Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

The idyllic life of Tarzan and Jane is challenged by men on safari who come seeking ivory, and come seeking Jane as well.

Director:

Cedric Gibbons

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (based upon the characters created by), James Kevin McGuinness (screen play),

Stars:

Maureen O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, Paul Cavanagh

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Parker
Neil Hamilton	...	Harry Holt
Paul Cavanagh	...	Martin Arlington
Forrester Harvey	...	Beamish
Nathan Curry	...	Saidi
Johnny Weissmuller	...	'Tarzan'

Storyline

In the first sequel to Tarzan, the Ape Man, Harry Holt returns to Africa to head up a large ivory expedition. This time he brings his womanizing friend Marlin Arlington. Holt also harbors ideas about convincing Jane to return to London. When Holt and Arlington show Jane some of the modern clothes and perfumes they brought from civilization, she is impressed but not enough to return. Tarzan wrestles every wild animal imaginable to protect Jane but when he disallows the expedition from plundering ivory from the elephant burial grounds, it is he who takes a bullet from Arlington's gun. Jane eventually believes that Tarzan is dead but he is nursed back to health by the apes. As Jane and the returning expedition are attacked by violent natives, we wonder if Tarzan can rescue them yet again.

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Plot Keywords:

ivory | jungle | elephant | sequel | africa | 

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Taglines:

Johnny Weismuller is back again!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Companheira de Tarzan

Filming Locations:

Silver Springs, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,279,142 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 96 min (1951) 91 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The infamous nude swimming scene was originally filmed in three different versions: with Jane wearing her traditional costume, with Jane topless and with Jane fully nude. US states were empowered at that time to enact individual censorship laws, and three different versions of the scene were filmed in order to allow individual states to select the version of the scene which best conformed to its laws. All three versions were eventually removed from the film due to protests from conservative religious groups, particularly the powerful Catholic Legion of Decency. The nude version of the scene was discovered in the vaults of Turner Entertainment during the late 1990s following its purchase of the MGM film library, and was restored to most subsequent versions of the film on the direct orders of Turner Entertainment chairman Ted Turner. In the restored version of the scene, Tarzan is depicted wearing his traditional loincloth while Jane appears fully nude, her costume having been torn off when Tarzan playfully tosses her from a tree to the water below. The scene as it exists today is approximately four minutes in duration.

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Goofs

When Martin and Harry are talking around the table, Martin holds the pipe with his right hand about his belly. From one shot to another, his right hand appears about his chest and, subsequently, holding the pipe in the mouth.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Beamish: I wouldn't trust meself in that jungle if it was me, sir.
Harry Holt: Well, I will.

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Connections

Referenced in NCIS: The Good Wives Club (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Soldier on the Shelf"
(1930) (uncredited)
Music by Sherman Myers (i.e. Montague Ewing)
Lyrics by Erell Reaves (i.e. Stanley Damerell and Robert Hargreaves)

User Reviews

Action! Romance! Heroic Monkeys!

I often half-jokingly refer to "Tarzan and His Mate" as the "T2" of the 1930s, simply because it's packed with special effects, action, and spectacle of the big budget variety that I usually associate with modern films. Sure, some of the visuals look duff now - there's heavy use of rear screen projection and rubber animals - but there's also amazing sights like elephant stampedes, monkeys fighting tigers, hapless people tumbling off cliffs, and a huge elephant graveyard that must rank among the most memorable movie sets of all time.

Never mind the spectacle, though; the best part is the script. Maureen O'Sullivan has a surprisingly wonderful role as Jane. In fact, she carries the movie, since all Tarzan can really do is yodel and swing. She has to fend off the advances of two unsavory ivory hunters who want to lure her back to civilization. Tarzan is doubly threatened by these seedy guys - they want to kill his elephants AND they want his woman. This dual conflict keeps the movie cooking.

There's an amazing amount of violence in the film, including some spectacular battles with nasty tribesmen and knife fights with huge beasties. You'll even get to see a corpse with an arrow through its forehead and bugs crawling all over it. There's a bit of nudity as well, but don't get too excited as it's not really Maureen O'Sullivan swimming in the buff (but it is still swimming in the buff, so feel free to get excited anyway!). Amazing, isn't it, that "Tarzan and His Mate" is such a visceral viewing experience...especially when compared to the much tamer films that followed after Hollywood instituted a strict moral code.

Romantic, sexy, exciting, exotic - in short, all you could expect from a Tarzan movie. And the heroic monkeys are just the cutest thing ever. Once you make it past a rather dry first scene, this movie rocks all the way through.