TARZAN, THE APE MAN

US, 1959, 80 minutes, Colour.
Denny Miller, Joanna Barnes, Cesare Danova, Robert Douglas.
Directed by Joseph Newman.

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character Tarzan, has had a long cinematic history with the Elmo Lincoln as the first Tarzan in the silent era.
The most famous Tarzan was Johnny Weissmuller, Olympic swimmer, who made the character his own in the 1940s into the 1950s, with Maureen O’ Sullivan as Jane. There were several other Tarzan’s including Lex Barker. The classical character was played by Christopher Lambert in Greystoke. And there was the animated version from the Disney studios.

Several bloggers have insisted that this is the worst Tarzan film ever and Denny Miller is the worst Tarzan. This seems rather harsh until you actually watch the film. He is a blonde, beefcake type, something of the hair and complexion of a Californian surfie. He says practically nothing, only repeating words after Jane – but he does to his kind of yell/yodel – which startles some other characters, wondering whether it is human.

Jane is portrayed by Joanna Barnes not as might be expected, prim and prissy on her return from time in England, caught up in some jungle adventures, being rescued by Tarzan, and, to everyone’s surprise, falling in love with Tarzan and going off with him to live in the jungle.

The screenplay derives in many ways from such films as King Solomon’s Mines, Mogambo, Watusi… There Is an expedition to an unexplored part of Africa where elephants are alleged to go to die – which means that there is a fortune in ivory. The captain of the ship seeks the ivory, Jane and her father, who has run a business on the river which has been destroyed by disputes amongst various tribes, also go on the trek. As in King Solomon’s Mines, there are friendly Africans and hostile Africans. a climax, with the characters clambering over obviously artificial sets, with the father unnecessarily falling in flames to his death, as the victims in a crater, surrounded by natives, with Tarzan eventually coming to the rescue summoning animals especially elephants. And one of them is wounded, they follow him to the elephant dying ground – plenty of ivory, but Jane opts for Tarzan.

It is the slightest of the Tarzan films and is very much old-style Saturday matinee stuff in budget, sets, performances.