Tarzan’s Fight for Life

Tarzan's Fight for Life

1958

Tarzan’s Fight for Life

  • Tarzan: Gordon Scott
  • Jane: Eve Brent
  • Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
  • Producer: Sol Lesser
  • Release Date: July, 1958
  • Run Time: 86 min
  • Language: English
  • Information: Tarzan’s Fight for Life was the second Tarzan movie released in color, and the last movie to portray him speaking broken English until Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1981.

Plot

Jungle medics Dr. Sturdy (Carl Benton Reid) and his daughter Anne (Jil Jarmyn) are opposed by witch doctor Futa (James Edwards) of the Nagasu tribe, who regards their work as a threat to his own livelihood. Futa incites the tribe to waylay Anne’s fiance Dr. Ken Warwick (Harry Lauter), who is saved by Tarzan (Gordon Scott). Later Tarzan and his adopted son Tartu (Rickie Sorensen) enlist the doctors’ services on behalf of Jane (Eve Brent), suffering from appendicitis. Futa hypnotises Moto (Nick Stewart), a native assistant of Sturdy, to murder Jane, but Tarzan thwarts the plot. Learning that the young Nagasu chief (Roy Glenn) is sick, Tarzan attempts to persuade them to let Sturdy treat them. Seizing his chance, Futa has the ape man taken captive and condemned to death. To restore his own credentials, the witch doctor then undertakes to cure the chief himself, hedging his bets by having his henchman Ramo (Woody Strode) steal medicine from Sturdy. Unfortunately, Ramo purloins a poison by mistake. Freeing himself, Tarzan intervenes and prevents the administration of the poison to the chief; Futa then swallows it himself to demonstrate that there is no harm in it — and dies. Dr. Sturdy is consequently called in, successfully curing the chief.

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Tarzan and the Lost Safari

Tarzan and the Lost Safari

1957

Tarzan and the Lost Safari

  • Tarzan: Gordon Scott
  • Diana penrod: Betta St. John
  • Director: Bruce Humberstone
  • Producer: John Croydon
  • Release Date: April 12, 1957
  • Run Time: 86 min
  • Information: Tarzan and the Lost Safari was the first Tarzan movie released in color.

Plot

An airplane crashes in the jungle, stranding passengers Gamage Dean (Yolande Donlan), Diana Penrod (Betta St. John), “Doodles” Fletcher (Wilfrid Hyde-White), Carl Kraski (George Coulouris), and Dick Penrod (Peter Arne). Before the plane slides into a gorge the group is rescued by Tarzan (Gordon Scott), who undertakes to lead them back to civilization. Diana is kidnapped by warriors from Opar under chief Chief Ogonooro (Orlando Martins). The Oparians desire the strangers as sacrifices for their lion god. She is recovered by Tarzan and hunter Tusker Hawkins (Robert Beatty), whose advances Diana rebuffs. Secretely, however, Hawkins is in league with the Oparians, and plans to sell the castaways to the natives for a fortune in ivory. Tarzan, rightly suspecting Hawkins’ untrustworthiness, exposes his treachery. Now openly in league with the natives, the hunter helps them take the white party captive in Tarzan’s absence. The ape man returns to save them before the sacrifice can take place, aided by his chimpanzee ally Cheeta, who sets fire to the native village. He then leads them to the safety of a nearby settlement. Hawkins meets his fate at the hands of the Oparians, to whom Tarzan has signalled his double-dealing by a creative use of jungle drums.

The film contains more echoes of the original Burroughs novels than usual in a Tarzan movie, including the ape man’s allusions to his origin (which follows Burroughs’ version), and the use of Opar, though reducing the romantic lost city described by Burroughs to a generic native village. Tarzan, while retaining the customary film characterization of an inarticulate simpleton, displays considerable shrewdness and resource, foreshadowing the restoration of Burroughs’ original concept of an intelligent, omnicompetent ape man in later movies.

