Customer Reviews

Tarzan The Ape Man (1943) [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!"

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.

Weissmuller was the best of the loincloth-clad men of bravery, action and courage. This particular film is a testament to that. The engaging script has Tarzan jumping into action in an emotionally charged performance. This is one of the best Tarzan action and adventure tales. The villains once again meet their match, but its tough going. It contains discriminating effects and exquisite photography unusual from the other films in the series. Weissmuller was always the consummate professional gives one of his better performances here. Good jungle atmosphere created by brilliant set design makes a big difference from the others.

This 1932 film was not the first movie about Tarzan, but it began the franchise that continued with Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan until he was too old to play the part any more, when other actors played Tarzan. Maureen O'Sullivan is Jane here and in several more Tarzan movies until she didn't want to do it any longer. Many people, but of course not everyone, consider Weissmuller the best Tarzan; but, in any event, he had a lot to do with the franchise catching the public's interest. It is therefore interesting that he did not get star billing in the film. He receives "And Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan" at the bottom of the list of main characters. O'Sullivan got only fourth billing, although in later films she received second after Weissmuller. It is interesting to see some of the scenes which are obviously Jane and others standing in front of a movie screen showing natives; she is not really together with them as the film makers want us to believe. Also, Weissmuller looks somewhat different in this early film.

the best tarzan movie maid johnny did a great job.it may get a little corny,but it never gets dull. agreat way to spend a rainy day

When I was a kid you could always depend on seeing a Tarzan movie on TV on a Saturday afternoon. Just because there were basically 3 stations back then (we were so impressed when 2 or 3 more were added...), we watched them all. After seeing them all, I knew to be disappointed if they showed a Tarzan movie without Johnny Weissmuller. My husband was always amazed that after all those years I still remembered all the dialogue. I still have so much fun watching these old movies. For a while you just didn't see them on TV anymore - I was told that people had decided that they were racist - well, that is just silly. Then one weekend in the 90s AMC had a Tarzan marathon - Johnny W. only, of course - and I taped it all. I had 10 tapes full of ALL of those wonderful movies, and I still have a working VCR. Then one weekend I was trying to get rid of much stuff as possible. I had a flood after a pipe broke and just got into cleaning and trying to downsize all of my stuff. After it was too late I realized that I had accidentally thrown out all but four of those tapes. I wanted to either cry or slap myself, one of the two. I still need to watch those tapes and see which movies I still have left - I just haven't had the heart to do it.

SO - I would love to see every Tarzan/Johnny W. movie ever made on DVD. I would buy them all. As most Tarzan fans know, Johnny Weissmuller was an Olympic swimmer and he yodeled as a hobby. Hence the strong lungs that let him to do the only decent Tarzan yell ever. They used that tape for the rest of the movies with the "fake Tarzans" for years. I believe they still used it when they made a Tarzan TV show years ago.

Another bit of trivia I love about these movies is that it was filmed in Florida where I am from. I don't know if they were ever captured for whatever reason, but for years there were monkeys that had escaped during the filming and they lived in the woods around that area in Florida, reproducing.

As a kid I was fascinated by that incredible man who lived in the jungle and was able to commune with and always get help from the animals - the elephants, the apes that raised him; and then when he ended up with a wife and son, and they lived in that incredible treehouse - well, that was it. I was jealous of Boy. I wanted to be Girl. That was my daydream - to have Tarzan and Jane as parents and live in that jungle in that treehouse.

And Jane? I merely tolerated the "Janes" that came when Maureen O'Sullivan stopped doing the movie. She was quoted as saying that she hated doing those movies and that Cheetah bit her on numerous occassions. She was so beautiful, and I think it is so cool that the censors let that first movie slide - the outfits and the nude swim in the river. Oh, what a joy, to see Tarzan and family go for their daily swim.

I have to say that my favorite has to be Tarzan in New York. That was SO cool. To this day there is still debate over whether or not Johnny really did jump off of the Brooklyn Bridge. I steadfastly believe that he did.

If you are an old fan or have never seen Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, I highly recommend it. Definitely start out with the earliest, and as you watch the later ones with a different Jane, I am sure you will do as I always have - simply tolerate her and concentrate on Tarzan and that wonderful world where there are no rules except the rules of survival - and Tarzan always saves the day and takes his family home to that marvelous treehouse high above the jungle.

Thes movies are exciting, interesting, VERY well made, especially for that era - but most of all they are just plain fun.

As for the people who try to call these movies "racist" - when did Tarzan get upset and know that there was going to be trouble? When the "white men" came.

This 1932 effort is surprisingly very entertaining and even a little racy when seen today. The photography is excellent and the elements in the story are imaginitive. Maureen O'Sullavan is a darling Irish colleen in this early (for her) picture and no one could equal Weissmuller's Tarzan yell. Neil Hamilton was such an inept ham actor (his ridiculous style was finally parodied to good use in the BATMAN TV series!) A sequel, made in 1934 entitled TARZAN AND HIS MATE is a lyric film which expresses the beauty and danger of the jungle; it's a romance of the highest order(!) Johnny eventually lost his awkwardness as an actor (a remarkable feat for an Olympic swimming champion) and his portrayal of THE classic Edgar Rice Burroughs character remains the most esteemed of all the many actors who attempted the role over the years.

tarzan met a girl and he protect,thke care and he even or almost give all the best he just to prove to the girl that he really is a good man.after which tarzan and his friends went to the mountain and there they find fooods to be taken for that night.tarzan at that time discover that he is the idol of all tha animals.

This movie was a great movie. The people thatsaid that it ws bad must have been looking at a differant movie. Some of the scenes were superinposed but the jungle shots were good.Jane adds some beauty to the movie.View it again and watch it.