User Reviews

The Tarzan you grow up is likely to always be "your" Tarzan, so for the generation which came of age in the 1950s, that means Gordon Scott. He might not have been the best Tarzan, (that's always a matter of debate), but he was certainly a good one. His "Tarzan and the Trappers" is a minor work, apparently stitched together from some TV episodes, but it demonstrates how the Tarzan character reflects the changing moods of the times.

In this case, the times are the Eisenhower Years and so Tarzan, Jane, and Boy come across here as a typical suburban family not that far removed from, say, "Ozzie and Harriet." Of course, the father in this particular family seems to speak with a third-grade education and he must spend an awful lot of time in the gym, but these are minor points.

"Tarzan and the Trappers" also reflects the prudish morality of the 1950s. Tarzan and Jane, for example, seem to have two side-by-side but separate treehouses which allows for "proper" sleeping arrangements. Care has also been taken to downplay Tarzan's sexuality, moving him away from his powerful masculinity toward a tamer, almost neutered status. Gordon Scott's loincloth, for instance, rides high enough on his torso to completely hide his navel, which must have caused some problems during filming. ("Sorry, Gordon, you'll have to do it again. We saw your belly button.") And in that inevitable scene in which Tarzan is captured and put into bondage, his arms stretched up and tied high above his head, we see that Gordon Scott's armpits have been carefully shaved. Apparently male body hair, either on the chest or in the armpits, was a "no no" because it emphasized the actor's sexual nature. Despite these efforts to "housebreak" and "domesticate" Tarzan, however, Gordon Scott still manages to exude an undeniable appeal and for us Eisenhower kids, he'll always be "our" Tarzan.

At six foot three inches, with a muscular frame, Gordon Scott cuts a fine figure as legendary ape-man Tarzan: he's perfectly cast, even though his hair is rarely out of place while swinging from vine to vine.

But as impressive as the ex-lifeguard is in the role, Tarzan and the Trappers isn't one of the character's more memorable cinematic adventures, the film being edited together from three episodes for a television series that never happened. The result is, unsurprisingly, rather episodic and cheap looking, with a scrappy narrative that sees Tarzan foiling the plans of a party of animal-trappers, one of whom wants revenge on the ape-man for having his brother sent to jail, while another seeks a fabled lost city.

The action is formulaic and rather dull, with only a couple of fun moments to break the tedium: Tarzan riding a giraffe, and Cheeta the chimp raiding a bee hive for honey, with inevitable results. What this film sorely needed was a man-eating plant, some quicksand, a giant spider, and a tribe of cannibals. Eve Brent adds a little welcome glamour as Jane, but Rickie Sorensen is a little too 'Leave It To Beaver' as Boy.

This Tarzan film was originally put together from episodes of an unsold T.V. series. This explains the films bifurcated structure. I have been told producer Sol Lesser then edited the episodes together and released it overseas as a feature in some markets. I also understand Americans did not get to see this film until 1966 when it was sold as part of a Tarzan film package to television. As a theatrical release, it looks like a third rate Tarzan film designed to fill out the second half of a double bill. But viewed as what it was intended as; a saturday morning kiddie show from the fifties, it looks better than other shows from the same era such as SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE and RAMER. I'm surprised this potential Tarzan T.V show did not sell.By the way, Eve Brent makes a sexy blonde Jane.

Gordon Scott made some good Tarzan movies, but this is not one of them.

As I watched it, wincing at the bad, obviously interior sets and the hollow wooden "clonking" sounds as they walked across supposedly dirt trails, and cringing at the bad dialog and worse acting among the supporting cast, I kept thinking, "Sheesh! This is TV show level!" Then I find out it was, indeed, three TV show pilot episodes woven seam-fully into one.

It's nice to see Scott get outside (alone), away from the lame sets, in a few of the scenes; and the fights do have some pretty nice moves... but oh, ow, and ouch as to the dialog. And did I mention the acting? Heck, Cheetah (or "Cheta," in this version) was a better actor than most of the humans.

And that's not saying much.

