Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)

Tarzan's jungle home, and his family, Jane and Boy, are threatened by men greedy for gold.

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Cyril Hume (screen play), Edgar Rice Burroughs (based upon the characters created by)

Stars:

Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane
Johnny Sheffield	...	Boy (as John Sheffield)
Ian Hunter	...	Mr. Lancing
Henry Stephenson	...	Sir Thomas Lancing
Frieda Inescort	...	Mrs. Lancing
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Mr. Sande
Laraine Day	...	Mrs. Richard Lancing
Morton Lowry	...	Mr. Richard Lancing

Storyline

A young couple die in a plane crash in the jungle. Their son is found by Tarzan and Jane who name him Boy and raise him as their own. Five years later a search party comes to find the young heir to millions of dollars. Jane agrees, against Tarzan's will, to lead them to civilization.

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | heir | baby | greed | savage | 

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Taglines:

Super Story of a Super Man ! The Titan of all Tarzans . . . Giant of all jungle thrills . . . worth the years it took to make !

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 June 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tarzan in Exile

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tarzan had to "find" a son, because censors would not allow Jane to become pregnant because she and Tarzan were not legally married.

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Goofs

When Jane is feeding milk to the baby, she's also folding diapers in between scenes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mr. Richard Lancing: Wildebeest again.
Mrs. Richard Lancing: I think we've seen about a million today.

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Connections

Followed by Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955)

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Soundtracks

"My Tender One"
(1933) (uncredited)
from Eskimo
Music by William Axt
Played during end credits

User Reviews

Custodial Interference

While watching Tarzan Finds A Son today it occurred to me that both this film and Tarzan's New York Adventure were about the same thing, custodial interference. The only difference is in the setting where the question is raised. In this film the issue is decided on Tarzan's home turf in the jungle. And as such he's got a definite home field advantage.

The film begins with Morton Lowry, Laraine Day and pilot Gavin Muir going down in a light plane crash in the jungle. The chimpanzees find their infant son who survived and bring him to Tarzan where Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan raise the boy and name him such.

Five years later guide Henry Wilcoxon lead the Lancings, Henry Stephenson, Ian Hunter, and Frieda Inescourt into the jungle looking for a trace of their relatives. That leads O'Sullivan into a conflict with Weissmuller.

Much as she loves life with the Lord of the Jungle, O'Sullivan does see certain advantages to civilization that their 'son' now played by young Johnny Sheffield might have. Of course all the relatives motives aren't pure which leads to the inevitable conflict.

In the jungle Tarzan who's on a first name basis with every animal can call on both apes and elephants for assistance. That he does in a nice slam bang climax where both simian and pachyderm power are brought to bear.

Louis B. Mayer must have always thanked God that the shooting of Trader Horn in Africa left him with so much background jungle footage to use and not too many times over. The footage is well integrated into this story.

Tarzan Finds A Son has aged well and remains watchable.