Tarzan the Fearless (1933)

Mary Brooks' father, who has been studying ancient tribes, falls into the hands of the people of Zar, god of the Emerald Fingers. Tarzan helps Mary locate her father, rescues everyone from the High Priest of Zar and takes Mary to his cave.

Director:

Robert F. Hill (as Robert Hill)

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (story), Walter Anthony (dialogue editor)

Stars:

Buster Crabbe, Julie Bishop, Edward Woods

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Crabbe	...	Tarzan
Julie Bishop	...	Mary Brooks (as Jaqueline Wells)
Edward Woods	...	Bob Hall (as Eddie Woods)
Philo McCullough	...	Jeff Herbert
E. Alyn Warren	...	Dr. Brooks
Mischa Auer	...	High Priest
Matthew Betz	...	Nick
Frank Lackteen	...	Abdul

Storyline

In the African Jungle, a group of Europeans come across the fabled white man who was raised by apes. Tarzan takes an immediate liking to the blond Mary Brooks and rescues her during a nasty storm. Not everyone in the party sees Tarzan as a friend and one of the safari guides, Jeff Herbert, has a written offer of £10,000 for anyone who can confirm that the ape man is dead. Mary's father disappears however, taken prisoner by those who guard the treasure of Zar. It's left to Tarzan to rescue him and the others who have been taken prisoner.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | tarzan character | psychotronic film | jungle | rescue | 

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Taglines:

Romance! Adventure! Thrills!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The complete, original serial version is considered to be a lost film.

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Goofs

After Tarzan Wrestles and defeats the crocodile and Mary and Tarzan are back on land. Tarzan pulls a note out of his loincloth. It would have been ruined from being in the water.

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Quotes

Tarzan: [noticing the sun setting across the lake, he picks Mary up while lasciviously grinning] Night come!
[the scene fades he carries her to his cave]

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Alternate Versions

The serial was edited down to an 89 minute TV movie in 1964.

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Connections

Followed by Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

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Soundtracks

Call of Tarzan
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Jerry Herst
Lyrics by Felton Kaufman and Bernie Grossman

User Reviews

Buster Crabbe spanks the monkey (actually, it's an ape, but that wouldn't sound as funny).

Made to ride on the coat-tails of Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan The Ape Man (1932), this adventure for the legendary jungle wild-man stars Buster Crabbe, who would later find fame as the hero of sci-fi serials Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. Crabbe's Tarzan also started life as a serial, the movie version that I saw being cobbled together out of several episodes, which gives the whole thing a rather irritating choppy, episodic feel with obvious scenes originally serving as cliff-hangers.

Crabbe makes for a convincing Tarzan, his athletic swimmer's build making him perfect for the character (although his pre-Hayes code loincloth is a little too skimpy for my liking: there's way too much ass-cheek on display!). Unfortunately, the action primarily consists of Tarzan swinging on vines, and wrassling lions and crocs, which gets fairly tedious after a while (to be fair, in it's original serial format, it was probably only one animal fight per episode). The plot is forgettable stuff: a young woman, Mary (the gorgeous Julie Bishop) goes in search of her father, but her guides have other plans, aiming to collect £10k for the vine-swinger's body and to relieve a local tribe of their ceremonial emeralds.

Of course, Tarzan puts paid to their plans and gets the girl, and all the jungle animals dance to some music played on Mary's gramophone.

5/10. Worth seeing if only for Crabbe's silly grin that makes him look like a simpleton.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tarzan the Invincible

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sol Lesser Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

200 min (12 episodes) 61 min (feature) 86 min (feature)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1