It is kind of a stitch to see a younger Sherman (i.e. Scatman) Carothers acting as a native. But probably not worth the overall time-investment.

Gordon Scott has a truly magnificent physique ("lucky Jane!" is all I can say), and is an excellent brawler, but his acrobatic ability is questionable at best: nearly all of his vine-swinging is filmed in long shots and appears to be stunt-doubled. Eve Brent is a stunning Jane, but she's barely in the film. The story itself is generic. ** out of 4.

TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS (1958 B&W) features Gordon Scott as Tarzan. This is a mediocre jungle adventure edited together from two or three episodes of a TV series that never surfaced. Gordon Scott plays a great muscular Tarzan but, as another Amazon reviewer noted, the film is compressed in such a way that the images are out of proportion. For example, Gordon Scott appears almost short and stout, albeit muscular. I know this isn't true because I just saw another Scott Tarzan film ("Tarzan and the Lost Safari" from 1957) wherein Scott is tall (6'3") and his waist is incredibly lean. In any event, although this is far from the best Gordon Scott Tarzan picture (his "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" from 1959 is one of the best films in the entire series), "Tarzan and the Trappers" is well worth watching if for no other reason than to feast your eyes on the awe-inspiring voluptuousness of Eve Brent, who plays "Jane."

GRADE: C

After reading a lot of bad reviews, I almost skipped this one.

I'm glad I gave it a chance, because Tarzan and the Trappers is a very underrated Tarzan movie. It's fast-paced with good fight scenes, and Cheeta is funny as usual. It almost feels like a (cheaper) Weissmuller movie. I enjoyed every second of it.

Best of all, it's a movie you can watch with your kids. The violence is mild (if that's even possible), there's no sexual innuendo or political agenda to be found here. The natives are treated pretty respectfully compared to the pre-code Tarzan movies, and Tarzan himself is a good role model who cares for his family and the jungle animals.

Recommended.

After years of producing Tarzan films for the big screen, producer Sol Lesser decided that a television series might be in order. This film which did get some limited release on the big screen was intended for the small. You can clearly see where the commercial breaks were intended.

It's also a step backward in terms of recognizing the emerging Africa which later Gordon Scott films did. Besides Scott the cast included Eve Brent as Jane and Rickie Sorensen as Boy.

The two stories are only connected by the fact that the villains are brothers. In the first Tarzan stops a trapper from taking animals from his turf the jungle. He turns him over to the authorities. In the second story the first villain's brother challenges Tarzan to a jungle duel where Scott will be hunted like jungle prey. The most neophyte film fan will recognize The Most Dangerous Game as the source for the plot.

That one actually could have and in fact was partially the source of a later big screen Tarzan film, Tarzan's Greatest Adventure. That one happens to be one of my favorites in the Tarzan series. This one is just a pale imitation.

George Scott's Tarzan is very much like Superman and this "film" is probably modeled on the old Superman TV show. This is 3 episodes of a planned series edited into a movie and it works. I think the use of 3 directors and stories gives the film more structure and diversity of tone than the typical films from that period.

The 1st story details evil white hunters hurting animals and meeting Tarzan. Pt 2 has the hunters hunting Tarzan like game and the 3rd has Tarzan getting revenge for his tribesman friend (played by Scatman Crothers!). Its cheap and stagey, but well shot and the action is good. There's the usual inserts of safari footage but its good footage of cute and exotic animals. The treatment of the black characters is well done. Jane and Boy are barely in this but the cast is good. Gordon Scott is really a lovable hero, so it all comes off well.

Minus color, effects and a multimillion dollar budget, this is comparable to today's superhero films. Modest fun.

TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS (Sol Lesser Productions, 1958), directed by Charles Haas and Sandy Howard, became the second and final installment in the series to feature Gordon Scott (Tarzan), Eve Brent (Jane) and Rickie Sorensen (Boy). Unlike their previous entry, TARZAN"S FIGHT FOR LIFE (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958), this edition was not theatrically released nor filmed in color. In fact, TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS was reportedly said to be three separate television episodes from a proposed TV series that was never bought by any of the three major networks. Instead, the episodes were edited together to form a feature length 70 minute feature film that didn't get publicly shown until some time in the 1960s. New lettering titles superimposed over different Tarzan and then various animals roaming the jungle are presented for its opening credits before an off-screen narrator introduces how jungle life being "instant death or narrow escapes being the point of every day life" before introducing Tarzan, the jungle warlord hero, as one who befriends the weak and helps the distress. The first part of the story introduces Tarzan and his family going through their daily routine. Their pet chimp, Cheta, rescues Jane from a poisonous snake crawling on her leg. Soon Tarzan hears sounds of frightened animals from afar and swings on the vines to investigate. An elephant has been shot and killed by Schroeder (Leslie Bradley), a hunter and boss man to the trappers, along with his assistant, Rene (Maurice Marsac) and a couple of native tribesmen. Chaining a baby elephant's leg to a tree, Tarzan arrives to free the animal. By doing this, Schroeder holds Tarzan at gunpoint to abduct and cage both Cheta and Boy before driving away. Tarzan isn't far behind to plot his rescue. The second half of the story finds Tarzan receiving a message from tribesman, Tyana (Struther Crothers) that Lepin (William Keene) from the trading post, wants to see him, only to learn this to be a meeting between Tarzan and Sikes (Saul Gorss), brother of Schroeder, who, because of Tarzan, is now serving seven years for his illegal animal hunting. He plots vengeance against Tarzan to give him a two hour start running loose loose in jungle so he can hunt him down like an animal. Later, Sikes and the other men force Tarzan to lead them to the lost city of Zaro where they can acquire richness of hidden gold and jewels. Tightly edited, highly underscored with enough Tarzan yells and well staged battles to remind viewers that this is a "Tarzan" adventure. The scene shifts are obvious, especially during the early portion where Jane's long blonde hairstyle becomes a shorter cut following the opening of the second portion where her Jane gives son Boy an education by reading literary classics like "Treasure Island," before her hair resumes longer-length again as was for the introduction. While Rickie Sorensen's character is often identified as Boy (as in the Johnny Weissmuller series in the 1940s) in the story, there was one time where he's called Tartu (the name used from the previous Gordon Scott adventure of TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE). Though photographed in black-and-white, the scene of Tarzan riding a giraffe, along with actual African scenery and natives were lifted from that FIGHT FOR LIFE color film into this edition as well. Of the three portions of the story, the first was better while the second shows promise of a re-enactment to Richard Connell's exciting story to "The Most Dangerous Game," where Tarzan becomes the hunted, actually a disappointment due to edits. Jane and Boy are absent through long stretches of time during the second half of the story, leaving Tarzan to be the sole factor of interest through much of the proceedings. The final portion becomes typical scenario for the "Tarzan" series involving greedy hunters where old material is revamped and recycled, if nothing else. A public domain where TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS was distributed to video cassette by various distributors, often double-billed packaged with TARZAN THE FEARLESS (1933) with Buster Crabbe, the made-for-television edition, also available on DVD, has shown on commercial and public television, along with cable channels as American Movie Classics (1998) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: September 17, 2011). Not the very best nor the worst of the Scott/Tarzan adventures, TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS attempts to add something new to material that has seemed exhausted by this time.

While improvements were developed in future installments, recasting the Tarzan character (after Scott turned in his loincloth by 1960) to the form and likes of the thin Jock Mahoney (1962-63) and the muscular Mike Henry (1965-1968), before the Edgar Rice Burrough's jungle hero eventually became a prominent figure in his very own "Tarzan" television series (1966-1969) starring Ron Ely. Next in the series: Gordon Scott minus Jane and Boy in TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE (1959). (**)

Gordon Scott made an excellent Tarzan, he brought an interesting flair to the role, that was almost a compromise between the smart Tarzan of the books and the ignorant Tarzan of most of the films. In this film, he actually picks up a book and tries to read, but still speaks in a broken manner, however he is still full of wisdom that comes from life in a dangerous jungle. This actually one of the better films, despite some negative publicity from "purists" (read Weissmuller fans). It is entertaining, the jungles all look real, and the double point of anti-poaching/anti-grave robbing is especially poignant. If Tarzan really did exist, that would be the kind of life that he would lead.

