Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953)

Ivory poachers, headed by Lyra the She-Devil, Vargo and Fidel, capture a native tribe to carry their loot. Tarzan intervenes and is captured. Jane is also captured and believed killed, so ... See full summary »

Director:

Kurt Neumann

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters), Karl Kamb,

Stars:

Lex Barker, Joyce Mackenzie, Raymond Burr

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lex Barker	...	Tarzan
Joyce Mackenzie	...	Jane (as Joyce MacKenzie)
Raymond Burr	...	Vargo
Monique van Vooren	...	Lyra, the She-Devil
Tom Conway	...	Fidel
Michael Granger	...	Philippe Lavarre (as Michael Grainger)
Henry Brandon	...	M'Tara, Locopo Chief

Storyline

Ivory poachers, headed by Lyra the She-Devil, Vargo and Fidel, capture a native tribe to carry their loot. Tarzan intervenes and is captured. Jane is also captured and believed killed, so the despairing Tarzan endures endless torture until he learns she is alive. He rises to the occasion and leads his elephants in the usual victory stampede.

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Plot Keywords:

ivory | elephant | she devil | jungle | stampede | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 June 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tarzan Meets the Vampire

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sol Lesser Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Returning-type boomerangs are not used in actual war or hunting. They are practice "toys."

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Connections

Follows Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)

User Reviews

Some of Tarzan's Best Friends Are Elephants.

For the fifth and final Tarzan film starring Lex Barker it was not only back to the RKO back lot, but back to the old days when the natives that Tarzan was helping were not even black. In fact Tarzan spends most of the time in chains because he's broken hearted because he thinks the villains have killed Jane.

Jane is played here by Joyce McKenzie and the trio of villains are Tom Conway, Raymond Burr, and Monique Van Vooren, the last being the she-devil in the title. No black magic does she use, simply some feminine wiles and an appeal to Tarzan that since Jane is dead, he can best help by making sure that her two male conspirators don't go too hard on the natives they've enslaved, especially Raymond Burr who is on a power kick.

The trio is after ivory and they've captured a whole tribe of to do their heavy work as ivory hunting legal or not requires a lot of help.

But as we know from many a Tarzan film in the past, the elephants are among his best jungle friends and they help out a lot in rescuing Jane and the natives and Tarzan later in typical elephant fashion. Of course the elephants are also acting on their own rational self interest since they have no desire to wind up piano keys.

RKO did the first film with Gordon Scott as Tarzan and then bid adieu to the Tarzan franchise. With Scott the series began to get a bit more realistic in the plots and also reflected the new Africa emerging in the Sixties. Tarzan And The She-Devil is a piece of high camp, but that's about the only way it can be enjoyed.