Customer Reviews

Tarzan The Tiger

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

 

 

Despite what you might have been inclined to believe, the first time movie goers heard the sound of Tarzan's call was not in a Johnny Weismuller film, but in the 1929 production "Tarzan the Tiger," starring Frank Merrill as the Ape Man. This film was released in both a silent and a sound version, with the sound consisting of a musical score, sound effects, and a few lip-synched lines, all played on a record. Thus it was that for the first time Tarzan uttered his famous yell. Okay, this is not the famous yell, but it is the first one.

Despite the title and the oxymoronic idea of tigers in Africa, this serial is actually based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel "Tarzan and the Jewel of Opar" and is fairly faithful to both the plot and ERB's depiction of Tarzan as an educated man. The plot has Tarzan's estate being destroyed by the Arabs of Mohammed Bey (Paul Panzer) and Jane (Natalie Kingston) is sold into slavery by a bad guy (Al Ferguson) pretending to a scientist. Unfortunately Tarzan takes a blow to the head and develops amnesia, which makes him forget all about Jane when he meets La, Queen of Opar (Kithnou). That is until Jane goes swimming in what is the most memorable scene in this serial. The cliffhangers come fast and furious but if you take into account what year this was made they are more enjoyable.

This was Merrill's second appearance as Tarzan after 1928's "Tarzan the Mighty," which was an adaptation of "The Jungle Tales of Tarzan." There were plans for a third film based on "Tarzan the Terrible," but the studio did not think Merrill's voice was going to work when when talkies got going big time. This version of Tarzan is closer to the Elmo Lincoln style in the 1918 "Tarzan of the Apes," which means lots of lion skins instead of loincloth look that would be in vogue at the end of the pre-code period. Merrill also has the same muscular build as Lincoln, which would also be replaced by the Olympic swimmer ideal. "Tarzan the Tiger" is more of a historical oddity than anything else, but given all the really bad Tarzan movies out there, this one at least has its head above water.

Tarzan the Tiger remains remarkably faithful to the original Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Extremely well done and obviously made for more adult tastes than modern tarzan epics.

One of the best tarzans on film.

it is a movie i have seen when i was a child My dad has always been very enthousiasted about thiese types of action.

Surprisingly good. Better than average music for early talkies. The story is good, however some of the cliffhangers are goofy. The star, Frank Merrill has one of the best physiques and worst toupees of any Tarzan. The female lead, "Lady Jane" played by what has to be the hottest babe Rotwang ever saw in a silent film, Natalie Kingston. It includes a nude swimming scene with Ms. Kingston. The story is fast paced with more depth than any serial Rotwang's ever seen and Rotwang's seen all the famous ones. Production values are surprisingly good. La, the Queen of Opar is appropirately kinky looking. Nizze trailer on the queen.

The camera work also gets very fancy with all kinds of tracking shots.

The one big down side is that in an attempt to look furious, Tarzan looks more like he pouting.

Rotwang says, "Check "er Out"!

The Alpha video release of this serial, Tarzan the Tiger, is a bad transfer from VHS. You can see the flutters, especially if the camera moves. In addition, Alph has put their logo up in the corners of the title cards which is distracting and annoying, especially since anyone wanting to dupe this film has multiple better choices for source material. They ripped it off from someone else, but don't want anyone ripping it off from them, I guess.

I normally don't watch silent films, but this one was not bad. It is good for those looking for films to see where we have come from and this film even has a little nude swimming. I like the raw films of the jungle and this one is not raw enough for me, but it was fun to watch.


J.R. Bolton

Enjoyable old Tarzan, silent film. The run time is 266 minutes, not 90. The chapter headings are:
1. CALL OF THE JUNGLE
2. THE ROAD TO OPAR
3. THE ALTAR OF THE FLAMING GOD
4. THE VENGEANCE OF LA !
5. CONDEMNED TO DEATH
6. TANTOR THE TERROR
7. IN DEADLY PERIL
8. THE LOOP OF DEATH
9. THE PLIGHT OF WERPER
10. PRISONER OF THE APES
11. THE JAWS OF DEATH
12. THE JEWELS OF OPAR
13. A HUMAN SACRIFICE
14. TARZAN'S RACE
15. TARZAN'S TRIUMPH !