Excellent ****/****

A pivotal work in the Tarzan genre, straddling as it does the gap between Sol Lessor's cheapies with Johnny Weissmuller and Sy Weintraub's upgrade with Gordon Scott; 'Tarzan and the Trappers' - being three TV episodes stitched together - marking the King of the Jungle's final appearance on the big screen in black & white.

At this point Tarzan still has a Jane - in the shapely form of Eve Brent - and his little buddies Boy and Cheeta are there too (thankfully not for long).

A first its the usual mixture of cheap studio sets and genuine location footage (in which Scott's hair is noticeably longer) and the usual stock shots of giraffes, hippos, wildebeasts and sundry other primates, until halfway through it briefly rehashes 'The Most Dangerous Game', when Tarzan displays the most disarming method of disabling bad guys by banging their heads together.

Of the countless actors who have portrayed Tarzan since Elmo Lincoln first appeared in 1918's `Tarzan of the Apes,' Gordon Scott remains the best to ever don a loincloth. So it's no surprise that `Tarzan and the Trappers' is one of the better Tarzan films of the past 80 years. The 1958 film was actually intended to comprise the first three episodes of a television series, but instead was made into a better-than-average Sol Lesser production that runs 74 minutes. The film's story remains contemporary, with Tarzan forced to fight for his own life while stopping greedy traders from illegally trapping and removing wildlife from the jungle.

With the future of much of the world's wildlife in question, the story is as compelling now as it was 45 years ago...

After dispatching a nasty hunter who is illegally collecting wildlife for menageries , Tarzan has to confront his brother who seeks vengeance by means a violent hunting for human game . Along the way , Tarzan arranges to free all of the captured animals as an elephant baby . While a safari of mean hunters attempt to discover a lost city full of treasures.

Tarzan and the Trappers is an adventurous film dubiously faithful to Edgar Rice Borroughs , it packs perilous feats , fights , betrayals , angry natives , wildlife , starving animals , stock footage and gorgeous exteriors. However, being spoiled by a black and white cinematography , resulting to be Gordon Scott's first Tarzan and only with no color . In fact , Scott starred 5 Tarzan films , his Tarzan movies ranged from rather cheap re-edited television pilots to larger scale epics . These are the following ones : Tarzan fights for life by H Bruce Humberstone , Tarzan's greatest adventure produced by Sy Weintraub directed by John Guillermin , Tarzan the Magnificent by John Guillermin and Tarzan and the lost Safari . Although Gordon Scott also played other kinds of genres as Spaghetti Western : Tramplers , Buffalo Bill Hero of the West , Euro-spy : Death Ray, Secretissimo , Pirate movie : Marauder and especially Peplum : Hercules and the Princess of Troy , Romulus and Remo, Coriolanus , Maciste in court of the Great Khan , A Queen for Caesar, Ercole versus Moloch, Goliath and the Vampires , Conquest of Mycene , Gladiator of Rome , Hero of Rome , Samson and the seven miracles of the World . In Tarzan and the Trappers 1950 Gordon Scott brings wit and style to the classic role . His handsome features , imposing height , muscular physique made him a magnificent choice to replace Lex Barker as Tarzan , and he won out over 200 candidaters for the character. It was producer Sol Lesser who changed his name from Werschkul to Scott . Here Gordon Scott is accompanied by the beautiful Eve Brent as Jane and Ricky Serenson as their child . And nice secondaries as Maurice Marsac , Scatman Crothers , Leslie Bradley and Bruce Lester . Of course , special mention for the sympathetic chimpanzee Cheeta , giving some hilarious moments with leaps , frolics, mayhem and antics.

The classic Tarzan movies starred by Johnny Weissmuller were financed by MGM , subsequently took the production some independient producers , as this Tarzan and the Trappers was produced in medium budget by Sol Lesser , subsequently replaced by Sy Weintraub . However , this one seems to be a re-edition from three three episodes of a never shown television series that was rejected by three general networks . The motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Charles Haas , Sandy Howard and uncredited H Bruce Humberstone, the latter to direct other Tarzan movies . .

