Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan

As a child, I used to love watching the old black and white Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller. They were pure action, rousing adventure stories, heavy on jungle fight scenes, short on literary accuracy. Now I’m not sure how Edgar Rice Burroughs felt about the eleven Tarzan movies Weissmuller made, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t happy and that’s why he helped finance a matinee serial starring Bruce Bennett.

AMC is currently showing the old Weissmuller’s. I watched “Tarzan the Ape Man” (1932), and “Tarzan and His Mate” (1934). As I said, I enjoyed them in my childhood, before I read Burroughs’ novels, so color me surprised when I watched these and found Weissmuller’s Tarzan to be a complete and total monosyllabic idiot. Johnny’s dialog consisted of “Tarzan,” “Jane,” “Man,” and “My friend.” Unlike the self-educated aristocrat in the novels, this Tarzan is a completely ignorant wild man.

If you’re a true Tarzan fan and have read most of the novels, Weissmuller’s Tarzan is an abomination and the series is very forgettable, except for “His Mate,” which is supposedly the best of the bunch. I found it rather silly with Jane now doing her version of a Tarzan yell. I will say there is one redeeming aspect of this movie. The nude scene. Yes, there is a nude scene. Jane skinny dips with Tarzan. Full-on underwater nudity courtesy of Maureen O’Sullivan’s body double: Olympic swimmer Josephine McKim.

So, if you’re just looking for mindless adventure, the Weissmuller Tarzan might fill the bill. They’re fun in a silly sort of way, with men in ape suits, somewhat racist depictions of African blacks, and an action hero who talks better than, say, Schwarzenegger or Stalone. If you’re looking for accuracy, however, look elsewhere. Maybe revisit the novels. After all, Burroughs was a master of adventure writing.

-30-

Advertisement