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Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle

Tarzan's Hidden Jungle

1955

Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle

  • Tarzan: Gordon Scott
  • Jill hardy: Vera Miles
  • Director: Harold D. Schuster
  • Producer: Sol Lesser
  • Release Date: 1955
  • Run Time: 73 min
  • Language: English

Plot

Two men come into the jungle intent on wholesale slaughter of animals to get barrels of animal fat, lion skins and tusks. Tarzan tries to help a baby elephant, one of their first victims. He takes the elephant to an animal doctor and his female assistant who have pitched their tents in the jungle to do business. The hunters turn up and pretend they are photographers and have the doctor escort them to where the animals are. They leave the doctor and start killing animals. His assistant finds out they are evil and goes after them but needs Tarzan’s help when she stumbles into quicksand. He rescues her, and she says she needs a bath so Tarzan throws her into the river.

They reach a tribe who worship animals and who are Tarzan’s friends. However, the tribe hear that animals are being slaughtered and decide to kill the doctor and his assistant as he led them there. Tarzan goes after the villains and they end up getting their just deserts. He arrives back in time to save the doc and his assistant from the lions in the pit they have been thrown into.

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Tarzan and the She-Devil

Tarzan and the She-Devil

1953

Tarzan and the She-Devil

  • Tarzan: Lex Barker
  • Jane: Joyce Mackenzie
  • Vargo: Raymond Burr
  • Director: Kurt Neumann
  • Release Date: 1953
  • Run Time: 75 min
  • Language: English

Plot

Poachers enslave the men of the Lykopo tribe in order to force them to capture bull elephants for their ivory. Lyra, the employer of the poachers tries to have Jane kidnapped but her men fail and burn down Tarzan and Jane’s tree house. Tarzan believes Jane died in the fire and becomes despondent. Lyra has her men capture Tarzan in an attempt to force him to help them herd the elephants. Jane was able to escape the fire and is captured while searching for Tarzan. Once Tarzan sees Jane is alive and well, he is relieved but now he must figure a way to save them both.

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Tarzan’s Savage Fury

Tarzan's Savage Fury

1952

Tarzan’s Savage Fury

  • Tarzan: Lex Barker
  • Jane: Dorothy Hart
  • Director: Cy Endfield
  • Release Date: March 14, 1952
  • Run Time: 81 min
  • Language: English

Plot

After killing Tarzan’s real cousin, Rokov devises a plan to use the diary of Lord Greystoke, Tarzan’s father, to convince Tarzan that Edward, Rokov’s partner is Tarzan’s cousin. Rokov and Tarzan’s cousin, Edward, convince Tarzan that they need to find diamonds that are in Waziri country for national security. Once they get there, Rokov ambushes Tarzan and kills Edwards and the Waziri Witch Doctor and steels the diamonds. The Waziri tribe are very upset and plan to take revenge of the death of the Witch Doctor by sacrificing Jane. Joey, a boy Jane and Tarzan rescued and decided to adopt runs into the jungle in search of the wounded Tarzan in an attempt get Tarzan to save Jane but Joey must face his biggest fears in the jungle.

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Tarzan’s Peril

Tarzan's Peril

1951

Tarzan’s Peril

  • Tarzan: Lex Barker
  • Jane: Virginia Houston
  • Radijeck: George Macready
  • Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba: Dorothy Dandridge
  • Director: Byron Haskin
  • Producer: Sol Lesser
  • Release Date: 1951
  • Language: English

Plot

Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba tribe has turned down the marriage proposal from Bulam, King of the Yorango tribe. He is very upset and plans to get vengeance on the peaceful Ashuba tribe by getting guns so he can attack the new Queen and her citizens. Radijeck, a prison escapee is quick to negotiate a deal with Bulam. Tarzan was responsible for putting Radijek in prison once. Bulam uses the guns to capture and imprison Melmendi. Somehow, Tarzan must protect Jane from Radijeck and rescue the Queen.

