''Tarzan and the Lost Safari'' is a 1957 action adventure film featuring

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, ...

' famous jungle hero

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 ...

and starring Gordon Scott,

Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of ...

Yolande Donlan Yolande Donlan (June 2, 1920December 30, 2014) was an American-British actress who worked extensively in the United Kingdom. Early life and career The daughter of James Donlan, a character actor in Hollywood films of the 1930s, it is speculate ...

and Betta St. John. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, it was the first Tarzan film released in color,

Eastman Color Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

. It was also MGM's first ''Tarzan'' film since 1942 and filmed in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...

. The character of

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...

does not appear in this motion picture.

Plot

An airplane crashes in the jungle of the

Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in ...

in 1956, stranding passengers Gamage Dean (

), Diana Penrod ( Betta St. John), "Doodles" Fletcher (

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ear ...

), Carl Kraski (

George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...

), and Dick Penrod (

Peter Arne Peter Arne (born Peter Randolph Michael Albrecht; 29 September 19241 August 1983) was a British character actor. He made more than 50 film appearances including roles in ''Ice Cold in Alex'', ''The Moonraker'', ''Conspiracy of Hearts'' and '' Vi ...

). Before the plane slides into a gorge the group is rescued by Tarzan ( Gordon Scott), who undertakes to lead them back to civilization. Diana is kidnapped by warriors from Opar under Chief Ogonooro (

Orlando Martins Orlando Martins (8 December 1899 – 25 September 1985) was a pioneering Yoruba Nigerian film and stage actor. In the late 1940s, he was one of Britain's most prominent and leading black actors, and in a poll conducted in 1947, he was listed a ...

). The Oparians desire the strangers as sacrifices for their lion god. She is recovered by Tarzan and hunter Tusker Hawkins (

), whose advances Diana rebuffs. Secretly, however, Hawkins is in league with the Oparians, and plans to sell the castaways to the natives for a fortune in ivory. Tarzan, rightly suspecting Hawkins' untrustworthiness, exposes his treachery. Now openly in league with the natives, the hunter helps them take the white party captive in Tarzan's absence. The ape man returns to save them before the sacrifice can take place, aided by his chimpanzee ally

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 ...

, who sets fire to the native village. He then leads them to the safety of a nearby settlement. Hawkins meets his fate at the hands of the Oparians, to whom Tarzan has signaled the villain's double-dealing by a creative use of jungle drums.

Cast

* Gordon Scott as Tarzan *

as Tusker Hawkins *

as Gamage Dean * Betta St. John as Diana Penrod *

as 'Doodles' Fletcher (as Wilfrid Hyde White) *

as Carl Kraski *

as Dick Penrod *

as Oparian Chieftain Ogonoore

Notes

The film contains more allusions to the Burroughs novels than usual for a Tarzan movie of the period, including the ape man's brief account of his origin to the female lead (which echoes Burroughs' version, however the she-ape who raised him is incorrectly identified as “Kerchak”). The film also uses Opar, though reducing the grand lost city as described by Burroughs to a generic native village. A male lion seen resting with Tarzan near the start of the film is referred to as “Numa”, a term used for male lions in the Burroughs series. Tarzan, while retaining his then-customary film characterization as an inarticulate simpleton, nevertheless displays considerable shrewdness and resource, foreshadowing the restoration in later movies of Burroughs' original concept of an intelligent, multitalented ape man.

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $915,000 in the US and Canada and $1.4 million elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $432,000.

References

External links