Customer Reviews

Tarzan's Secret Treasure [VHS]

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

 

 

This may not be one of the best of the Tarzan films as far as good film making goes, but it is definatley one of the most action packed. Lots of impressivley staged chases with lions and rhinos and a very athletic Boy make for an action packed hour and a half. Gotta love that stock footage of Africa!! Can someone please tell me what kind of bird that 'chicken' looking thing was? Was that a real bird or was it some kind of elaborate puppet? Simply amazing!! I've never seen anything like that in my life!! I find the three movies with Boy to be the most action and fun for repeated viewings and Tarzan and His Mate to be the best overall film. I just wish I could get Tarzan and the Leopard Women and Tarzan's Desert Mystery on VHS.

This is one of the very best of the Tarzan entries. MGM built an entire river and jungle covering eighty acres for this one and the underwater sequences shot in Florida are some of the best in this very popular series starring athletic Johnny Weissmuller as Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle hero and pretty Maureen O'Sullivan as his mate, Jane.

Everything about this one is top-notch. Cedric Gibbons was in charge of art direction and the screenplay from Myles Connolly and Paul Gangelin is excellent, offering plenty of drama and humor, and a bit of jungle romance. A superb cast of screen veterans, including Tom Conway, Reginald Owen, Philip Dorn, and Barry Fitzgerald, add excitement and adventure to the very successful Tarzan franchise.

Boy (Johnny Sheffield) discovers gold while on a morning swim with Tarzan and Jane and, intrigued by Jane's descriptions of all he could buy in civilization with it, sneaks out that night to get a peek at it. He befriends a young native boy (Cordell Hickman) from a dangerous tribe and must be saved from them by first an expedition seeking a more obscure tribe, then Tarzan who must come to their aid.

Heading back to Tarzan's home, Boy lets the cat out of the bag about the gold, and greed sets in for two members of the expedition, Medford (Tom Conway), and Vandemeer (Philip Dorn). Professor Elliot (Reginald Owen), the expedition leader, respects Tarzan's wish to forget about the gold, but when the plague strikes both he and Boy, Jane and Boy will be the leverage Medford and Vandemeer need to make Tarzan show them an entire mountain of gold.

Thinking Tarzan dead, a dangerous exit from the jungle by river ensues, and only Tarzan and his many jungle friends can help save them from a tribe so dangerous their drums strike fear in other tribes. There is a very exciting and action filled finale to this one. And the ending is quite a lot of fun, as it appears Tarzan has made a new friend also, in the very Irish expedition member, O'Doul (Barry Fitzgerald).

While it begins in an easygoing manner, there is lots of fun and drama in one of the most atmospheric entries in this fine series. And a romantic moonlight swim offers some nice moments between Weissmuller and O'Sullivan. An excellent adventure film on its own, and a very special installment in one of the most popular series in film history.

The 1941 film "Tarzan's Secret Treasure" is the fifth of the twelve Tarzan movies featuring former Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller as the Ape Man. Weissmuller might not have been the definitive Tarzan, especially for anyone who read the original novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, but he certainly ended up being the most memorable. In "Tarzan's Secret Treasure," Boy (Johnny Sheffield) finds gold at the bottom of the local river and when Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) explains what it is and what it can buy in the more civilized parts of the world, Boy takes off to take advantage of his windfall. Of course, before Boy can find trouble, trouble finds him, in the form of Professor Elliott (Reginald Owen) and O'Doul (Barry Fitzgerald), a group of researchers eager to study the son of Tarzan, who happen to have a couple of villain in their midst in the form of Medford (Tom Conway) and Vandermeer (Philip Dorn). Eventually native and elephants become involved in the narrative as well.

The death of Irving Thalberg affected this film as budget cuts forced the use of stock shots taken from earlier movies in the series (e.g., the recycled Tarzan fights the crocodile scene). Add to that the predictable plotline and you would think that would be enough to make this a below average Tarzan movie. But it actually scores above average because of the pacing, the solid supporting cast (Fitzgerald calls the Ape Man "Mr. Tarzan"), and the fact that Sullivan still looks like the queen of the jungle. The idea of Boy wanting to make it to the big city was revitalized the following year for one of the best of these films, "Tarzan's New York Adventure." If you are currently watching the new "Tarzan" series on the WB, then that is one you will want to track down to see what it was like the first time Tarzan prowled a big modern city.

This admirable film is a testament to Tarzan the King of the swinging rescue. Interesting script has Tarzan "swinging" into action in usual fashion. This is a good action and adventure tale. It contains discriminating effects and beautiful photography, but is marred by sped up film. Johnny Weissmuller was the best of the loincloth-clad heroes. Weissmuller was always the ultimate master of swing. The villains once again meet their match in this tense drama of capture and escape. Another favorite of mine.

"Tarzan's Secret Treasure" directed by Richard Thorpe injects more humor than menace in this tale of a band of gold seekers who invade Tarzan's jungle domain. The interlopers kidnap Jane and Boy as bait for Tarzan, but instead they all fall captive to the local natives. In usual jungle fashion Tarzan saves the day. This is one of the less memorable Tarzan adventures from MGM.

Another fun romp with Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), and Boy (Johnny Sheffield), Tarzan's Secret Treasure repeats many of the same things from previous films. While out swimming one day, Boy finds some gold nuggets at the bottom of the lake. Jane points out to him that they would be worth a lot to the outside world, and that the family has many riches easily available to them that would be the envy of civilization. Boy is fascinated, and although he is warned he would not like it, he runs away in hopes of finding civilization and buying an airplane with his gold nuggets. On the way, he stumbles upon a sick tribe and some scientists. Through them, he gets into a lot of trouble as the scientists ruthlessly attempt to find the gold.

