Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

Director:

Wilhelm Thiele

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Carroll Young (story)
(more)

Release Date:

19 February 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Action | War | Adventure

Plot:

Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Jungle | Forced Labor | Torture | Berlin Germany

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Johnny Sheffield	...	Boy
Frances Gifford	...	Zandra
Stanley Ridges	...	Col. Von Reichart
Sig Ruman	...	Sergeant
Philip Van Zandt	...	Capt. Bausch
Rex Williams	...	Lt. Reinhardt Schmidt
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Oman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louis Adlon	...	German Officer in Berlin (uncredited)
Sven Hugo Borg	...	Heinz (uncredited)
Stanley Brown	...	Achmet (uncredited)
George Lynn	...	Nazi Pilot (uncredited)
Manuel París	...	Pallandria Man (uncredited)
Otto Reichow	...	Grüber (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Gen. Hoffman in Berlin (uncredited)
William Yetter Sr.	...	Nazi Guard (uncredited)

Directed by
Wilhelm Thiele		(as William Thiele)

Writing credits
Edgar Rice Burroughs		(characters)
Carroll Young		(story)
Roy Chanslor		(screenplay) and
Carroll Young		(screenplay)

Produced by
Sol Lesser	....	producer
Wilhelm Thiele	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Paul Sawtell

Cinematography by
Harry J. Wild		(as Harry Wild)

Production Design by
Harry Horner

Art Direction by
Hans Peters

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Clem Beauchamp	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John C. Grubb	....	sound technician

Stunts
Babe DeFreest	....	stunt double: Frances Gifford (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elmer Ellsworth	....	wardrober

Editorial Department
Hal C. Kern	....	supervising editor (as Hal Kern)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Production Companies

• Sol Lesser Productions (as Principal Artists Productions)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Films (1947) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1947) (France) (theatrical) (as RKO Radio Films)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Banner Productions (1960) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1974) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 (1947) | Norway:7 (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8892) | Finland:K-12 (1956)

Filming Locations:

Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

Sol Lesser Productions

Trivia:

Produced during the war, the plot was very anti-German. The film was directed by Austrian born Wilhelm Thiele, credited as William Thiele.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tarzan is fighting the Nazis, he rips the magazine off a machine gun and tosses it to the ground. A moment later, one of the Nazis starts climbing to the top of the building to use the gun, and you can see the magazine still there. Yet when the Nazi arrives at the gun, the magazine is missing again.

Quotes:

Tarzan:Nazi hyena dead now.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Diary of a Rape (1971)

Tarzan with Looney Tunes-style propaganda

Breaking into the second volume of WB's Weismuller Tarzan movies, all of which were made at RKO, and which previously had been produced at MGM. Maureen O'Sullivan finally got her way and was able to leave the series when it left MGM, while Weismuller and Johnny Sheffield, who plays Boy, not to mention Cheetah, stayed on. Tarzan Triumphs isn't a great film (I don't have high expectations for any of the remainder of this series, honestly), but it is historically interesting, and amusing in the way all Tarzan movies are. In the thick of WWII, Nazis invade Tarzan's jungle looking to enslave the lost city of Palandra. The princess of Palandra, Zandra (Frances Gifford), begs Tarzan for help. Tarzan refuses, claiming that the Nazis have done nothing to him. But when they actually do do harm to him, by kidnapping Boy, he vows revenge. Strange this one wasn't made in 1941 instead of 1943. Or perhaps by '43 people were already getting tired of war and this is "stay the course" propaganda. Don't know, but it is fascinating as propaganda. It gets very violent, more violent than the other Tarzan movies as far as I can remember. Well, some black people get wasted in nasty ways in the early Tarzan movies, of course. But Tarzan mercilessly slaughters the Nazis. Cheetah pushes one off a cliff, and then pushes a boulder over after him! Even Boy gets to shoot a guy! And the final living Nazi suffers one of the most entertainingly horrible, Roman-style deaths ever. The film ends on a joke worth of Looney Tunes.