Product Details

• Actors: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Doris Lloyd, Forrester Harvey
• Directors: W.S. Van Dyke
• Writers: Cyril Hume, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ivor Novello
• Producers: Bernard H. Hyman, Irving Thalberg
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: September 22, 1999
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301976398
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,134 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Me beefcake. You bossy." That kind of sums up the dynamics of 1932's Tarzan, the Ape Man, which stars an incredibly hulking Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan and Maureen O'Sullivan as the gorgeous accidental feminist who finds true love with you-know-who in the jungle. Some of the footage in the first Tarzan talkie is comically dated--scenes of the British adventurers seem superimposed over stock footage of tribesmen and African vistas. But the action is swift and often unexpectedly hiply humorous. When Jane spots Tarzan watching her undress to bathe in the river, she says, "I wish you'd knock before you'd enter my boudoir." And it's hysterical how she wraps every man in the film around her finger. A romantic's trip through 20th-century popular culture would be incomplete without first-hand viewing of Tarzan capturing Jane, then swinging from tree to tree. The smoldering looks the man raised by apes exchanges with the cultured Brit? Animal attraction defined. --Valerie J. Nelson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Johnny Weismuller, the Best Tarzan!, June 24, 2000

By 

Southern Gal "Love My Kindle" (MS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarzan The Ape Man (1943) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The roar of lions. The trumpet of elephants. The grunting of the huge men in monkey suits. Best of all the sound of a 1932 Hollywood sound track of Tarzan's yell! I must add that Johnny Weismuller as Tarzan doesn't hurt the film at all! I found the movie fascinating. Maureen O'Sullivan plays a strong Jane, a woman who is years before her time. A woman at the end of the movie stands by her man. Comparing it to todays movies with millions of dollars price tag, and with huge special effects, this 1932 movie was really refreshing. This movie shows us how Tarzan and Jane first met (with a small mention of ivory hunter, and lethal pygmies!). Even though not one kiss is shown (horrors! ) you finish the movie thinking "how did the sexual inuendos get past the early censors?" Yes, you can tell that the Tarzan wrestling one lion suddenly gained about 30 pounds and is wearing a horrible wig. You can tell that the stampede of the zebra is on a background film. However,you may find yourself(being a romantic wont hurt)rewinding the film to watch it again! This movie is refreshing when you consider todays movies with all the overt violence, sexual scenes, and obsenities (it doesn't hurt when the leading man can only say "Tarzan...Jane"). I recommend it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic! Let's hope for a DVD soon!, July 21, 2002

By 

Monty Moonlight (TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Tarzan The Ape Man (1943) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Olympic Swimming Champion Johnny Weissmuller portrays probably the most "classic" Tarzan to date, in this wonderful 1932 film that, despite its age, is incredibly entertaining even now! The lovely and modern Jane Parker has come to Africa to spend time with her father, James Parker, a trader who is preoccupied with the idea of finding a legendary elephant graveyard and the ivory riches it would hold. Along with James' partner, Harry, who has his heart set on winning Jane, the father and daughter embark on an expedition into the African Jungle to search for the sacred place. Within the jungle, they encounter natives that give them the impression that they are on the right track. However, they also encounter something rather strange, a wild man raised by chimpanzees! The wild man immediately kidnaps the lovely Jane, and in time they grow quite attached to each other. Tarzan is completely fascinated with this female that looks so much better than an ape-girl, and Jane is in complete bliss to have found a hunky brute who is obsessed with her and understands nothing she says. But their romance is interrupted when Jane, Harry, and her father are taken prisoner by Pygmies, and it's up to Tarzan to save them, with a little help from his best friend Cheetah, the chimp. Tarzan, the Ape Man is full of classic adventure, danger, humor, and fun, like only a 1930's classic can provide. The film gets a bit violent and racy for its era, and there are definitely some surprising moments. It's amusing to see how, in some scenes, the actors pretend to interact with natives that are really just stock footage running on a screen behind them. It's also fascinating to see dwarfs in black make-up, pretending to be pygmies, and live-elephants with fake ears to make them appear African. There are several funny things to point out in this movie. I watched this the other night on cable with my dad, who saw the film in the theater in his youth, and was amused to hear him say several times, somewhat embarrassed, "They fooled us all with that when we were kids!"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best, March 14, 2000

By 

"rusty4" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarzan The Ape Man (1943) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I watched this film when I was a kid, I was born in 1950, and I loved it then. It has not lost any of it's charm over the years. Is it corny? I don't think so, go watch the one with Bo in it. Johnny and Maureen do an excellent job, he may be a jungle man but is still a gentleman, and who could not help but to fall in love with Jane. This is a excellent movie concidering when it was made.