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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tarzan's Memorable Visit To The "Stone Jungle",
By Simon Davis (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tarzan's New York Adventure [VHS] (VHS Tape)
With a title like "Tarzan's New York Adventure", how could you possibly resist this film? It being the last of the lavish MGM cycle of Tarzan movies stretching right back to 1932 you would think that by 1942 this would be a tired entry in the series. On the contrary it is in my belief one of the most entertaining of the series and while far removed from the original classic characters and settings created by Edgar Rice Burroughs for his acclaimed novel, it has much to commend it. Marking Maureen O'Sullivan's last appearance as Jane and MGM's last effort before the series moved over to RKO with Johnny Weissmuller in toe it has a certain historical value as well for those people who are interested in the evolution of the Tarzan character on screen.By 1942 with 5 highly successful entries already released the ideas and originality of the series was getting strained. Maureen O' Sullivan, a very beautiful and talented actress was eager to move on from the role and in an effort to appease her MGM came up with a highly original storyline which saw Tarzan and Jane travelling to New York to find Boy who has been kidnapped from their jungle home. This storyline enabled the studio to allow Maureen O'Sullivan to get into some contemporary fashions while in the earlier part of the story still allowing Tarzan fans a sizable amount of jungle excitement with spectacular scenery, hostile natives and rampaging wild animals. The story begins with Tarzan, Jane and Boy enjoying the tranquility of their jungle paradise when they encounter a group of trappers who have landed in the jungle to capture wild animals for their travelling circus back in the United States. As distrustful as always of the motivations of men coming to his jungle Tarzan confronts them and insists that they leave. In the fight that develops when they dont leave as planned both Tarzan and Jane are knocked unconsious and left for dead. Having witnessed Boy's amazing rapport with the native animals Buck Rand the circus owner (Charles Bickford ) decides to abduct Boy when they fly home and keep him to perform in the acts at his circus. Roused by a distressed Cheeta (who steals every hilarious scene she is in in this film) Tarzan and Jane make a desparate journey via airplane to New York to hunt the kidnappers down. The transition for Tarzan adjusting to life in the "Stone Jungle" and having Cheeta along provides the great comic relief in this story as firstly the couple book into a hotel where Tarzan comes into contact with all the modern appliances such as radios and proper showers. Cheeta also runs amuk and causes all sorts of trouble in the refined hotel setting. With the aid of night club singer Connie Beach (Virginia Grey) who is the girlfriend of the pilot of the expedition Jimmie Sheilds, Tarzan and Jane manage to track down Boy to the circus where a battle for custody of their son begins. In the court case that follows Tarzan has a hard time trusting modern man's justice and when it is discovered that Boy is not the couple's natural son, and when Tarzan is accused of all kinds of breaches of the law he breaks free to find Boy himself. A lengthy pursuit across the top of some of New York's skyscrapers follows and then a spectacular dive by Tarzan off the Brooklyn Bridge before proper justice is done and he and Jane are happily reunited with Boy and set out for home. Without a doubt one of the most popular and indeed amusing entries in the MGM series "Tarzan's New York Adventure", boasts top production values, sturdy fast paced direction by MGM veteran Richard Thorpe, and as was the case with these films an excellent suporting cast. By this stage in the series Johnny Weissmuller had more dialogue and a bit more character to work with than he had in the earliest films and his work with regular co star Maureen O'Sullivan is well crafted and quite touching at times. Although his later Tarzan films at RKO would be in the "B" class, Weissmuller would always be regarded as the definitive Tarzan for generations to come and still comes to viewers minds automatically if the character is mentioned. Ably supported by popular child actor Johnny Sheffield as Boy, Charles Bickford as the villian of the piece, beautiful Virginia Grey , and especially veteran character actor Chill Wills as Boy's sympathetic mentor at the circus, this film has an abundance of talent that really bolstered the story. The always welcome presence of the Cheeta in this story makes for some hilarious sequences in particular when she raids the cosmetics supply at the hotel and goes on a drunken rampage. Production values are of the highest order expected of MGM with their famous jungle set on the backlot being put to good use in the earlier scenes to be replaced in the second half by wonderful on location work around some of New York's most famous sights. As an enjoyable Tarzan romp "Tarzan's New York Adventure" really is great entertainment. While a long way from it's original source this film needs to be viewed on it's own merit and by it's place in the order of Tarzan movies. Certainly you are seeing the best any studio could provide in the way of a jungle movie and the storyline while on the incredible side is of great interest in seeing the "fish out of water" manner in which the king of the jungle handles things in his own unique way. Enjoy Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O' Sullivan, the movies classic Tarzan and Jane in their last appearance together in MGM's enjoyable "Tarzan's New York Adventure".
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Waaaay better than you might think,
This review is from: Tarzan's New York Adventure [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I watched this movie by accident at a friends house and was turned on to the Weissmuller Tarzan films right away. Watching the films uncut makes all the difference,there's so much thats gets snipped out when Tarzan movies are shown on the Late night movie. There's actually social commentary and some pretty funny bits that you might miss on tv. Basically some bad dudes kidnap Boy and take him back to New York to exhibit in a sideshow! Jane and Tarzan follow. Seeing Tarz adjust to civilization is a scream, especially the scene where he is trying on his first suit. Maureen O'Sullivan is an Ultra-Babe as usual.And the chemistry exhibited between the two stars is really amazing when you consider that Tarzan has about a 12 word vocabulary. But the best parts of the film are when Tarzan performs various skyscraper acrobatics in pursuit of the bad guys. It's just cool. Give the whole Tarzan series ala' Weissmuller and O'Sullivan a chance. You'll be surprised at how good they are
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Swing Shift,
By
This review is from: Tarzan's New York Adventure [VHS] (VHS Tape)
MGM's last `Tarzan' adventure was one of its best. This film shifts the setting from the African jungle to the concrete jungle and it really swings. We finally get to see Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan outfitted in more stylish attire befitting the great city. This film is a good combination of plot and action as it boasts a great courtroom scene and skyscraper chase. This was a great crowd pleaser on its release and it still is today.
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