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Tarzan the Ape Man

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6.6/10 • 198

1932-04-021h 40m

ActionAdventure

Mothered by an ape—he knew only the law of the jungle—to seize what he wanted!

James Parker and Harry Holt are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich. Parker's beautiful daughter Jane arrives unexpectedly to join them. Jane is terrified when Tarzan and his ape friends abduct her, but when she returns to her father's expedition she has second thoughts about leaving Tarzan.

Directors
W.S. Van Dyke
Writters
Cyril Hume, Ivor Novello
Characters
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Editors
Tom Held

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Johnny Weissmüller

    Johnny Weissmüller

    Tarzan

  2. Maureen O'Sullivan

    Maureen O'Sullivan

    Jane Parker

  3. Neil Hamilton

    Neil Hamilton

    Harry Holt

  4. C. Aubrey Smith

    C. Aubrey Smith

    James Parker

  5. Doris Lloyd

    Doris Lloyd

    Mrs. Cutten

  6. Forrester Harvey

    Forrester Harvey

    Beamish

  7. Ray Corrigan

    Ray Corrigan

    Ape (uncredited)

  8. Ivory Williams

    Ivory Williams

    Riano

  9. Johnny Eck

    Johnny Eck

    Bird Creature (uncredited)

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 13, 2022

7/10

By my reckoning, it takes around twenty-three minutes before our intrepid explorers C. Aubrey Smith ("Parker") and his on-screen daughter "Jane" (Maureen O'Sullivan) hear the jungle call of vine-swinging Johnny Weissmuller and the pace of this treasure hunt really starts to get going. Our travellers, alongside Neil Hamilton ("Holt") are in search of the legendary elephant's graveyard - riches beyond the dreams of avarice. Of course this journey through the hitherto unknown wilderness is perilous: lots of treacherous rivers, mountains and beasties - oh yes, lots and lots of hungry beauties. Much of the imagery is back shot (or stock footage) which isn't great, but there is still quite bit of chemistry once the agile and handsome "Tarzan" comes to the screen and kidnaps/rescued (depending on your point of view) the beautiful "Jane" and the stuff of cinema legend is established. The quality of the production struggles a bit 90-odd years later, but the story is a characterful boy meets girl affair with plenty of action, noise and a good bit of loin-cloth clad romance. I imagine that at the time, this may have been the first exposure many people would have had to a jungle scenario and it must have been quite exciting to watch... There are plot holes a-plenty, but I'd suggest that you don't judge it by modern standards (though I'd say it is still better than any of the 1981, 1984 or 2016 iterations). It's a fun adventure story that is there to be enjoyed on face value.

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  • Tarzan the Ape Man poster
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  • Tarzan the Ape Man poster
  • Tarzan the Ape Man poster
  • Tarzan the Ape Man poster
  • Tarzan the Ape Man poster
  • Tarzan the Ape Man poster
  • Tarzan the Ape Man poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$652,675.00
Revenue
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Keywords
based on novel or bookafricaexpeditionhippopotamustarzanjunglepre-codechimpanzeeape manstampedeelephant stampede