A. Pierce, then aged 66, the "oldest living Tarzan".

Serials, with cliff-hanger finales at the end of each episode or chapter, became popular from the 1920s onwards.

The first Tarzan serial, The Son of Tarzan (1920) had P. Dempsey Tabler (1876-1956) as Tarzan, Hawaiian actor Kamuela Searle (1890-1924) as Korak the son of Tarzan, and Karla Schramm again as Jane. The very first Tarzan, Gordon Griffith, reappeared to play Korak as a boy in Episode 1.

In the silent era actors usually did their own stunts which made acting dangerous. During production Searle was thrown to the ground by an elephant — and a double replaced him. Searle recovered from his injuries and starred in one more film before retiring to focus on sculpture and painting. The first "Jane", Enid Markey, also risked death (prior to the Tarzan era) when almost asphyxiated by smoke during the production of The Wrath of the Gods (1914) in a scene where lava destroys a village.

James Pearce (1900-1983), a former football player, played the lead in Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927) and in the following year married Burroughs' daughter, Joan. In 1934 they became the voices of Tarzan and Jane in the radio serial Tarzan and Jane which went for 354 episodes.

Tarzan The Mighty (1928) and Tarzan The Tiger (1929) both starring national title-winning gymnast Frank Merrill were serials. The former was the last silent-era Tarzan production and the latter the first talkie. For the first time the audience heard the famous Tarzan victory cry. Until Merrill, Tarzan always wore a leopard skin extending over his shoulder but after Merrill a loin cloth. Merrill's voice was considered unsuitable for talkies and "he devoted the rest of his life to working with children..." (Wikipedia)
TARZAN SERIALS 1920s-1930s

1920    The Son of Tarzan; 15 episodes
1921    The Adventures of Tarzan; 15 episodes
1928    Tarzan the Mighty; 15 episodes
1929    Tarzan the Tiger; 15 episodes
1933    Tarzan the Fearless; 12 episodes
1935    The New Adventures of Tarzan; 12 episodes


JOHNNY WEISSMULLER

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnny_Weissmuller_(1970)_greyscale.jpg


Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984) was an ethnic German from the Kingdom of Hungary who migrated with his parents to America in 1905.

Beginning with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) he starred in 12 Tarzan movies, becoming the most famous of all movie Tarzans, accompanied in six movies by beautiful Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane.

Johnny Sheffield played Tarzan's adopted son, "Boy", in Tarzan Finds a Son (1939) and continued this role until 1947.

Brenda Joyce, a former photographers' model, replaced O'Sullivan in Tarzan and the Amazons (1945) and played Jane in five movies.

Whereas in Burroughs' novels Tarzan became fluent in several languages and behaved inconspicuously in civilized society the Weissmuller Tarzan spoke ungrammatical phrases, often single syllables, and was deficient in common etiquette.

Weissmuller had three less famous rivals:
•    Larry (Buster) Crabbe in a 12-episode serial Tarzan the Fearless (1933). The first four episodes were released as a feature film.
•    Herman Brix (later known as Bruce Bennett) starred in The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935), a 12-episode serial released also as two movies
        — Tarzan's New Adventure (1935) and Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1936). Brix's Tarzan was a "cultured gentleman".
•    Glen Morris — Tarzan's Revenge (1938) with Eleanor Holm as Jane.

Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) was Weissmuller's final appearance as Tarzan. Athletically he was declining and in weight increasing. He switched from loin cloth to safari-trousers and shirt and became Jungle Jim in 16 movies (1948-1955).

Weissmuller's melodious, jungle ape-yell, probably adapted from yodeling competitions, became the definitive one — the one that school-boys imitated and cried out at school. Larry Crabbe and Herman Brix used weak alternatives.

In later years Weissmuller demonstrated his ape call in a television interview and, when in his late seventies, would scare fellow residents in the aged-care facility with it.


1949-1970

The next Tarzan, Lex Barker, was disowned by his family when he became an actor. He starred in five movies from 1949 to 1953 which portrayed the ape man more seriously and plausibly than previous films. Brenda Joyce continued as Jane in Barker's first movie (Tarzan's Magic Fountain) followed by four other actresses. Barker then did other movie roles in Europe but had become stereotyped and faded into obscurity. He returned to the USA where he died from a heart attack on a New York street.

After Weismuller and Barker the movies usually portrayed a more sophisticated "ape man". Dialogue and acting got better, budgets got bigger, settings became more realistic, and Technicolor arrived.

In 1954 tall, muscular, Gordon Scott became — if you've lost count — the 12th Tarzan. He was popular and starred in six movies. Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957) was the first color Tarzan movie.

In 1959 MGM remade the 1932 Weissmuller classic this time starring Denny Miller (better known as Duke Shannon in the Western series, Wagon Train).

After Miller, stuntman Jock Mahoney starred in two movies, Tarzan Goes to India (1962) and Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963) in which he became at age 44 the oldest Tarzan-playing actor.

Then followed Mike Henry in three movies; and Ron Ely in four.

Ron Ely also starred in the first Tarzan television series in 1966-1968 which made Tarzan a regular experience in homes around the world. He did his own stunts and suffered over 20 serious injuries including lion bites and broken shoulders.

