''Tarzan and the Great River'' is a 1967

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

starring Mike Henry in his second of three film appearances 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 ...

. The twenty-seventh and penultimate film of the ''Tarzan'' film series that began with 1932's '' Tarzan the Ape Man'', the film was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash (from a story by Barbash and Lewis Reed), and directed by Robert Day. Released on September 1, 1967, it was followed by '' Tarzan and the Jungle Boy'' in 1968.

Plot

Tarzan is called to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

by an old friend, The Professor (

Paulo Gracindo Pelópidas Guimarães Brandão Gracindo (16 June 1911 – 4 September 1995), known as Paulo Gracindo, was a Brazilian actor. Partial filmography * ''João Ninguém'' (1936) * ''Tererê Não Resolve'' (1938) * ''Está Tudo Aí'' (1939) ...

) to help stop the Jaguar Cult, led by Barcuma (

Rafer Johnson Rafer Lewis Johnson (August 18, 1934 – December 2, 2020) was an American decathlete and film and television actor. He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold at the 1955 Pan ...

), from destroying native villages and enslaving the survivors in his search for diamonds. Tarzan is assisted by Captain Sam Bishop (

Jan Murray Jan Murray (born Murray Janofsky; October 4, 1916 – July 2, 2006) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game-show host who originally made his name on the Borscht Belt and later was known for his frequent television appearances over se ...

), a riverboat pilot, and Bishop's young ward, Pepe (Manuel Padilla Jr.), as well as Baron (a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

) and

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, Ta ...

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

). On their way they encounter Dr. Ann Philips ( Diana Millay), who has witnessed the destruction of a village, and wants to continue fighting a plague by giving much-needed

inoculation Inoculation is the act of implanting a pathogen or other microbe or virus into a person or other organism. It is a method of artificially inducing immunity against various infectious diseases. The term "inoculation" is also used more generally ...

s to natives who live along the Amazon River. Tarzan is able to track down Barcuma and fights him, Tarzan after a long struggle is able to kill barcuma, drowning him in a pool of water.

Cast

* Mike Henry as Tarzan, the British Lord of Greystoke *

as Captain Sam Bishop, an American crusty riverboat pilot, ally to Tarzan * Manuel Padilla, Jr. as Pepe, Sam Bishop's youthful native ward *

as Barcuma, Afro-Brazilian leader of the Jaguar Cult * Diana Millay as Dr. Ann Philips, American physician attempting to inoculate Brazilian natives *

as The Professor, Tarzan's Brazilian old friend * Eliezer Gomes as Barcuma's Afro-Brazilian lieutenant (uncredited) * Carlos Eduardo Dolabella as Agonizing tribesman in canoe (uncredited) * Luz del Fuego as Tribeswoman (uncredited)

Production notes

The movie was filmed entirely on location in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil ( Rio de Janeiro Zoo,

Parque Lage Parque Henrique Lage is a public park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, located in the Jardim Botânico neighborhood at the foot of the Corcovado, on top of which Christ the Redeemer is located. The land was formerly the residence of industrial ...

and

Tijuca Forest The Tijuca National Park () is an urban national park in the mountains of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The park is part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Preserve, and is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conserva ...

). Dinky, the chimp portraying Cheeta, bit Mike Henry on the jaw during filming, requiring twenty stitches. The chimpanzee was destroyed, and Henry later sued the producers for this accident and other unsafe working conditions on all three of his Tarzan films. The parties settled out of court.

Critical response

A contemporary 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 " autifully photographed against striking and often magnificent scenery," but noted that "Zoologists probably will be a bit startled to learn that African maned lions roam the Brazilian jungles, as well as hippos who splash in the Amazon," and that Henry's "physique is better than his acting." Critic John Sinnott wrote on

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

that the film "would have been a much better ..if they had made Captain Sam a straight character. His shtick doesn't fit in with the movie at all, and what's worse is that it's not funny," and that the "banter between Sam and Pepe is supposed to be humorous and cute, but it's just dumb."

References

External links

* *
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan and the Great River''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan And The Great River 1967 films 1960s fantasy adventure films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films Films directed by Robert Day Films set in Brazil Films shot in Rio de Janeiro (city) Tarzan films Films produced by Sy Weintraub 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language fantasy adventure films