The plot meanders more than it did in Tarzan the Ape Man, but this is never less than exciting, entertaining and sexy (and not just for the four-minute underwater scene with a nude Jane).
What do you think?
... Justin
The best of the six (6) M.G.M Tarzan Films. A wonderful fantasy combining action and romance. A sequel superior to its orgin just like THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936) or STARS WARS: Episode V-The Empire Strides Back (1980).
shareI may be one of the few people who think the first one is just a bit better. But I agree that this sequel is first-rate.
... Justin
Best of all Tarzan movies.
shareThis is a first-rate sequel: one of the few.
Did you rate it for the database? If you did, I assume you gave it a 10.
... Justin
I gave it a 9 or 10. (I'm too lazy to check.) A fun movie.
shareYes, we did give it a Ten (10) ********** T.A.H.M.(1934). The TARZANs were always a favorite of my late Brother and OurSelves. From the Silents to Gordon Scott. Ran into a bit a luck two (2) years ago that makes us the envy of of our set. Found the M.G.M. box set of TARZAN at BEST BUY for only $16.99! Must have been a mistake for have not seen such a price nor near that anywhere. Saved the receipt because we knew our Friends would not believe us.
share$16.99! That's terrific. I would have snapped that up, too, if I had seen it.
Well, I won't expect the same deal, but next time I'm in a Best Buy I'll take a look at what they're selling it for.
... Justin
We always check for 'mistakes' at the major retail outlets. With countless items at these outlets it is impossible for them to get everything right.
shareAlways liked the early Tarzan movies - on a couple of levels. First, the bad guys always died in nasty ways - none of this prison crap. Second, you just did NOT mess with Tarzan - if you did, you were toast in the final reel. Again, no namby-pamby punishment but real nasty jungle vengeance. Third, Maureen O'Sullivan running around in that skimpy outfit. She was the only skinny woman I ever thought was a hottie.
"Mate" is one of my favourites because of all of the above, and for Nathan Curry's portrayal of the loyal head native - not some dumb StepNFetchit-type. Thought the guy was cool and was bummed when he got it. Also like the comic relief scenes when Cheetah is screaming his lungs out and running for his life.
I first saw this one in the mid '40s and as a raging-hormones teen, Maureen turned me on four ways to Sunday. Movies were 35c then (an hours wage for me) and I blew over a dollar just to check her out again and again. Great nostalgia.
Were a lot of 1930s movies revived in the 1940s? Or were the early Tarzans rare exceptions?
...Justin
Were a lot of 1930s movies revived in the 1940s?
Thinking back, I think they were. I can remember seeing "All Quiet on the Western Front" just after the war (WWII). There was a scene where one actor said something along the line of "put the kings of each country in a field and let them fight, and leave us out of it" and there was a general murmur of approval from the audience. Sometimes there would be a new release and sometimes there would be a rerun and the old ones still drew a crowd, especially the Laurel and Hardy films.
What were audiences like back then? Were they politer than they are now? Did they smoke in the theater?
Is it true that audience members would frequently come in in the middle of the picture and then stay until the next showing to catch the first half? Supposedly that practice is how we got the phrase "This is where I came in."
...Justin
What were audiences like back then? Were they politer than they are now? Did they smoke in the theater?
Seems to me they were MUCH politer. The biggest aggravation were ladies with their large hats. Most took 'em off right away but some had to be reminded. Don't particularly remember the smoking, but I believe none was allowed due to the fire hazard. Another thing was us kids finding a seat in the front row and hearing someone yell "Down in front!"
Is it true that audience members would frequently come in in the middle of the picture and then stay until the next showing to catch the first half?
I used to do that all the time and in fact, would sit through ANOTHER full showing - especially the "Mate" movie. :-)
Do you still watch the Tarzan movies - on TV or DVD? Do you still watch a lot of movies from the 1930s and 1940s?
...Justin
Five years late to the party, but .... my dad was born in 1924 and was an avid moviegoer in the 1930s. Basically, studios would re-release several-years-old films to local theaters for matinee showings on weekends, to catch children of double-digit age, and teens, who may not have been of movie-going age at the time of original release.
As an example, my dad saw the original "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930) in 1935 or 1936 at a local theater matinee; he would have been 6 years old at the time of its original release and would not have gone to the movies then (nor understood it if he did). He always said that movie changed his life, that he decided right then and there that if his country called he would join the Navy but NOT the Army. When WWII broke out, he did.
I am guessing this practice persisted into the 1940s, recycling movies for (younger) matinee audiences.
While Tarzan and His Mate has its pluses (not just the sexy Jane outfit, and the nasty end that the bad guy comes to), I have to give the slight edge to the first one, even though its use of back projection is a bit more annoying. What bothers me about Tarzan and His Mate is that Jane keeps telling everyone how much she loves living in the jungle, but every 15 minutes, she's being chased by a lion or a rhinoceros or a leopard or a crocodile and has to call Tarzan to save her. Some fun. Also, while Martin-my-friend pretty much got what was coming to him, it wasn't clear to me that Harry "The Commish" Holt did. Stealing the ivory over Tarzan's objections wasn't his idea, after all. I also got confused about where they were when the Jujus (1930's slang for "marijuana cigarette," btw) attacked. Not that I'm complaining -- just think how different movie history would have been if, instead of Maureen O'Sullivan, the first woman that Tarzan ever saw had been Una O'Connor.
shareWell, I think that first they had to go through the Gabonies' country to get to the Escarpment. The arrows to the head guys. After they steal the ivory and they are surrounded, Jane refers to them as "The men who eat lions."
I think JuJu was a term for forbidden or "Don't be stupid enough to go there or you will regret it. Right then, you've been warned."
Yeh, I'm not sure he would have fought rhinos, crocs, and lions for Una O'Connor....
Yes, as Tarzan would say, "Jane hot!". Maureen O'Sullivan was very fetching in that skimpy pre-code outfit and I enjoyed the film. Sorta let down that was someone else subbing for Maureen in the nude swim sequence, but that's show-biz. She still looked great years later in "The Tall T" (1957) western with Randolph Scott.
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I always love a good Tarzan movie and this was no exception. This one was a lot sexier than any I remember so that didn't hurt. The story was standard jungle fare and, as usual, Tarzan and the animals save the day.
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