This formulaic fifth outing for Weissmuller and O'Sullivan proves that the series' writers were already starting to struggle for fresh ideas, the film being not much more than a messy hodge-podge of themes and footage lifted from the previous four movies.
This time around, Tarzan's idyllic jungle life comes under threat from a pair of greedy scientists, Medford (Tom Conway) and Vandermeer (Philip Dorn), who discover the existence of a rich vein of gold running through the escarpment on which the ape-man lives. Realising the villains' true intentions—to mine the region for its hidden wealth—Tarzan refuses to reveal the exact location of the main seam, but when the bad guys kidnap his woman, Jane (O'Sullivan), and adopted son, Boy (Johnny Sheffield), he has no option but to comply—at least until he gets the upper hand and once again calls his elephant pals for some help.
It pains me to say it, because I love Weissmuller's Tarzan movies, but this particular adventure is fairly tiresome: Medford's villainy is patently obvious from the get-go (after all, he does wear a pencil-thin moustache and a slimy smirk on his face); Irish light relief O'Doul (Barry Fitzgerald) is fun, but is easily bested by Cheetah, the real comedian of the series (the hairy beast gets drunk this time and walks on her hands—priceless!); Boy's best friend Tumbo is a lame attempt at trying to add a new character to the franchise; and we get to see Weissmuller wrestle that damn croc yet again!
On a more positive note, director Richard Thorpe does achieve a fair amount of tension, especially as Boy crosses a deep ravine on a fallen tree and when Tarzan launches an underwater attack on some nasty natives' canoes, and it's almost impossible not to enjoy Cheetah being catapulted over a gorge with a vine in order to rescue our hero from a precarious ledge.
Oh, and that weird bird from Tarzan Escapes makes another appearance; I can't get enough of that guy!
