''Tarzan's Hidden Jungle'' is a 1955 black-and-white film from

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

directed by Harold D. Schuster and starring

Gordon Scott Gordon Scott (born Gordon Merrill Werschkul; August 3, 1926 – April 30, 2007) was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as- ...

in his first film as

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

, taking over the role from Lex Barker, who had in turn followed

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

in the series. The film about

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

' ape-man also features Vera Miles and

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

. The last of twelve ''Tarzan'' pictures released by RKO before the rights returned to MGM and the eighteenth overall film of the ''Tarzan'' film series that began with 1932's '' Tarzan the Ape Man'', it was followed by ''

Tarzan and the Lost Safari ''Tarzan and the Lost Safari'' is a 1957 action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Robert Beatty, Yolande Donlan and Betta St. John. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, it was the ...

'' in 1957. Tarzan's mate, Jane, does not appear in the film. Tarzan at first seems to show more than casual interest in Miles' character Jill Hardy, but ultimately there is no romance. In real life, Scott and Miles were married after the film was completed. Scott eventually played Tarzan in six movies over a five-year span.

Plot

Two hunters come into the jungle intent on killing as many animals as they can in order to get barrels of animal fat, lion skins and elephant tusks. Tarzan tries to help a baby elephant, one of their first victims. He takes the elephant to an animal doctor and his female assistant, who have pitched their tents in the jungle to do business. The hunters turn up and pretend they are photographers and have the doctor escort them to where the animals are. They leave the doctor and scare the animals to their hunting area. The doctor's assistant finds out what they're really up to and goes after them but needs Tarzan's help when she stumbles into quicksand. He rescues her, and she says she needs a bath so Tarzan throws her into the river. They reach a tribe that worships animals and who are Tarzan's friends. However, the tribe hears that animals are being slaughtered and decide to kill the doctor and his assistant, who were responsible for leading the hunters there. Tarzan goes after the villains and they end up getting their just deserts. He arrives back in time to save the doctor and his assistant after they have been thrown into a pit of lions.

Cast

* Vera Miles as Jill Hardy * Peter van Eyck as Dr. Celliers *

as Burger * Charles E. Fredericks as DeGroot * Richard Reeves as Reeves *

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

as Mr. Johnson *

Jester Hairston Jester Joseph Hairston (July 9, 1901 – January 18, 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on black spirituals and choral music. His notable compositions include " A ...

as Witch Doctor * Rex Ingram as Sukulu Chieftain *

Ike Jones Isaac Lolette Jones (December 23, 1929 – October 5, 2014) was an American film producer and actor. In June 1953, he became the first Black American graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and, Television and the first Black American to s ...

as Malenki *

Maidie Norman Maidie Ruth Norman (October 16, 1912 – May 2, 1998) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actress as well as an instructor in African-American literature and theater. Early life Norman was born Maidie Ruth Gamble on a plantat ...

as Suma

Critical reception

A review of the film in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described it as "a stock entry in the Edgar Rice Burrough apeman marathon," and noted that Baxter "is a well muscled man but seldom convincing in the part" and " direction rarely rises above the script deficiencies, and the insertion of stock animal footage fails to match the quality of the footage proper."

References

External links

* *
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan's Hidden Jungle''
* {{Tarzan movies 1955 films 1950s fantasy adventure films American black-and-white films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films 1950s English-language films Films about hunting Tarzan films Films directed by Harold D. Schuster Films produced by Sol Lesser Films scored by Paul Sawtell 1950s American films English-language fantasy adventure films

Plot

Cast

Critical reception

See also

References

External links