Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Cedric Gibbons

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Leon Gordon (adaptation)

Release Date:

20 April 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Johnny Weismuller is back again!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Tarzan | Ivory | Africa | Elephant | Rescue

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Parker
Neil Hamilton	...	Harry Holt
Paul Cavanagh	...	Martin Arlington
Forrester Harvey	...	Beamish
Nathan Curry	...	Saidi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Doris Lloyd	...	Mrs. Cutten (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

104 min | Finland:96 min (1951) | 91 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1951) | Finland:K-16 (1934) | USA:Approved (PCA #1305-R) (26 August 1935 for re-release)

Filming Locations:

Big Tujunga Canyon, Sunland, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Maureen O'Sullivan does not appear as Jane during the film's famous nude swimming sequence. O'Sullivan is instead doubled by Josephine McKim, a member of the 1924 and 1928 U.S. Womens' Olympic Swim Teams and one of the four U.S. swimmers on that team to win the 1928 gold medal in the 400-Meter Freestyle Relay.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jane lies in front of two furious lions with her back next the rock. The following shot, just from the rock side, shows that she is a little way from the rock.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Voo-Doo Dance

Maureen O'Sullivan is irresistible as Jane!

It feels weird saying this as a young black man of 29, but Maureen O'Sullivan engenders/embodies a flirty sexuality unequaled in today's movies. She plays tomboyish, but is so flirty at the same time that renders her simply irresistible as Jane. I'm also surprised that Tarzan is still so rough with her and that that was acceptable back in the day. I mean, it's cute, but a tad ungentlemanly.

Since I need to write at least ten lines, I'll continue on...

It's actually really refreshing, the irrelevance of the shame of nudity in this film. Here we are, in 1934, with a man undressing for a bath in the same room with his friend. Jane's naked silhouette tempting the imaginations of every red-blooded American. It's just so natural and alluring in its unabashedness. The skinny-dipping scene is a beautiful ballet of light, water, and skin. It's not pornographic, simply playful and free.

As a black man, I'd love if there was some way the treatment of blacks in this film weren't so harsh, as though all they are are beasts of burden, but I suppose it was a sign of the times. It's darned near slavery. But then again, I never traveled on safari in Africa in the 30s.