This film was released in April, 1945, very close to the end of WW2, and likely reflects some of the sub-rosa anxieties of this period. Specifically, some of the allied service-men had already been mustered-out (due to wounds, etc.) and some had been rotated back the USA at the time of this film's production. So it was that many men, raised in a highly machismo and patriarchal society, found themselves contending with wives and girlfriends who had been empowered by wartime factory work, and children who had suddenly become rebellious adolescents.
And so it is that we find Tarzan contending with a secret society of matriarchal Amazons, fiercer and sexier than Rosie the Riveter, and with a rebellious adolescent son.
It is also fitting that this film marks the return of Jane to the Tarzan series. Intelligent Tarzan scholars can disagree as to who is the greatest Tarzan in cinema, but there is universal acknowledgment that Maureen O'Sullivan was the greatest Jane. Despite this, Brenda Joyce was an amiable replacement, wholesome-sexy and not obnoxious, and she fit with the peculiar chemistry of the Tarzan films, and so we like her.
The last 4 Weismuller Tarzan films feature titles that name female characters. Besides this one, there was 'Tarzan and the Leopard Woman,' 'Tarzan and the Huntress,' and 'Tarzan and the Mermaids.' Likely the producers were attempting to lure more heterosexual men and other lovers of female beauty into the theaters, to broaden the ape-man's appeal beyond the 12-year-old demographic.
This film is a little short on action, although we do get to see Our Hero fight a crocodile and we see an adequate degree of peril and hazard. To it's credit, the script calls for Tarzan to express several philosophical concepts, using his own unique modality of thought, which author Jose Phillip Farmer describes as being 'Tarzanic.' In one instance, Tarzan issues forth what amounts to a haiku, likening the dazzling effect of gold on human greed to way the sun blinds those who stare directly at it. In another instance, Tarzan issues this pithy gem: 'Every time men bring guns, men bring trouble.' There is a quality of mythology to this film which compensates for the reduced action, and this is something of an initiation rite for Boy.
Also, the Amazons are sexy.
A lot of people bag on the RKO Tarzans because they are smaller budget than the MGM's, and because Weismuller has a bigger gut, but such concerns are trivial. This film contains Weismuller, who still had the confidence, charisma, and conviction to be a convincing Tarzan, and whose portrayal of the ape-man was the most distinctive of all actors. I recommend this film for all fans of vintage B-movies and fans of Weismuller.
And so it is that we find Tarzan contending with a secret society of matriarchal Amazons, fiercer and sexier than Rosie the Riveter, and with a rebellious adolescent son.
It is also fitting that this film marks the return of Jane to the Tarzan series. Intelligent Tarzan scholars can disagree as to who is the greatest Tarzan in cinema, but there is universal acknowledgment that Maureen O'Sullivan was the greatest Jane. Despite this, Brenda Joyce was an amiable replacement, wholesome-sexy and not obnoxious, and she fit with the peculiar chemistry of the Tarzan films, and so we like her.
The last 4 Weismuller Tarzan films feature titles that name female characters. Besides this one, there was 'Tarzan and the Leopard Woman,' 'Tarzan and the Huntress,' and 'Tarzan and the Mermaids.' Likely the producers were attempting to lure more heterosexual men and other lovers of female beauty into the theaters, to broaden the ape-man's appeal beyond the 12-year-old demographic.
This film is a little short on action, although we do get to see Our Hero fight a crocodile and we see an adequate degree of peril and hazard. To it's credit, the script calls for Tarzan to express several philosophical concepts, using his own unique modality of thought, which author Jose Phillip Farmer describes as being 'Tarzanic.' In one instance, Tarzan issues forth what amounts to a haiku, likening the dazzling effect of gold on human greed to way the sun blinds those who stare directly at it. In another instance, Tarzan issues this pithy gem: 'Every time men bring guns, men bring trouble.' There is a quality of mythology to this film which compensates for the reduced action, and this is something of an initiation rite for Boy.
Also, the Amazons are sexy.
A lot of people bag on the RKO Tarzans because they are smaller budget than the MGM's, and because Weismuller has a bigger gut, but such concerns are trivial. This film contains Weismuller, who still had the confidence, charisma, and conviction to be a convincing Tarzan, and whose portrayal of the ape-man was the most distinctive of all actors. I recommend this film for all fans of vintage B-movies and fans of Weismuller.