Johnny Weismuller and Johnny Sheffield are back as Tarzan and Boy, but Maureen O'Sullivan declined to appear in this film for personal reasons. Rather than recast the part, the writers decided to explain her absence by having Jane be in England tending to a sick friend. But, they felt that the film wouldn't be successful without a love interest for Tarzan, so they developed a character named Zandra, who is the queen of a lost city in the African jungle.
Nazis appear in Africa, searching for raw materials for their war machine. They parachute a team of explorers into the jungle to set up a base camp, but their radio operator gets separated from the rest of the platoon and is injured during the drop. Tarzan comes along and rescues him, while the other Nazi soldiers make their way to the Lost City and enslave the peaceful inhabitants, using them as cheap labor for the mines. Zandra tries to stop them but is defeated and has to flee the city, pursued by the Nazi invaders. Just as she is about to get captured and/or killed, Tarzan comes along and rescues her.
Boy likes Zandra and convinces her to flirt with Tarzan, and at one point Tarzan, seeing Zandra on a distant river bank wearing Jane's leather skirts, mistakes her for Jane. Could this be a blossoming romance?
Eventually, the Nazis learn that Tarzan has their radio and they attempt to get it back. They kidnap Boy and demand the radio as ransom. Tarzan and Zandra sneak into the city to rescue Boy and are captured and scheduled for execution. Fortunately, Cheetah comes along and brings Tarzan his knife, which he uses to cut his way through his bonds. In the fight that ensues, the Nazis are defeated.
Overall, its not as good as the classic "Tarzan And His Mate" film, but is still good entertainment even with the hokey "Let's beat the Nazis" theme. But then, this film was made in the dark days of World War 2 so a certain amount of patriotic fervor is understandable. Sure, the plot is formulaic but this is a "Tarzan" film after all so don't expect any deep social drama. The Zandra character was somewhat interesting and could probably have been developed into a recurring sub-plot in later movies, possibly to set up a love triangle between Tarzan and Jane. The two Johnnies do a good job with their roles and Frances Gifford is attractive in a 1940's sort of way. Curiously, after Jane's 2-piece leather outfit raised eyebrows in "Tarzan and His Mate", the costume was changed to a one-piece leather dress. So what is Zandra wearing? A 2-piece outfit that looks vaguely Arabic and shows a bit of mid-section. I guess its ok for supporting characters to show tummy but not a main character.
Nazis appear in Africa, searching for raw materials for their war machine. They parachute a team of explorers into the jungle to set up a base camp, but their radio operator gets separated from the rest of the platoon and is injured during the drop. Tarzan comes along and rescues him, while the other Nazi soldiers make their way to the Lost City and enslave the peaceful inhabitants, using them as cheap labor for the mines. Zandra tries to stop them but is defeated and has to flee the city, pursued by the Nazi invaders. Just as she is about to get captured and/or killed, Tarzan comes along and rescues her.
Boy likes Zandra and convinces her to flirt with Tarzan, and at one point Tarzan, seeing Zandra on a distant river bank wearing Jane's leather skirts, mistakes her for Jane. Could this be a blossoming romance?
Eventually, the Nazis learn that Tarzan has their radio and they attempt to get it back. They kidnap Boy and demand the radio as ransom. Tarzan and Zandra sneak into the city to rescue Boy and are captured and scheduled for execution. Fortunately, Cheetah comes along and brings Tarzan his knife, which he uses to cut his way through his bonds. In the fight that ensues, the Nazis are defeated.
Overall, its not as good as the classic "Tarzan And His Mate" film, but is still good entertainment even with the hokey "Let's beat the Nazis" theme. But then, this film was made in the dark days of World War 2 so a certain amount of patriotic fervor is understandable. Sure, the plot is formulaic but this is a "Tarzan" film after all so don't expect any deep social drama. The Zandra character was somewhat interesting and could probably have been developed into a recurring sub-plot in later movies, possibly to set up a love triangle between Tarzan and Jane. The two Johnnies do a good job with their roles and Frances Gifford is attractive in a 1940's sort of way. Curiously, after Jane's 2-piece leather outfit raised eyebrows in "Tarzan and His Mate", the costume was changed to a one-piece leather dress. So what is Zandra wearing? A 2-piece outfit that looks vaguely Arabic and shows a bit of mid-section. I guess its ok for supporting characters to show tummy but not a main character.