In the mid-1950s to 1960, Gordon Scott made several Tarzan movies. As a result of their success, someone had the idea of creating a Tarzan TV series starring Scott...but all the networks rejected the series. So, to try to recoup some of their money, the three episodes they filmed were edited into this movie, "Tarzan and the Trappers". However, the results weren't especially good.

Although Scott played Tarzan in about half a dozen movies, I'd never seen any until this one. I was struck by his version of the character, as he was awfully pretty and seemed much unlike Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan. Too well coiffed and pretty...and the rest of the Tarzan family looked as if they just left the beauty parlor! This didn't make the shows all that believable and Scott's delivery of his lines sure sounded too nice and proper for a guy supposedly raised by apes. Overall, I found him so boring I found myself siding for the evil trappers early in the film...because at least they were interesting. Easily skippable.

Gordon Scott with his well coiffed hair, hourglass figure and weird pidgin English has to be the worst of all the Tarzans. As for the other actors in this mess, they're on a par with any 4th grade elementary school drama class. I've seen Used Car Dealers in TV commercials who can act better. They make Clayton Moore look like Laurence Olivier! And where does Jane (the dull Eve Brent) get her lipstick and eyebrow pencils in the jungle? I realize these were made for kids but Wow! The plot line seemed OK but the director should have required more from his actors. I realize even the Weissmuller films have a few flaws but this one seemed so "low budget".

WHEREAS THE FORTUNES of the Lord of the Jungle were looking up and improving somewhat, TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS would prove to be somewhat of a setback, or at least a course correction. Having been culled from the remnants of a failed TARZAN Television Series, it really did hold up fairly well.

WITH THE CURRENT and very capable talents of star, Gordon Scott, at the helm of the vine swinging, the action and story-line were all relatively believable. Although it seemed that Tarzan was just a little too tough a competitor for up to 6 or 8 opponents; well, what the hell; man, he's Tarzan !

ALTHOUGH THE CURRENT trend in the theatrical films of Edgar Rice Burroughs had the Jungle Lord conversing in the Queen's English, TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS didn't follow along with this policy. It required Mr. Gordon Scott to revert back to the grunting "me Tarzan, you Jane" in the tradition of the Weissmuellerian dialect that had been so popular ever since the release of TARZAN THE APE MAN in 1932.

THERE PROBABLY WAS good reason with a lot of thought being put into the process. Inasmuch as both the MGM and RKO/Sol Lesser features starring Johnny Weissmuller had been released to television . It stands to reason that the couch potato crowd would be more at ease with the primitive, baby-talk conversation than with Tarzan's being a proponent and practitioner of the Queen's English.

AS FOR THIS film's being released and promoted as a theatrical feature, it doesn't come up to the standards set by previous efforts. Butto its credit, it restored Jane (Eve Brent) and Boy/Tartu (Ricky Sorensen) the series. That was both worthwhile and commendable.

IT'S JUST TOO bad that it didn't succeed as a series on the small screen in our living rooms. After all, that's what was the original intent and objective.

Tarzan must deal with a group of illegal trappers, an expedition to a lost city in search of treasure & a hunter attempting to hunt him down as the ultimate prey.

Tarzan and the Trappers was a 1958 attempt at making a new stab at a Tarzan franchise. This feature was cobbled together from three episodes of an unsold TV series & edited together to resemble a proper film. However it didn't entirely work. The episodic nature of the film's plot can be blamed for the lack of conviction or even adding anything new to the franchise. But the actors do a fair bit of work to sell their otherwise one-dimensional characters to the viewer. Gordon Scott makes a passable Tarzan & even gets the iconic yell right but the remainder of the cast are hovering between mediocre & downright stilted. The action scenes are hampered by the low budget & the motivations for the villains are sketchy at best.

This Tarzan feature from the Gordon Scott series has just enough to make it watchable if you like the series in general. Scott definitely looks like Tarzan, and he has enough of a screen presence to be believable, but his wooden acting style takes the energy out of some of the scenes. The story has a few good moments, but at other times the characters and situations are just too unimaginative not to be noticeable.