This dvd was so much fun to watch. I wished that "Greystoke" UK Director Hugh Hudson would of looked for a man built like Gordon Scot or Frank Mirrel of this semi-silent seriel/dvd. As he missed the boat regarding BRB's Tarzan's body type.

this is a better movie than Greystoke & based on ERB's Tarzan & the Jewels of Opar. I only hope that whoever directs a new TARZAN film that they read the original books. Now that's Tarzan & the actor should be a gymnast who lifts weights like Gordon Scot & Frank Mirrel.
Get this dvd it's fun.

This is such an enjoyable film serial! I can't wait until the DVD of these Tarzan movies come out. I am a fan of the Weissmuler Tarzans but this silent adventure starring Frank Merril is very entertaining. Natalie Kingston is the sexiest Jane next to Maureen O'Sullivan!! Check out the skinny dipping scene.WHOA!! It made me a fan of her aside from the Tarzan movies!! Truly the best of the silent Tarzans I hope they release Tarzan the Mighty real soon. Check it out.

VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "Tarzan the Tiger" (1929) (Dolby digitally remastered) (silent with musical score and sound effects), an adventure story with 15 Chapters from the story "Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar" by Edgar Rice Burroughs...featuring the savage jungle and all who dare to discover the wilds of Africa...will the civilized Lord Greystoke known as Tarzan of the Apes been summoned back to the jungle...have the Arab slavers captured Lady Jane Greystoke with the help of Al Ferguson to be sold on the auction block to the highest bidder...does the Queen of Opar have a thing for Tarzan and will she take advantage of the situation since Tarzan has lost his memory with amnesia after a blow to the head during the early episodes of this 15 exciting chapter adventure...impressive fight between Tarzan and the local jungle ape who has the idea he is king around there...will our hero of the jungle recover his memory, defeat Al Ferguson, the Arab army, Queen of Opar and rescue Jane and give that famous yell we all love to hear.....don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "Tarzan's Triumph"....just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss a single spine thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter.

Under director Henry MacRae, producer Carl Laemmle, novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, titles by Ford Beebe, continuity by Ian McCloskey Heath, supervised by William Lord Wright, musical score by Sam Perry, Heinz Roemheld, Cecil Arnold and Guy Bevier...the cast includes Frank Merrill (Tarzan/Lord Greystoke), Natalie Kingston (Jane/Lady Jane), Mademoiselle Kithnou (Queen La of Opar), Al Ferguson (Albert Werper), Paul Panzer (Mohammed Bey), Sheldon Lewis (Achmet Zek)....special footnote, for some time this film was lost but discovered with soundtrack of music, background and jungle sounds and for the very first time we heard the Tarzan yell (Nee-Yah)...entire film is silent but for sound effects and the Tarzan yell...it was Frank Merrill who came up with all the vine swinging that was used from then on in all the Tarzan films........meanwhile back to our Universal Serial which is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Call of the Jungle
2. The Road to Opar
3. Altar of the Flaming God
4. The Vengeance of La
5. Condemned to Death
6. Tantor the Terror
7. In Deadly Peril
8. The Loop of Death
9. The Flight of Werper
10.Prisoner of the Apes
11.The jaws of Death
12.The Jewels of Opar
13.A Human Sacrifice
14.Tarzan's Rage
15.Tarzan's Triumph

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
4. Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
5. The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
6. Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
7. Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
8. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
9. Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
10.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)
11.Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
12.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
13.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
14.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above...check out another release from VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "Jungle Queen" (1945) (Dolby digitally remastered), with 13 Chapters of jungle vintage serial episodes loaded with action sequences...story line has a mysterious girl Lotel, the Jungle Queen who arrives in the nick of time for the tribes to rescue them...are Nazi agents behind stirring up the local tribes in Africa to fight against our British allies...who is really behind all of the plots, Lang (Douglass Dumbrille) and Dr. Elise Bork (Tala Birell) seem to have everything under control as our key villains posing as dutiful scientists, or do they...can Bob Elliott (Edward Norris) and Chuck Kelly (Eddie Quillan) be of assistance before the final chapter "The Secret of the Sword" can be discovered...what part does Pam Courtney (Lois Collier), niece of the explorer Alan Courtney (Boyd Irwin) play in this intriguing tale....what strange power does the Sword have over the tribes and why is it so important...will the Jungle Queen once more walk through the sheets of flames as before and have the answers.....get out there as they're going fast, this is the one you've been waiting for.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Tarzan the Tiger" (1929), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s, '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 266 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1780~ (11/01/2000)