Tarzan Escapes
Tarzan Escapes | |
---|---|
Directed by | Richard Thorpe John Farrow (uncredited) James C. McKay (uncredited) George B. Seitz William A. Wellman |
Screenplay by | Cyril Hume |
Based on | Characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs |
Produced by | Bernard H. Hyman Philip Goldstone Jack Cummings |
Starring | Johnny Weissmuller Maureen O'Sullivan |
Cinematography | Leonard Smith |
Edited by | W. Donn Hayes |
Music by | William Axt |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's, Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,000,000[1] |
Tarzan Escapes is a 1936 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the third in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Tarzan series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes". Previous films were Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and Tarzan and His Mate (1934), with Jane's bikini-like attire and the famous skinny-dipping sequence.[2] Weissmuller and O'Sullivan starred together in three more Tarzan films, Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939), Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941) and Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942).[3]
Plot
Jane's (Maureen O'Sullivan) two cousins, Eric and Rita, arrive in Africa to tell Jane about a fortune left to her back in their world and to try to convince her to return with them. They are led to Tarzan's escarpment home by Captain Fry (John Buckler), a hunter with an agenda of his own. Jane convinces Tarzan to let her go back with Eric (William Henry) and Rita (Benita Hume), promising that their separation will only be temporary. But Captain Fry (unknown to the others) attempts to capture Tarzan to take him back to civilization so he can be put on public display, and actually succeeds in caging Tarzan. Fry's treachery includes making a deal with an unfriendly native tribe to give him food, canoes and protection for the journey back in exchange for his handing over Jane, Eric and Rita for "ju-ju" and taking away the greatest "ju-ju" – Tarzan.
Fry's plan goes wrong when the natives capture Tarzan in his cage and all four white people are taken prisoner. Tarzan manages to escape with the help of elephants and
Cast
- Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan
- Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane
- John Buckler as Captain John Fry
- Benita Hume as Rita
- William Henry as Eric
- Herbert Mundin as Rawlins
- E. E. Clive as Masters
- Darby Jones as Bomba
- Everett Brown as Hostile Native Chief
- Johnny Eck as Gooney-Bird
- Monte Montague as Riverboat Captain
Production
The previous Tarzan film
Deleted scene
A scene, which took a week to shoot, featuring Tarzan fighting vampire bats, was cut from the final edit after test audiences found the scenes too intense. The film's first director James C. McKay shot many of the "gruesome" scenes, but he was replaced by John Farrow in 1936 who re-shot much of the film. Richard Thorpe would finally get credit for directing the film.[5]
Critical reception
Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 71%, based on 7 reviews, with a rating average of 6.1/10.[6]
References
- ^ "SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: Warners Will Start Filming 'Wings Over the Navy' Next Month--Bacon to Direct 3 LOCAL PREMIERES TODAY ' Girl of the Golden West,' With Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy at Capitol MGM Seeks Return of Tarzan Coast Scripts Of Local Origin". The New York Times. March 24, 1938. p. 21.
- ^ "Tarzan and His Mate (1934) – Jack Conway, Cedric Gibbons | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "IMDb: Feature Film/TV Episode/Video/TV Movie/TV Special/TV Mini-Series/Documentary/Video Game/Short Film, with Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan (Sorted by Year Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ Media History Digital Library, accessed January 6, 2015
- ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- IMDb