With Mike Henry and Ron Ely, Tarzan movies reached their half century.

In commemoration Parade magazine (No. 215, August 1968) published Fifty Years of Screen Tarzans (John Francis Coffey) which includes some interesting tidbits such as:
Burroughs ... in the last Tarzan book to be published ... Tarzan and the Foreign Legion, he has one of the characters, on meeting Tarzan for the first time, ask: "Is that Johnny Weissmuller?''


TARZAN MOVIES
1918    Tarzan of the Apes (Gordon Griffith; Elmo Lincoln)
1918    The Romance of Tarzan
1920    The Revenge of Tarzan (Gene Pollar)
1927    Tarzan and the Golden Lion (James Pearce)
1932    Tarzan the Ape Man (Johnny Weissmuller)
1933    Tarzan the Fearless (Larry Crabbe)
1934    Tarzan and His Mate (Weissmuller)
1935    Tarzan's New Adventure (Bruce Bennett)
1936    Tarzan and the Green Goddess
1936    Tarzan Escapes (Weissmuller)
1938    Tarzan's Revenge (Glen Morris)
1939    Tarzan Find's a Son (Weissmuller)
1941    Tarzan's Secret Treasure
1942    Tarzan's New York Adventure
1943    Tarzan Triumphs
1943    Tarzan's Desert Mystery
1945    Tarzan and the Amazons
1946    Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
1947    Tarzan and the Huntress
1948    Tarzan and the Mermaids
1949    Tarzan's Magic Fountain (Lex Barker)
1950    Tarzan and the Slave Girl
1951    Tarzan's Peril
1952    Tarzan's Savage Fury
1953    Tarzan and the She-Devil
1955    Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (Gordon Scott)
1957    Tarzan and the Lost Safari
1958    Tarzan's Fight for Life
1958    Tarzan and the Trappers
1959    Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
1959    Tarzan the Ape Man (Denny Miller)
1960    Tarzan the Magnificent (Scott)
1962    Tarzan Goes to India (Jock Mahoney)
1963    Tarzan's Three Challenges
1966    Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (Mike Henry)
1967    Tarzan and the Great River
1967    Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones (Ron Ely)
1968    Tarzan and the Four O' Clock Army
1968    Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (Henry)
1970    Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion (Ely)
1970    Tarzan's Deadly Silence
1971    Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones
1981    Tarzan the Ape Man (Miles O'Keefe)
1984    Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (Christopher Lambert)
1989    Tarzan in Manhattan (Joe Lara)
1996    Tarzan's Return
1997    George of the Jungle (Brendan Fraser)
1998    Tarzan and the Lost City (Casper Van Dien)
2016    The Legend of Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard)
2018    Tarzan the He Man (Jayam Ravi — Hindi-dubbed)


SECOND HALF CENTURY

The 1970s saw a ten-year hiatus with no new Tarzan movies.

Then in 1981 came Tarzan the Ape Man starring footballer and former prison counselor Miles O'Keefe, and Bo Derek. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide which rates movies from four stars for the best down to "BOMB" for the worst says: "Deranged remake of original Tarzan film lacks action, humor, and charm — and nearly forced editors of this book to devise a rating lower than BOMB."

There followed:
•    1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, with Christopher Lambert and Andie MacDowell. MacDowell's lines were dubbed              because her Southern accent was unsuited for the role of an English woman. The movie "met great critical acclaim".
•    1989 Tarzan in Manhattan — A made-for-television movie, starring Joe Lara and Kim Crosby.
•    1996 Tarzan's Return — Another television movie with Joe Lara.
•    1998 Tarzan and the Lost City — Casper Van Dien (the 20th screen Tarzan) and Jane March.

And some television series:
•    Tarzan (1991-1994)
•    Tarzan The Epic Adventures (1996-1997)
•    Tarzan (2003)

A spoof or parody, and Hindi spin-offs such as Lady Tarzan (1990) and Love in the Jungle (1995) can indicate a genre in decline. George of the Jungle (1997) is a Disney comedy about a clumsy Tarzan-like figure whose escapades include swinging face-first into a tree trunk, and grabbing a snake instead of a vine.

Another hiatus ensued — 18 years with only animations and non-English movies.

Then came The Legend of Tarzan (2016) with Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard. Tarzan here is a member of the House of Lords, philanthropist, and abolitionist. At the movie's climax he summons thousands of wild animals to rampage through the Congo's port city, destroying it and the Belgian army and navy, ending the enslavement of Africans. Jane (Margot Robbie) while once again a sexy kidnap victim is also a feisty woman of action.

The reviews weren't positive. For example: "Tarzan ends up being a garbled, clunky production that tries to please everyone and ends up pleasing no one." (The Guardian, 2016, June 29)


THE FUTURE

That's it — 100 years of Tarzan movies, one of the most popular fiction heroes of the 20th century!

Will Tarzan still be swinging through jungle trees in movies after 1½ centuries?

Aside from several non-English movies, such as Tarzan the He Man released in 2018 in Hindi by Indian film company Goldmines Telefilms, the genre seems in decline. Perhaps technological innovations in movie-making will pull audiences back. Or perhaps Tarzan's origin in European superiority and African subservience has become too uncomfortable. Or maybe we've simply had enough.


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