''Tarzan Escapes'' is a 1936

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal 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 adv ...

film based on the character created by

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

. It was the third in the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

''Tarzan'' series to feature

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

as the "King of the Apes". Previous films were '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' (1932) and '' Tarzan and His Mate'' (1934), with Jane's bikini-like attire and the famous skinny-dipping sequence. Weissmuller and O'Sullivan starred together in three more Tarzan films, ''

Tarzan Finds a Son! ''Tarzan Finds a Son!'' is a 1939 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the fourth in the MGM ''Tarzan'' series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes" and the fourth of six films in which he ...

'' (1939), '' Tarzan's Secret Treasure'' (1941) and ''

Tarzan's New York Adventure ''Tarzan's New York Adventure'' (also known as ''Tarzan Against the World'') is a 1942 black-and-white adventure film from Metro Goldwyn Mayer, produced by Frederick Stephani, directed by Richard Thorpe, that stars Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen ...

'' (1942).

Plot

Jane's (

Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...

) two cousins, Eric and Rita, arrive in Africa to tell Jane about a fortune left to her back in their world and to try to convince her to return with them. They are led to Tarzan's

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

home by Captain Fry ( John Buckler), a hunter with an agenda of his own. Jane convinces Tarzan to let her go back with Eric ( William Henry) and Rita ( Benita Hume), promising that their separation will only be temporary. But Captain Fry (unknown to the others) attempts to capture Tarzan to take him back to civilization so he can be put on public display, and actually succeeds in caging Tarzan. Fry's treachery includes making a deal with an unfriendly native tribe to give him food, canoes and protection for the journey back in exchange for his handing over Jane, Eric and Rita for "ju-ju" and taking away the greatest "ju-ju" – Tarzan. Fry's plan goes wrong when the natives capture Tarzan in his cage and all four white people are taken prisoner. Tarzan manages to escape with the help of elephants and Cheeta, and guides what's left of Fry's party through a cave passage filled with treacherous quicksands. Just before they exit the caves to safety, Tarzan forces Fry to go back the way they came as punishment for his betrayal. Fry starts to go back, then seizes a heavy branch to attack Tarzan, but before he can exit the cave he falls into a quicksand bog (filled with "poisonous" lizards) and is swallowed up. Rita and Eric tell Jane that it is not necessary for her to return with them and that she belongs with Tarzan. The film ends with Tarzan and Jane reunited at their tree house.

Cast

as Tarzan *

as Jane * John Buckler as Captain John Fry * Benita Hume as Rita * William Henry as Eric * Herbert Mundin as Rawlins *

E. E. Clive Edward Erskholme Clive (28 August 1879 – 6 June 1940) was a Welsh stage actor and director who had a prolific acting career in Britain and America. He also played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood movies between 1933 and his death. Biog ...

as Masters * Darby Jones as Bomba *

Everett Brown Everett G. Brown (January 1, 1902 – October 14, 1953) was an American actor. Biography Born in Texas, Brown appeared in about 40 Hollywood films between 1927 and 1953. His roles were small most of the time and most of his film appearances were ...

as Hostile Native Chief * Johnny Eck as Gooney-Bird * Monte Montague as Riverboat Captain

Production

The previous Tarzan film, Tarzan and His Mate had a number of directors.

Maureen O’Sullivan Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...

has said James C. McKay actually directed the film. His official credit on that picture was Animal Director. McKay (1894–1971) had a resume full of various credits, and he jumped back and forth between the jobs of director and editor. McKay had received a Production Assistant credit on ''

Trader Horn Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn (born Alfred Aloysius Smith; 1861–1931) was an ivory trader in central Africa. He wrote a book, ''Trader Horn'', detailing his journeys. The book also documents his efforts to free slaves; meet the founder of Rhodes ...

'' (1931) directed by W. S. Van Dyke. McKay was initially given the directors chair for the sequel, ''Tarzan Escapes'' (1936), indicating M.G.M must have been happy with the work he did on ''Tarzan & His Mate''; however there would be many changes to cast and crew on that film too (including Elmer Sheeley replacing Cedric Gibbons as art director!).

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

was handed the director's chair. Reportedly he then practically re-shot the whole film. Regardless,

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his ...

ended up getting final director's credit. John Farrow (who had a fling with

Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...

) married Maureen O'Sullivan before the year was through.Media History Digital Library accessed 6th January 2015

Deleted scene

A scene, which took a week to shoot, featuring Tarzan fighting vampire bats was cut from the final film after test audiences found the scenes too intense. The first director James C. McKay shot many of the "gruesome" scenes, but he was replaced by

in 1936 who re-shot much of the film. Richard Thorpe would finally get credit for directing the film.

Critical reception

Film review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported an approval rating of 71%, based on , with a rating average of 6.1/10.

References

External links

* * * *
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan Escapes''
{{Authority control 1936 films 1930s fantasy adventure films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films Films directed by John Farrow Films directed by George B. Seitz Films directed by Richard Thorpe Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Tarzan films Films with screenplays by Cyril Hume 1930s American films