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Tarzan and the Slave Girl

Tarzan and the Slave Girl

1950

Tarzan and the Slave Girl

  • Tarzan: Lex Barker
  • Jane: Vanessa Brown
  • Director: Lee Sholem
  • Release Date: 1950
  • Run Time: 74 min
  • Language: English

Plot

While searching desperately for the kidnapped native girls, Tarzan discovers that the people of Lyolia are dying from a plague. He brings the doctor from Randini to help try to cure the sick people. The Loyolians decide to kidnap both Jane and the nurse, Lola, and use them to repopulate their city. In an attempt to escape, Jane and Lola end up trapped in a tomb that Sengo, the head kidnapper, has sealed. In the meantime the Prince of Lyolia has his high priest imprisoned because he has been unable to cure his son. Tarzan and the Doctor lose the medicine in the jungle. Tarzan finds out that Jane and Lola are in a sealed tomb and he must find them before their air is used up.

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Tarzan’s Magic Fountain

Tarzan's Magic Fountain

1949

Tarzan’s Magic Fountain

  • Tarzan: Lex Barker
  • Jane: Brenda Joyce
  • Director: Lee Sholem
  • Release Date: 1949
  • Run Time: 73 min
  • Language: English

Plot

Ankers portrays an aviatrix who walks out of the jungle looking decades younger than her chronological age due to a secret fountain of youth but gradually begins a terrifying accelerated aging process. Against Tarzan’s wishes, she and Jane begin a desperate search for the fountain.

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Tarzan and the Mermaids

Tarzan and the Mermaids

1948

Tarzan and the Mermaids

  • Tarzan: Johnny Weissmuller
  • Jane: Brenda Joyce
  • Director: Robert Florey
  • Producer: Sol Lesser
  • Release Date: March 1948
  • Run Time: 68 min
  • Language: English
  • Information: Tarzan and the Mermaids was Weissmuller’s last appearance as Tarzan.

Plot

Varga (Fernando Wagner), a villainous white pearl thief posing as the god Balu has chooses a lovely young native girl, Mara (Linda Christian) to be his bride. She escapes the island of Aquatania and meets Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Brenda Joyce) who agree to help her and she gives Jane a rare black pearl. She is recaptured, however, and taken back to the island. Tarzan goes to her rescue. Tiko (Gustavo Rojo) to whom Mara is betrothed meets Jane. Benji (John Laurenz), the singing mailman takes Jane’s pearl to the region’s commissioner, who decides to visit the island, picking up Jane and Tiko along the way. They are captured and Varga’s henchman, Palanth (George Zucco), in his role as high priest, is about to sentence them to death when Tarzan, disguised as Balu, arrives to have them released. Tiko and Mara are about to be married when the real Balu appears and all the outsiders are ordered to be thrown to their deaths into the sea. Tarzan unmasks the false god and the two villains meet the fate they had tried to impose upon the others.

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Tarzan and the Huntress

Tarzan and the Huntress

1947

Tarzan and the Huntress

  • Tarzan: Johnny Weissmuller
  • Jane: Brenda Joyce
  • Boy: Johnny Sheffield
  • Director: Kurt Neumann
  • Producer: Sol Lesser
  • Release Date: April 5, 1947
  • Run Time: 72 min
  • Language: English

Plot

Due to a shortage of animals in American zoos following World War II, Tanya Rawlins, a big-game “huntress,” Carl Marley, her financial backer and Paul Weir, a cruel trail boss, are given permission by King Farrod, to capture a male and female of each species of animal on his land.

In a subplot, Oziri, nephew to King Farrod, colludes with Weir to allow him to trap more animals than bargained for. He also has Weir’s men kill King Farrod and his son, Prince Suli, in order for him to take over the throne. Farrod is shot in the back and killed, and Suli is thrown into a pit full of crocodiles, but, unknown to all watching, he lands on a hidden ledge and is knocked unconscious.

Boy trades two lion cubs to the trappers for a flashlight. When Tarzan finds out, he returns the flashlight, retrieves the cubs, and calls all the animals from King Farrod’s land across the river to his part of the jungle. When the hunters begin trapping on his side of the river, Tarzan and Boy sneak into their camp at night, take their guns and hide them in a cave behind a waterfall. They then begin to systematically release all the trapped animals from their cages.

Cheeta inadvertently reveals the location of the cache of weapons to Rawlins and her safari.

Prince Suli is able to make his way through the jungle, and is found by Tarzan. Tarzan, Boy and a herd of elephants defeat both the usurping nephew and the huntress, but the latter escapes onboard a plane.

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