''Tarzan and the Mermaids'' is a 1948

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

based on the

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 ...

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, ...

. Directed by Robert Florey, it was the last of twelve Tarzan films to star Johnny Weissmuller in the title role. It was also the first Tarzan film since 1939 not to feature the character Boy, adopted son of Tarzan and Jane. (Boy was described in the film as being away at school, and the character never returned to the series.)

Plot

The setting is a coastal African village where swimming and diving are central to the culture, hence the term "the Mermaids." Tarzan and Jane ( Brenda Joyce) help a native girl ( Linda Christian) who has fled the village to avoid a forced marriage to a supposed local god.

George Zucco George Zucco (11 January 1886 – 27 May 1960) was a British character actor who appeared in plays and 96 films, mostly American-made, during a career spanning over two decades, from the 1920s to 1951. In his films, he often played a suave ...

portrays Palanth, the corrupt high priest attempting to force the girl into marriage, and

Fernando Wagner Fernando Wagner (November 7, 1905 in Göttingen, Germany – October 20, 1973 in Cuernavaca, Mexico) was a German-born Mexican actor and film director. He had prominent roles in '' La Perla'' and ''The Wild Bunch''. His interment was in Mexico ...

plays a con man impersonating the god Balu.

Cast

* Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan * Brenda Joyce as

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 ...

as Palanth, the High Priest * Andrea Palma as Luana, Mara's Mother *

as Varga, Pearl Trader *

Edward Ashley Edward Montague Hussey Cooper (August 12, 1906 – May 5, 2000) was an Australian born actor, later active in Britain and the United States. Known by his professional name of Edward Ashley (to avoid confusion with a fellow actor Edward Cooper) ...

as Commissioner * John Laurenz as Benji * Gustavo Rojo as Tiko, Mara's Fiancé * Matthew Boulton as British Inspector-General * Linda Christian as Mara

Production

The film was shot in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

by RKO during its collaboration with

Churubusco Studios Estudios Churubusco is one of the oldest and largest movie studios in Mexico. It is located in the Churubusco neighborhood of Mexico City. History It was inaugurated in 1945 after a 1943 agreement between RKO and Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta (of ...

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan ( Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. It was the first official ''Tarzan'' film to be filmed outside the United States since Herman Brix's '' The New Adventures of Tarzan''. Writing in

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

, Richard Harlan Smith reported that " ts were destroyed by storms, Sol Lesser suffered a heart attack that necessitated his departure from the location, and Weissmuller experienced a case of sunburn which required him to wear make-up for the first time in his career." The film is noted for its cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa, exotic Mexican scenery and coastal locales, a

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York Ci ...

score and much group singing.

Deaths

Two members of the film crew were killed during production. One Mexican crew member was crushed by a motorboat whilst Angel Garcia, a stunt diver who doubled for Tarzan's high dive, was killed after he survived the dive but was swept by the surf into the rocks below the cliff.

Reception

Author and film critic Hal Erickson described the film in

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

as a "diverting Tarzan adventure" despite "jungle settings hatdon't look particularly African." Critic Graeme Clark wrote that Weissmuller "seemingly spen half the movie freestyling through the waves, diving off cliffs and venturing to the sea bed where he could get up to such business as battling a giant octopus for no other reason than the plot needed a spot of peril" and "if you could put up with singer John Laurenz as a Boy substitute (many cannot) then the skill of veteran director Robert Florey kept it rattling along."

References

External links

* * *
''Tarzan and the Mermaids'' history
at ERBzine.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan And The Mermaids 1948 films 1940s fantasy films American fantasy films American sequel films 1940s English-language films Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin Films directed by Robert Florey Films shot in Mexico Tarzan films Films produced by Sol Lesser American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films 1940s American films