Tarzan Escapes (1936)

An expedition seeking to bring Jane back to civilization, and Tarzan into captivity, gets more than it's bargained for.

Directors:

Richard Thorpe, John Farrow (uncredited)

Writers:

Cyril Hume (screen play), Edgar Rice Burroughs (based upon the characters created by)

Stars:

Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, John Buckler

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane
John Buckler	...	Captain Fry
Benita Hume	...	Rita Parker
William Henry	...	Eric Parker
Herbert Mundin	...	Herbert Henry Rawlins
E.E. Clive	...	Masters
Darby Jones	...	Bomba
Cheetah	...	Cheetah-A Chimpanzee

Storyline

Jane's cousins Rita and Eric Parker arrive in Africa searching for her. Their uncle has died and has left her half a million pounds provided she agrees to return to civilization. A professional hunter, Captain Fry, quickly agrees to escort them to the escarpment where rumor has it there there lives a great white ape. He's intrigued when told that the great white ape is likely Tarzan and his plan is to capture him and put him on display. When they all find each other, Jane agrees to return to London if only to ensure that her cousins get their late uncle's wealth. Fry manipulates Tarzan into believing that Jane will never return only to trap him. When Jane and the others are taken prisoner by warring tribesmen, it's left to Tarzan to rescue them.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | trap | rescue | hunter | expedition | 

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Taglines:

Never Such Thrills - Excitement - Romance!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Capture of Tarzan

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,058,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tarzan doesn't appear until 23 minutes into the film.

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Goofs

On the rock, after he changes some words with Rawlins, Capt. Fry turns to his right-hand side. The next shot shows him turning to his left.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Riverboat Captain: All right. Tie her up. Make her fast. Pull her in, boys.

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Alternate Versions

The alternate version had various working titles: Tarzan Returns, Tarzan and the Vampires, Tarzan, and finally, The Capture of Tarzan. The story about the preview audiences for The Capture of Tarzan may not be true - Rudy Behlmer (an authority on the Tarzan pics) feels that it may not have happened and I have not come across any primary evidence that it did in contemporary news stories/reviews - just a possibly apocryphal story in a secondary source from the 1960s, which is repeated by another author more recently.

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Connections

Edited from Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

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Soundtracks

My Tender One
(1933) (uncredited)
from Eskimo (1933)
Music by William Axt
Played during end credits

User Reviews

Slightly Disappointing, could have been better

That's not to say this is not quite good. No Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan certainly shine as the romantic leads Tarzan and Jane. In fact, this may be the most romantic of all the Weissmuller films so if that's what attracts you, you'll likely love this. However if jungle adventure and fun is more up your alley, you may be slightly disappointed. Oh there are some surprisingly graphic attacks from enemy native tribes and Tarzan has an intense battle with a crocodile yet it doesn't seem quite enough somehow and doesn't make up for the story feeling slightly disconnected at times. There's a gaping plot hole here involving Captain Fry, after Tarzan is in his cage, later losing him. Also the lizards at the end are more likely to produce laughter than terror.