TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE (Paramount, 1959), a Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayuting Presentation, directed by John Guillermin, may not be the jungle lord's greatest adventure on screen, but at least this is one of them. For its first distribution through Paramount Pictures as opposed to previous studio releases of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and RKO Radio, this latest Tarzan installment certainly not only improves over older material, but offers many changes from previous installments, with the exception of Gordon Scott, having enacted the Edgar Rice Burrough's character since 1955. Scott speaks naturally, probably for the first time since the Tarzan character was introduced to the talking screen by Johnny Weissmuller in TARZAN THE APE MAN (MGM, 1932). As with Scott's debut as the title character in TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE (RKO, 1955), there is no female Jane companion nor their son, Boy, in the proceeding. There is his pet chimpanzee, Cheta, but for this edition, is reduced to only a few minutes before disappearing from view. For this Tarzan update, it strays away from family oriented movie viewing to more realistic proceedings, having the ape man going it alone, and having to capture a villain, who in fact, happens to be Tarzan's arch enemy.
From the story by Les Crutchfield, TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE opens with a prologue of diamond smugglers and tribesmen rowing their boat into a territory of the Mann Settlement Hospital to steal crates of dynamite for their proposed diamond smuggling that is to take place. After gun shots are fired, and fatality of a couple of innocent people, the opening credits flash onto the screen in the similar fashion of 1960s movies and beyond. The plot consists of villains, Slade (Anthony Quayle), the leader, with O'Bannion (Sean Connery), Kruger (Niall McGinnis), Dino (Al Mulock) and the pretty blonde companion, Toni (Scilla Gabel, getting the "introducing" credit during its cast credits) rowing their canoe down the river where Slade looks fiercely towards a tree-house through their passing. Tarzan (Gordon Scott) who lives in the tree-house with his chimpanzee, Cheta, listens to the drum beat messages to what has happened. He then avenges the killings of his friends by braving the jungle alone, carrying bow and arrow (like Robin Hood) and pocket knife to get the men responsible, especially that his rival named Slade, whom he had dealt with before in the past. As Tarzan rows his canoe down the river, he witnesses an airplane crash where aviatrix, Angie Loring (Sara Shane), not only survives, but accompanies him through his dangerous journey involving poisonous spiders, snakes and crocodiles, to fulfill his mission. As for Slade, who knows of Tarzan's pursuit, he would want nothing more than to do away with Tarzan the first chance he gets.
Once the plot gets down to basics, TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE really becomes a fast-moving 88 minute adventure consisting of new ideas and screenplay originality. With Eastman Color by Pathe, the production benefits greatly with location filming in Africa and British studios. Aside from Tarzan speaking like an educated man, he saves his famous Tarzan call a couple of times much later in the story. There are moments where it looks like Tarzan would be defeated, considering his bow and arrow would be no threat to Slade's gunshots or exploding sticks of dynamite. Their final confrontation of Tarzan and Slade is truly one of the great highlights of well-staged excitement.
Though Cheta's disappearance is explained, there is no mention to whatever became of Tarzan's family of Jane and Boy from TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE (1958), almost as if these characters never existed. Possibly the writers should have, at least, briefly mentioned them as being away in England with Boy getting educated in the London schools, or something like that. Otherwise Tarzan here is very much a bachelor (or widower) who at one point shows a remarkable interest in his female blonde aviatrix. As much as the cast listing is brief, it's interesting seeing Sean Connery, shortly before achieving fame as "James Bond" in a series of successful spy adventures of the 1960s, playing a drunken hunter. The female co-stars, Sara Shane and the accented Scilla Gabel (who somewhat resembles Sophia Loren), are attractive, but are virtually unknown to contemporary viewers.
TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE would follow with TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT (1960), another superior outing to the long-running "Tarzan" Series starring Gordon Scott as the jungle hero for his sixth and final time. Formerly shown on cable television's American Movie Classics (1997-2000), and later broadcast on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: October 1, 2011), TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE never had a video cassette distribution but can be acquired on DVD as part of the Gordon Scott/Tarzan collection. (*** swing vines)
From the story by Les Crutchfield, TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE opens with a prologue of diamond smugglers and tribesmen rowing their boat into a territory of the Mann Settlement Hospital to steal crates of dynamite for their proposed diamond smuggling that is to take place. After gun shots are fired, and fatality of a couple of innocent people, the opening credits flash onto the screen in the similar fashion of 1960s movies and beyond. The plot consists of villains, Slade (Anthony Quayle), the leader, with O'Bannion (Sean Connery), Kruger (Niall McGinnis), Dino (Al Mulock) and the pretty blonde companion, Toni (Scilla Gabel, getting the "introducing" credit during its cast credits) rowing their canoe down the river where Slade looks fiercely towards a tree-house through their passing. Tarzan (Gordon Scott) who lives in the tree-house with his chimpanzee, Cheta, listens to the drum beat messages to what has happened. He then avenges the killings of his friends by braving the jungle alone, carrying bow and arrow (like Robin Hood) and pocket knife to get the men responsible, especially that his rival named Slade, whom he had dealt with before in the past. As Tarzan rows his canoe down the river, he witnesses an airplane crash where aviatrix, Angie Loring (Sara Shane), not only survives, but accompanies him through his dangerous journey involving poisonous spiders, snakes and crocodiles, to fulfill his mission. As for Slade, who knows of Tarzan's pursuit, he would want nothing more than to do away with Tarzan the first chance he gets.
Once the plot gets down to basics, TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE really becomes a fast-moving 88 minute adventure consisting of new ideas and screenplay originality. With Eastman Color by Pathe, the production benefits greatly with location filming in Africa and British studios. Aside from Tarzan speaking like an educated man, he saves his famous Tarzan call a couple of times much later in the story. There are moments where it looks like Tarzan would be defeated, considering his bow and arrow would be no threat to Slade's gunshots or exploding sticks of dynamite. Their final confrontation of Tarzan and Slade is truly one of the great highlights of well-staged excitement.
Though Cheta's disappearance is explained, there is no mention to whatever became of Tarzan's family of Jane and Boy from TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE (1958), almost as if these characters never existed. Possibly the writers should have, at least, briefly mentioned them as being away in England with Boy getting educated in the London schools, or something like that. Otherwise Tarzan here is very much a bachelor (or widower) who at one point shows a remarkable interest in his female blonde aviatrix. As much as the cast listing is brief, it's interesting seeing Sean Connery, shortly before achieving fame as "James Bond" in a series of successful spy adventures of the 1960s, playing a drunken hunter. The female co-stars, Sara Shane and the accented Scilla Gabel (who somewhat resembles Sophia Loren), are attractive, but are virtually unknown to contemporary viewers.
TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE would follow with TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT (1960), another superior outing to the long-running "Tarzan" Series starring Gordon Scott as the jungle hero for his sixth and final time. Formerly shown on cable television's American Movie Classics (1997-2000), and later broadcast on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: October 1, 2011), TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE never had a video cassette distribution but can be acquired on DVD as part of the Gordon Scott/Tarzan collection. (*** swing vines)