Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (based on the characters created by)
Cyril Hume (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

2 April 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

A Glorious New Thrill!

Plot:

A trader and his daughter set off in search of the fabled graveyard of the elephants in deepest Africa, only to encounter a wild man raised by apes.

Plot Keywords:

Ape | Elephant | Africa | Rescue | Ivory

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Neil Hamilton	...	Harry Holt
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Parker
C. Aubrey Smith	...	James Parker
Doris Lloyd	...	Mrs. Cutten
Forrester Harvey	...	Beamish
Ivory Williams	...	Riano
Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ray Corrigan	...	Ape (uncredited)
Johnny Eck	...	Bird Creature (uncredited)

Directed by
W.S. Van Dyke

Writing credits
Edgar Rice Burroughs		(based on the characters created by)
Cyril Hume		(adaptation)
Ivor Novello		(dialogue)

Produced by
Bernard H. Hyman	....	line producer (uncredited)
Irving Thalberg	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Clyde De Vinna		(photographed by)
Harold Rosson		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Tom Held		(film editor)
Ben Lewis

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Production Management
J.J. Cohn	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nick Grinde	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Arthur Rose	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
George E. Lee	....	on-set propman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Paul Neal	....	sound (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
George Bruggeman	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Al Cadutta	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Cadutta	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alfredo Codona	....	stunt double: Weissmuller swinging shots (uncredited)
Ray Corrigan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stubby Kruger	....	stunts (uncredited)
Norm Taylor	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Bauder	....	second camera (uncredited)
Charles G. Clarke	....	additional photography (uncredited)
Clifton L. Kling	....	still photographer (uncredited)
William Snyder	....	additional photography (uncredited)

Other crew
George Emerson	....	animal supervisor (uncredited)
Louis Goebel	....	animal supervisor (uncredited)
Bert Nelson	....	animal trainer (uncredited)
Louis Roth	....	animal supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1932) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1932) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1932) (1952) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1932) (France) (theatrical)
• Swashbuckler Films (2010) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1974) (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• Nothing's New Video (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Vlaamse Radio en Televisie (VRT) (2002) (Belgium) (TV) (VRT1)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1981) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Dunning Process Company  composite effects (uncredited)
• Williams Composite Laboratories  composite effects (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Tarzan, the Ape Man" - USA (review title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1932) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Netherlands:AL | Finland:K-12 (1952) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Silver Springs, Florida, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Apparently, the chimpanzees were supposed to be the baby apes and actors in ape costumes were the adults, a practice that was dropped after this film (one of the men who played the apes was Ray Corrigan).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Wilderbeest, zebras, and antelope are plains animals and do not live in heavily forested jungle areas as shown.

Quotes:

Jane Parker:Thank you for protecting me.
Tarzan:Me?
Jane Parker:I said, thank you for protecting me.
Tarzan:[points at Jane] Me?
Jane Parker:No. I'm only "Me" for me.
Tarzan:[points at Jane] Me.
Jane Parker:No. To you, I'm "You."
Tarzan:[points at himself] You.
Jane Parker:No...
[Thinks for a second]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Guardian (2006/I)

Soundtrack:

Romeo and Juliet Overture

Weissmuller's The Best

This is the movie that kicked off the Johnny Weissmuller series of Tarzan pictures, which ran for sixteen years, through two studios, an adopted son and two Janes. Weissmuller is the best Tarzan I've seen. He was a champion Olympic swimmer rather than a trained actor, but was blessed with a wonderfully expressive face and had about him a kind of air of primitive moral authority that made him always interesting to watch, even when the plots were mediocre or far-fetched, as increasingly became the case as the series progressed. What's more, though Weissmuller's Tarzan may have been a so-called ape man, he was himself always touchingly human. Unlike today's action heroes, there was a sensitivity to Weissmuller. I know little of the man's personal life, but on screen he was always highly responsive to others and their needs, was alert to the nuances of human behavior rather than merely a macho man, and had at times a refreshing sense of humor that was somehow never cruel or demeaning. He was, in short, shorn of his jungle instincts, a perfect gentleman.

As his long-time companion, Jane, Maureen O'Sullivan was perfect casting. Small and lovely, she contrasted perfectly with Weissmuller, maintaining her dignity and composure in even in the most dire of circumstances. She knew that Tarzan would always come to the rescue; that lions, apes and treasure hunters were no match for him, and yet she never took him for granted.

The first two films of the series were the best, thanks in large measure to the Production Code not having gone into effect, which caused the series to eventually become "domesticated" and family-centered. There was a randiness to the early entries that works even today, as Tarzan and Jane were, after all, a couple, and the movies don't shy away from this. The Tarzan pictures were not Politically Correct, but they're not imperialist, either, and if anything feel at times like environmental tracts on the issue of leaving the jungles (and Tarzan) alone.

It's probably best to watch the films in sequence, if possible. In the MGM period there was a degree of continuity, as one movie more or less picked up where the previous one left off. Weissmuller is more credible early on, though he's never less than good; and Miss O'Sullivan, who left the series when it changed studios, was always a huge asset. The Tarzan movies offer pure escapism of the most innocent kind. In the first film in the series we see the development of the Tarzan-Jane relationship, and there are plenty of thrills and chills along the way. The movie is obviously a back-lot production, but the use of stock footage lends it an air of authenticity. Also authentic is the rapport between Tarzan and Jane, who, in their heyday, rivaled Fred and Ginger and Nick and Nora Charles as one of the premiere couples of Hollywood's golden age.