Tarzan the Magnificent (1960)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Robert Day

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (character)
Robert Day (writer)

Release Date:

31 March 1961 (Finland)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

The Greatest of Them All!

Plot:

Tarzan must escort his prisoner Coy Banton out of the jungle to the authorities. The boat is blown up by Coy's father and brothers...

Plot Keywords:

Tarzan | Sequel | Beautiful Woman | Bare Chested Male | Character Name In Title

Cast

Gordon Scott	...	Tarzan
Jock Mahoney	...	Coy Banton
Betta St. John	...	Fay Ames
John Carradine	...	Abel Banton
Lionel Jeffries	...	Ames
Alexandra Stewart	...	Laurie
Earl Cameron	...	Tate
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Conway (as Charles Tingwell)
Al Mulock	...	Martin Banton
Gary Cockrell	...	Johnny Banton
Ron MacDonnell	...	Ethan Banton
Harry Baird	...	Warrior Leader
Christopher Carlos	...	Native Chief
John Sullivan	...	Wyntors
Ewen Solon	...	Dexter

Runtime:

USA:82 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1960-1961) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:12 (1972)

Filming Locations:

Kenya

Company:

Solar Film Productions

Trivia:

Lionel Jeffries lost a role in another big US film because this went over schedule.

Movie Connections:

Follows Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952)

Johnny Banton's Daring Gamble

Other reviewers have ably discussed where this movie fits in within the corpus of Tarzan movies and have pinpointed the epic fistfight battle of Jock Mahoney and Gordon Scott.

Before Scott's Tarzan character tangled with Mahoney as Coy Banton, however, there is a scene where the youngest of the Banton family attempts to take on Tarzan and defeat him.

The Banton family is a bunch of robbers and killers and, as they follow Tarzan who is conducting Coy Banton to the authorities, accompanied by the survivors of a steamboat accident, there are opportunities to attack this group and rescue Coy.

Johnny, supposedly in his early twenties, played by then newcomer Gary Cockrell, whose career seemingly fizzled out in the 1970s, is making a daring attempt to go after this group without the support of his father or older brother and perhaps molest one of the women.

Johnny comes across one of the women and chases her to a pool or stream some distance from the village where they have stopped. Johnny proceeds to grope and attack her, when Tarzan shows up as a result of her screams.

At first, Johnny goes for his rifle and the two tussle. The rifle is thrown away and Johnny, his shirt now in shreds, is pushed on to the ground. He stands and goes for his knife. His muscular, lean, sinewy chest is revealed and he seems a plausible opponent for Tarzan at the moment. But the knife fight does not last for long. Johnny wants his rifle, thinking only that will save him. When he at last spots and holds it, the fight is maneuvered into the nearby water and the rifle's barrel is now pointing under Johnny's chin. The rifle goes off in the scuffle and Johnny is killed. He falls back, the shreds of his shirt parted on each side so that his chest is fully revealed as he floats upon the water.

Tarzan smashes the rifle, for he knows that Johnny's death will invite more trouble from the rest of the Banton gang. Johnny's youthful, daring gamble has failed. The youngest of the Bantons is now dead.