Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)

Director:

Wilhelm Thiele

Writers:

Edward T. Lowe Jr. (screenplay)
Carroll Young (story)
(more)

Release Date:

15 April 1944 (Sweden)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

Tarzan Defies Enemy Agents . . . in a hot-bed of Intrigue and Danger !

Plot:

A letter from Jane, who is nursing British troops, asks Tarzan's help in obtaining a malaria serum extractable from jungle plants...

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Nazi | Horse | Sheik | Giant Lizard

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Nancy Kelly	...	Connie Bryce
Johnny Sheffield	...	Boy
Otto Kruger	...	Paul Hendrix
Joe Sawyer	...	Karl Straeder
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Sheik Abdul El Khim
Robert Lowery	...	Prince Selim
Frank Puglia	...	Magistrate
Philip Van Zandt	...	Undetermined Secondary Role (scenes deleted)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Barber	...	Turban Vendor (uncredited)
John Berkes	...	Charlie (uncredited)
John Dehner	...	Prince Ameer (uncredited)
Dice	...	Jaynar (uncredited)
Frank Faylen	...	Achmed (uncredited)
George J. Lewis	...	Ali Baba Hassan (uncredited)
Nestor Paiva	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Syd Saylor	...	Bewildered Camel Herdsman (uncredited)

Directed by
Wilhelm Thiele		(as William Thiele)

Writing credits
Edward T. Lowe Jr.		(screenplay) (as Edward T. Lowe)
Carroll Young		(story)
Edgar Rice Burroughs		(characters)

Produced by
Sol Lesser	....	executive producer
Kurt Neumann	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Paul Sawtell

Cinematography by
Russell Harlan		(as Russ Harlan)
Harry J. Wild		(as Harry Wild)

Film Editing by
Ray H. Lockert		(as Ray Lockert)

Art Direction by
Ralph Berger
Hans Peters

Set Decoration by
Victor A. Gangelin		(as Victor Gangelin)
Stanley Murphy

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Derwin Abrahams	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Bailey Fesler	....	sound technician
Jean L. Speak	....	sound technician

Stunts
Ben Johnson	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elmer Ellsworth	....	wardrobe

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
Ralph McCutcheon	....	horse trainer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Sol Lesser Productions (as Principal Artists Productions)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Films A/S (1947) (Norway) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Banner Productions (1960) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Films (1948) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1948) (France) (theatrical) (as RKO Radio Films)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1974) (1988) (1997) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl | Norway:7 (1970) | West Germany:6 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #9117)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Sol Lesser Productions

Goofs:

Factual errors: There are no Pintos in Arabia.

Movie Connections:

Edited from Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) **1/2

Pretty good second RKO Tarzan feature has the jungle man and his son Boy still going it alone in the absence of Jane, who remains in London nursing the wounded soldiers of WWII. Her most recent letter asks that Tarzan bring some jungle fever medicine to her, so he, Boy, and Cheeta travel across the desert to honor her request. Along the way, father and son meet a tough traveling lady magician named Connie (Nancy Kelly) who winds up tagging along with them and becomes the latest substitute for the missing Jane character. Though unlikable at first, she gradually settles in as a more amiable companion. Soon, the travelers become stranded in an Arab city where Tarzan gets jailed for stealing a stallion, and Connie becomes framed for murdering the son of a Shiek and is sentenced to death by hanging.

In this film are more old familiar actors like Lloyd Corrigan (as the Sheik), Robert Lowery (the Prince), and Otto Kruger as another Nazi leader named Heinrich who is hiding out under the name of Hendrix. This entry also features giant jungle creatures, including a huge spider who snares Boy in its web, and man-eating plants. We're also treated to more of Cheeta's zany antics as well.