Tarzan's Revenge (1938)

Director:

D. Ross Lederman

Writers:

Robert Lee Johnson (screen play) and
Jay Vann (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 January 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

THE TARZAN-THRILL OF ALL TIME!

Plot:

Eleanor and her parents are hunting big game, acompanied by her wimpish fiance. Ben lleu Bey wants to add her to his 100-woman harem...

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Guide | Mud | Lioness | Africa

Cast

Glenn Morris	...	Tarzan
Eleanor Holm	...	Eleanor Reed
George Barbier	...	Roger Reed
C. Henry Gordon	...	Ben Alleu Bey
Hedda Hopper	...	Penny Reed
Joe Sawyer	...	Olaf Punch (as Joseph Sawyer)
George Meeker	...	Nevin Potter
Corbet Morris	...	Jigger - Nevin's Servant
John Lester Johnson	...	Koki - Chief Bearer
Frederick Clarke	...	Ben Alleu's Servant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Elliott	...	Riverboat Captain (uncredited)
Howard C. Hickman	...	Mr. Johnson (uncredited)
Al Thompson	...	Sign Painter (uncredited)
Blue Washington	...	Bearer Bringing Olaf Poison Darts (uncredited)

Directed by
D. Ross Lederman

Writing credits
Robert Lee Johnson		(screen play) and
Jay Vann		(screen play)
Edgar Rice Burroughs		(based on a novel by)

Produced by
Sol Lesser	....	producer
Barney Briskin	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Hugo Riesenfeld		(musical score)

Cinematography by
George Meehan		(photography)

Film Editing by
Gene Milford		(film editor) (as Eugene Milford)
Bert Jordan		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Lewis J. Rachmil		(art direction)

Production Management
J. Laurence Wickland	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wilbur McGaugh	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Terry Kellum	....	sound engineer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jerry Bos	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Abe Meyer	....	musical supervision
William Axt	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
James C. Bradford	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Milan Roder	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Domenico Savino	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Principal Productions (as Principal Productions, Inc.)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)
• Madacy Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• United American Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Direct Source (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Platinum Disc (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Timeless Multimedia (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• St. Clair Vision (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox (1938) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan's Revenge" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #3904) | Norway:7 | Canada:G (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Principal Productions

Trivia:

Bill Elliott (uncredited as the river boat captain) later became known as Wild Bill Elliott in many western movies.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Planet X: Episode #2.5" (2006)

Soundtrack:

In the Depths

No Demand for the Morris/Holm Screen team

20th Century Fox took its crack at the Tarzan franchise when producer Sol Lesser signed Olympic Decathlon champion from the 1936 Olympics Glenn Morris to play the jungle hero. As Tarzan Morris sure looked good in a loincloth, but Johnny Weissmuller handled dialog like John Barrymore in comparison to Morris.

There's no Jane in this feature, but there is an Eleanor, Eleanor Holm playing a character of the same first name. If you remember the film Funny Lady, Eleanor Holm 1932 Olympic female swimming champion was the woman who broke up Fanny Brice's marriage to Billy Rose. Here she's the daughter of George Barbier and Hedda Hopper and fiancé of George Meeker who are on an African Safari.

On the ship taking them up country to Tarzan's domain is rich Arab sheik C. Henry Gordon who brings out the villainous Moslem characters he did in such classic films as The Charge Of The Light Brigade for another run. Holm does an act of lese majeste upon Gordon's person, but all that does is whet Gordon's appetite for her. He pays off the expedition's bottom feeding guide Joe Sawyer to steer the party in his direction.

Meeker as always plays a shifty character himself, but one look at Morris and Meeker knows its curtains for him and Holm.

Done on the cheap and by a pair of leads who as actors were great athletes Tarzan's Revenge created no demand for these two as a screen team. The supporting players, professionals all, do their best to salvage this film, but it was impossible.