The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935/I)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Edward A. Kull

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel) and
Edwin Blum (writer)

Release Date:

21 May 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

The Greatest Tarzan of All Time!

Plot:

The Green Goddess is a totem worshiped by the primitive natives of a lost city deep in the jungles of Guatemala...

Plot Keywords:

Guatemala | Jewel | Expedition | Super Explosive | Lost Friend

Cast

Bruce Bennett	...	Tarzan (as Herman Brix)
Ula Holt	...	Ula Vale
Ashton Dearholt	...	P.B. Raglan (as Don Castello)
Frank Baker	...	Maj. Francis Martling
Lewis Sargent	...	George
Harry Ernest	...	Gordon Hamilton [Chs. 1-4, 12]
Dale Walsh	...	Alice Martling [Chs. 1-4, 12]
Jiggs	...	Nkima the Chimp
Merrill McCormick	...	Bouchart [Ch. 1] / Lopez [Ch. 10]
Jack Mower	...	Ula's Companion [Ch. 1] / Capt. Simon Blade [Ch. 11]

Also Known As:

Tarzan and the Lost Goddess
Tarzan in Guatemala

Runtime:

257 min (12 episodes) | Germany:61 min (part 1)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #2095) (Chapter 12) | USA:Approved (PCA #2096) (Chapter 13) | USA:Approved (PCA #2097) (Chapter 14) | USA:Approved (PCA #2102) (Chapter 15) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Antigua, Guatemala

Company:

Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises Inc.

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: 1) New Adventures 2) Crossed Trails 3) Devil's Noose 4) River Perils 5) Unseen Hands 6) Fatal Fangs 7) Flaming Waters 8) Angry Gods 9) Doom's Brink 10) Secret Signals 11) Death's Fireworks 12) Operator No. 17

Goofs:

Continuity: D'Arnot's plane is a two-seater, but both Bouchart and David Brent are supposed to have been with him in it on the flight when it crashed.

Movie Connections:

Edited into The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935/II)

Tarzan = Herman Brix

I bought this on DVD and became an instant Herman Brix fan. Though his acting is somewhat stiff (to be generous), I can see why Edgar Rice Burroughs--Tarzan's creator--found Brix to be the "perfect" Tarzan. His build is spot-on, and he excels in the action scenes. If only he made more Tarzan films. Though this entry appeared in both serial form and as an edited feature, I recommend the serial version. The feature version is simply too choppy to have any story thru-line. However, the editing is slow with story pacing to match, in the serial. If you're a Tarzan fan (of the books, especially)--you'll find that this Tarzan is not the mono-syllabic dunce Hollywood liked to dish up--a welcome take on the character.

I watched the serial over several days--it's simply too long to take in one sitting--and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It takes some patience to keep your finger off the fast-forward button, but each chapter featured an action sequence that was usually worth watching. It's not for general consumption--most would find the quality too low to be very entertaining, but if you're a Tarzan fan, this is one worth checking out. Brix is quite an acrobat--he performed some moves that simply astonished me.

The sound is pretty scratchy in parts and some of the dialog is unintelligible...so keep your remote handy to pump up the volume from time to time.

If the other Tarzan Serials are almost as good, I want them in my DVD collection, too.