There are many things about this film which seem a bit tired if one watches all of the Tarzan films in a row. Once again, the studio uses stock footage from a previous film, especially in the action scenes. It is quite noticable because of the advancements in film technology and in the change in appearance of the actors. Still, the interactions between the characters make these lapses in quality bearable. This is a rather fun film.

IN A NUTSHELL: MORE OF THE SAME -- BUT REALLY EXCITING MORE OF THE SAME!

The tarzan formula with Johnny Weissmuller is a great one and although this edition [Tarzan's Secret Treasure] is not up to the usual standard seen in 'Tarzan The Ape Man' and 'Tarzan And His Mate' it is still a hoot to see as MGM once again did an incredible job with the visual aspect of the film courtesy of Cedric Gibbons, the Art Director and winner of about 15 Academy Awards.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT: A LOVELY REHASH OF SORTS OR FORMULA FILM

I guess they figured at MGM that what works more than once is certainly worth repeating as long as it looks, sounds and feels right. Well, like most of the series, 'Tarzan's Secret Treasure' does all of the above. If it comes up short it is in the way of story and plot. Oh, there is nothing really wrong with either, but it is too much like earlier editions of the Tarzan franchise with the addition of 'Boy'.

This time, instead of ivory and dying elephants, the misguided greedy outsiders are chasing after gold. Of course, they did not start out looking for gold or being greedy cut thoats either, but the jungle plays tricks on the minds of men -- apparently.

Unfortunately, this film plays out very much like a cheap version of 'Tarzan and His Mate', without the nudity and sexual tension and with gold substituted for ivory as the motive for the civilized men going afoul. Nevertheless, this film still has the thrill a minute atmosphere of excitement and jungle adventure that the original film and 'Tarzan and His Mate' thrust onto audiences. Like the rest of the series, this film really looks rather modern and most of the special effects are rather effective. The film is short, only about 81 minutes but you are guaranteed not to be bored.

-----> THE MAJOR CAST MEMBERS <-----

Johnny Weissmuller - Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan - Jane
Johnny Sheffield - Boy
Reginald Owen - Prof. Elliott
Barry Fitzgerald - O'Doul
Tom Conway - Medford
Philip Dorn - Vandermeer
Cordell Hickman - Tumbo
Cheta the Chimp

-----> THE PRODUCTION TEAM <-----

Richard Thorpe - Director
B.F. Fineman - Producer
B.P. Fineman - Producer
Myles Connolly - Screenwriter
Paul Gangelin - Screenwriter
Clyde de Vinna - Cinematographer
Gene Ruggiero - Editor
Cedric Gibbons - Art Director
Warren Newcombe - Special Effects


BOTTOM LINE: HARDLY THE BEST OF THE SERIES BUT IT IS A SENSATIONAL SERIES

"Now darling, just you forget about civilisation. Our world is far more lovely and far more exciting than the outside world, I promise you! Now you run and get the caviar from the refridgerator..."

With these words Jane dismisses Boy's curiosity about consumerism (he is using gold nuggets for his slingshot, and the mysteries of MONEY must be explained). Right, so this is the one where Boy gets burned at the stake as a witch (well almost)and Jane (back from the dead in "TARZAN FINDS A SON") once again loses faith in the jungle man, to her terrible cost.

Although this was still a high-budget MGM production - some lovely glass shots from Tarzan's escarpment are redolent of "KING KONG" - the signs of insipient series fatigue are already showing in the plot: as in "TARZAN FINDS A SON", Weissmuller is obliged to rescue a white expedition from natives, the greedier members of the party betray his hospitality, he is put out of the way temporarily, and the villains lead Jane and Boy straight in the direction of the nearest hostile tribe...

Serious analysis of the Weissmuller TARZANs is a bit redundant. You either buy into their naive and patronising charm or you do not. Their vision of Africa as a pretty theme park beseiged by savages (white and black) seems antiquated even for the 1930s, but they were ahead of their time in one respect at least - Tarzan displays an unqualified hostility to big game hunters (he and Jane are never seen to eat meat either) and that certainly wasn't the prevailing view of the time.

Watch it for the underwater scenes, displaying the considerable swimming talents of Weismuller, Sheffield and O'Sullivan; watch it with tongue in cheek for the ripe dialogue, or come just to gape in awe at the mod cons of an ape-man's arborial abode. Why, even his son arrives by air-mail...

As a post-script, I do wish someone would have the kindness to stretch-print those speeded-up action scenes, which only look ludicrous to modern eyes. If these films can be "colourised", they can be restored to a more naturalistic speed. Don't you think so?

As most Tarzan movies with Johnny Weismueller, this one is great fun. Tarzan, Jane, and Boy once again face danger from outside forces and protect a secret gold treasure hidden in the jungle. The supporting cast including Reginald Owen is great. The group that confronts Boy are a good mix of good to evil. Even though there is a fair amount of stock footage in the movie, it is still a treat. Most kids even today find these movies fun to watch. Considering the great books by Edgar Rice Burroughs it is no surprise. Even though the movies are loosely based on the stories, they carry enough of his idea of adventure into them to make them entertaining. I look forward to this movie being released in a set on DVD June 8th,2004. I hope most of you will join me in buying the Tarzan DVD set. As one other reviewer indicated they wanted to get "Tarzan and the Leopard Women" and "Tarzan's Desert Mystery" on VHS. I too hope those will become available on DVD as well. They are fun to watch as well. I especially like "Tarzan's Desert Mystery".