The story does have a fair amount of action, as Tarzan must first battle a greedy but rather foolish trapper, and then face the trapper's more malicious brother plus a treacherous jungle trader. Plenty of outdoor footage and scenes of African animals are worked in with the studio shots, and most of the time this helps to mask the low production values. 'Cheta', in fact, gets some of the best moments of the movie.

So many Tarzan movies had been made before this one that it must have been hard to come up with new ideas. This one does at least have a worthwhile idea behind the plot, but it is otherwise rather uninspired in the way that it tells the story.

Apparently, this was an edit of three 30 minute episodes of a proposed black-and-white TV series which did not air in 1958. In context, this looks like it could have been popular, so there might have been some legal difficulties with getting it on television. However, as a "Tarzan" series movie, it's definitely substandard. The juxtaposition of stock and new footage is haphazard.

A clear first story deals has animal trappers led by Lesley Bradley (as Schroeder) invading our jungle hero's turf. Muscularly handsome Gordon Scott (as Tarzan) frees a baby elephant and battles the trappers, who eventually kidnap both "Cheta" (the Chimpanzee) and Rickie Sorensen (the "Boy" Tartu). Once that storyline is resolved, the other two "parts" blend in.

Out for revenge, trapper Bradley's brother Saul Gorse (as Sikes) comes into the picture. He sets out to make Mr. Scott his prey in a plot borrowed from "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932); this sounds like it might have been the most interesting story, but it doesn't live up to expectations. The search for a "Lost City" is also involved. Pretty mate Eve Brent (as Jane) hangs around.

** Tarzan and the Trappers (1958) Charles Haas, Sandy Howard ~ Gordon Scott, Rickie Sorensen, Eve Brent, Sol Gorss

When I first heard the title of this movie, I thought it was going to be about Tarzan stopping some trappers, that is, people who were trapping animals. It turns out I got exactly what I expected...and not much else. I hate this if only because it was just so boring. There's relatively nothing of substance here at all. I haven't seen all the Tarzan movies so maybe this goes back to the classic days of the Weismuller era. You know, like how it takes place in that continuity. Tarzan was one of the few film series in Leonard Maltin's movie guide I was fully aware of when I first read it.

It's vaguely like "The Most Dangerous Game" with one hunter talking about how he wants to take on Tarzan. At its very short length, it's mostly just a B-movie. There is very little going on at all. This would have been a great movie to feature on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I'm used to films like this being shown there. I got bored without any riffing. *1/2

Tarzan and the Trappers (1958)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

The twentieth film in the original MGM-to-RKO series wasn't originally meant to be a movie. No, instead producer Sol Lesser decided to save some money and try to produce a TV series so he brought in Gordon Scott to make three pilots. He showed all three pilots to the television networks but they all turned it down so instead of eating his losses the producer instead edited the three episodes together and turn it into this film. WIth this in mind, there's a reason everything is so messy. In the film, Tarzan (Scott) must battle an evil man wanting to steal animals from the jungle. After Tarzan stops him the man's brother comes and decides to hunt the ape man THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME style. Then, after that business is taken care of, Tarzan must try and stop some men looking for a lost city. All three "stories" don't mix well together and especially when the first one ends and then minutes later the guy's brother is already on the scene looking for revenge! It's really hard to take any of this movie serious considering how it was made but even if you just view the stories as three separate TV shows it still feels rather cheap. The previous movie had the producer spending a pretty dime as he sent the company to Africa, shot it in color and obviously those high standards are missing here. We're back to B&W, poor stock footage and rather cheap stories. Scott doesn't look overly thrilled in any of the stories but I'm going to guess that he wasn't too happy about the TV stuff. He's always made for a good Tarzan but this here was certainly a weak spot. Eve Brent shows up as Jane and Rickie Sorensen appears as Boy but neither are too memorable and neither have their roles written too well. TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS should have been left unreleased but you know a producer has to make his money back and that's the only reason this was released. That still doesn't mean people should waste their time watching it.