''Tarzan Finds a Son!'' is a 1939

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. It was the fourth in the

MGM 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

''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" and the fourth of six films in which he stars with

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 ...

as Jane; following this pairing was ''

Tarzan's Secret Treasure ''Tarzan's Secret Treasure'' is a 1941 Tarzan film directed by Richard Thorpe. Based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, it is the fifth in the MGM ''Tarzan'' series to star Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Original print ...

'' (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

A plane flying to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, carrying a young couple and their baby, crashes in the jungle. Everyone on the plane dies, except for the baby who is rescued by

Cheeta Cheeta (sometimes billed as Cheetah, Cheta, and Chita) is a chimpanzee character that appeared in numerous Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s–1960s, as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarza ...

, Tarzan's chimpanzee. Tarzan and Jane adopt the child and name him "Boy". Five years later, a search party comes looking for Boy, because he is the heir to the Greystoke family fortune worth millions. The search party is led by the Lancing family, who are distant cousins of Greystoke. Tarzan and Jane claim the child is dead and that Boy is theirs, but the elder Lancing, Sir Thomas, recognizes Boy's eyes. The younger Lancings suggest leaving Boy and taking the inheritance. When Sir Thomas objects, they say they will take him back and, as legal guardians, still control the inheritance. Sir Thomas says he'll tell Tarzan, but the rest of the party imprison Sir Thomas in a tent and plan to abduct Boy. Tarzan overhears them plotting; he steals their guns and throws them into a deep lake. Jane arrives the next day and learns what has taken place, and admits that Boy is Greystoke. She persuades Tarzan to retrieve the cache of guns, without which the search party can't survive. Tarzan retrieves them but Jane drops the rope so that Tarzan is trapped. Jane, convinced it's the right thing to do, goes with Boy and the rest of the Lancings toward civilization, but Sir Thomas convinces her that the younger Lancings only want Boy for his money. Sir Thomas tries to sneak away, but they shoot him. Thinking Jane is trying to fool them, they ignore her directions and fall into the hands of the Zambeli, known for mutilation of captives. The white people are held in a separate hut while the tribe begins to kill and preserve the native bearers. Jane is wounded while helping Boy to escape through a fence. Boy finds Tarzan and is aided by chimps and elephants to free him. Tarzan reaches the Zambeli village and uses the elephants to drive away the natives. He saves two of the search party, and he and Jane decide to keep Boy with them in the jungle.

Cast

as Tarzan *

as Jane Parker *

Johnny Sheffield Johnny Sheffield (born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan, April 11, 1931 – October 15, 2010) was an American child actor who, between 1939 and 1947, portrayed Boy in the Tarzan film series and, between 1949 and 1955, played Bomba the Jungle Boy. ...

as Boy * Ian Hunter as Mr. Austin Lancing *

Henry Stephenson Henry Stephenson (born Harry Stephenson Garraway; 16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny on the Bou ...

as Sir Thomas Lancing *

Frieda Inescort Frieda Inescort (born Frieda Wrightman, 29 June 1901 – 26 February 1976) was a Scottish-born actress best known for creating the role of Sorel Bliss in Noël Coward's play ''Hay Fever'' on Broadway. She also played the shingled lady in Joh ...

as Mrs. Lancing *

Henry Wilcoxon Harry Frederick Wilcoxon (8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984), known as Henry Wilcoxon, was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and who was a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associ ...

as Mr. 'Sandee' Sande *

Laraine Day Laraine Day (born La Raine Johnson, October 13, 1920 – November 10, 2007) was an American actress, radio and television commentator, and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contract star. As a leading lady, she was paired opposite major film sta ...

as Mrs. Richard Lancing *

Morton Lowry Morton Lowry (born Edward Morton Lowater;Lancashire Birth Records, Volume 8c, pg. 1257. 13 February 1914 – 26 November 1987) was a British actor. He is best known for his film roles as John Stapleton in ''The Hound of The Baskervilles'' (1939 ...

as Mr. Richard Lancing * Gavin Muir as Pilot

Production background

The three-year gap between this and the previous Tarzan film was because MGM had originally let the film rights elapse after ''

Tarzan Escapes ''Tarzan Escapes'' is a 1936 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the third in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ''Tarzan'' series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes". Previous films were '' Tarzan ...

.'' Independent producer

Sol Lesser Sol Lesser (February 17, 1890 – September 19, 1980) was an American film producer. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1961. Biography In 1913, while living in San F ...

obtained the rights to make five Tarzan movies, but the first of these, ''

Tarzan's Revenge ''Tarzan's Revenge'' is a 1938 American adventure film starring Glenn Morris in his only outing as Tarzan. Eleanor Holm, a popular swimming star, co-starred as Eleanor Reed. The film was produced by Sol Lesser, written by Robert Lee Johnson an ...

'', proved to be a flop. The producers believed that audiences were unwilling to accept

Glenn Morris Glenn Edgar Morris (June 18, 1912 – January 31, 1974) was a U.S. track and field athlete. He won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon in 1936, setting new world and Olympic records. He attended Colorado A&M — now known as Colorado Sta ...

in the role made famous by Johnny Weissmuller. (Lesser had been unable to obtain Weissmuller's services as he remained under contract at MGM.) MGM realized that Weissmuller had continuing attraction as Tarzan and bought out Lesser's interest in the next three films; they restarted their series. This film was originally to be called ''Tarzan in Exile''. As it featured the jungle couple acquiring an infant, it was changed to ''Tarzan Finds a Son.'' The plot device was to appease morality groups, as Tarzan and Jane were not married in the films. This was intended as

's last appearance as Jane in the series, with her character to die as a result of a spear wound. O'Sullivan was tired of the Jane role, and Boy was brought in as a substitute interest. After audience previews showed very negative reactions to her death, the ending was changed.

, who played Boy, claims that Weissmuller handpicked him for the part and taught him to swim. Since Tarzan and Jane had no son in 1936 (the date of their previous film) and since the bulk of this plot occurs five years after Boy is found, the date for this film is either 1941 or 1944. Both of these dates conflict with incidents in subsequent films that occurred during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Boy in this film was the heir to the Greystoke fortune. In the original Burroughs books, Tarzan was Lord Greystoke. Original prints of ''Tarzan Finds a Son!'' were processed in sepiatone.

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $1,039,000 in the US and Canada and $1,049,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $528,000.

References

External links

* * * *
''Tarzan Finds a Son!'' history
at ERBzine.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan Finds A Son! 1939 films 1930s fantasy adventure films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films Films about adoption Films directed by Richard Thorpe Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Tarzan films 1930s American films