Tarzan of the Apes (1918)

Kohn and Alice Clayton set sail for Africa. Mutineers maroon them. After his parents die, the newborn Tarzan is taken by a great Ape, Kala. Later the boy finds his father's knife and uses ... See full summary »

Director:

Scott Sidney

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel), Fred Miller

Stars:

Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, True Boardman

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elmo Lincoln	...	Tarzan
Enid Markey	...	Jane Porter
True Boardman	...	John Clayton - Lord Greystoke
Kathleen Kirkham	...	Alice Clayton - Lady Greystoke
George B. French	...	Binns - a Sailor
Gordon Griffith	...	Tarzan - Younger
Colin Kenny	...	Greystoke's Nephew
Thomas Jefferson	...	Professor Porter
Bessie Toner	...	Bar Maid
Jack Wilson	...	Captain of the Fuwalda
Louis Morrison	...	Innkeeper
Eugene Pallette
Fred L. Wilson

Storyline

Kohn and Alice Clayton set sail for Africa. Mutineers maroon them. After his parents die, the newborn Tarzan is taken by a great Ape, Kala. Later the boy finds his father's knife and uses it to become King of Apes. Binns, the sailor who saved the Claytons and who has been held by Arab slavers for ten years, finds the young Tarzan and then heads for England to notify his kin. A scientist arrives to check out Binns' story. Tarzan, now a man, kills the native who killed Kala; when their chief is killed the black villagers appease Tarzan with gifts and prayers. The scientist's daughter Jane is carried off by a native, rescued by Tarzan (who has burnt the native village), aggressively loved by him ("Tarzan is a man, and men do not force the love of women"), and at last accepts him with open arms.

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Plot Keywords:

boy frontal nudity | tarzan | ape | boy | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

With an unusually brilliant cast including...[list of cast members]...and 500 others

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

27 January 1918 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tarzan, o Homem Macaco

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,270,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Corporation of America

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally, this movie was three hours long and was divided into three parts. The longest extant print is seventy-three minutes in length.

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Alternate Versions

Abridged version released by Hollywood Film Enterprises in 1937 with the title, Tarzan the Boy.

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Connections

Referenced in Og (1952)

User Reviews

Elmo, How You've Let Yourself Go!

Whenever I watch a silent film, I try to view it in the proper context (time it was made, technology, etc.). I got a kick out of this film. I imagined what wonder there was in viewing giraffes, rhinos, elephants, pythons, and a host of jungle life. I particularly enjoyed the young man who played Tarzan as a child. His face was continually full of wonder and life. For me, the movie took a downturn when Elmo Lincoln showed up. For a guy who obviously spent his time running through the jungle, climbing trees, wrestling critters ten times his size, he looked like one of the guys that used to sit next to my father at his favorite watering hole. He has that huge paunch and those fleshy white legs. I was very aware that this Tarzan was in continual danger of falling off a branch (possibly breaking it) and doing himself harm. Let's face it: he also wasn't exactly going to win any beauty contests. If Jane hadn't had a bad experience with he fiancé, would she have given him a second look. Jane, no great prize herself, gets together with him, but I couldn't help but wonder what they would be doing, other than the obvious. All that aside, it was fun seeing this. I had heard about the film for years and decided to purchase a copy for myself. It was worth it for the novelty.