Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959)

Four British villains raid a settlement to obtain explosives for use in a diamond mine. In doing so they nearly destroy the settlement, so and Tarzan pursues them to their mine.

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Berne Giler (screenplay), John Guillermin (screenplay)

Stars:

Gordon Scott, Anthony Quayle, Sara Shane

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gordon Scott	...	Tarzan
Anthony Quayle	...	Slade
Sara Shane	...	Angie
Niall MacGinnis	...	Kruger (as Niall Macginnis)
Sean Connery	...	O'Bannion
Al Mulock	...	Dino
Scilla Gabel	...	Toni

Storyline

After diamond hunters kill two people while stealing explosives, Tarzan sets off after them. The group, led by a man named Slade, are off to excavate a diamond mine. Along the way, Tarzan rescue an attractive woman, Angie, whose crashes her small airplane. She finds the trek demanding but sticks with it proving her worth when the time comes. As for Slade and his group, greed and jealousy take hold leaving only a few of them for Tarzan to fight in the end.

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Plot Keywords:

manipulative female | taming of the shrew | romantic rivalry | female sexual predator | diamond mine | 

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Taglines:

Adventure's Mightiest Hero Lives His Mightiest Adventure!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1959 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan's Greatest Adventure

Filming Locations:

Kikuyu, Kenya

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Solar Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Sy Weintraub also wanted Sir Anthony Quayle to come back for another Tarzan movie, but Quayle had been offered a part in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) after having been seen in this movie, and couldn't accept.

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Goofs

When the hunter shoots at Tarzan in the tree and it hits a limb near his hand, the hunter then shoots again in the air without working the bolt action on the rifle to eject the spent shell and load a fresh cartridge.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Quarles: What's wrong with you, little chap? Come on, Little Francis. I love you.

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Connections

Follows Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952)

User Reviews

Entertaining but violent Tarzan/Gordon Scott movie , in which stands out Anthony Quayle as a ruthless villain

Colorful and entertaining a Tarzan/Scott movie , though dubiously faithful to Edgar Rice Borroughs story . Tarzan is out to capture a quintet (Niall MacGinnis , Sean Connery , Scilla Gabel ,Sean Connery , Al Mulock ) of British diamond hunters in Africa led by Slade (Anthony Quayle) , who murdered a pair of natives while stealing supplies to get dynamite for use in a diamond mine. In doing so they nearly destroy the hospital settlement, so and Tarzan (Gordon Scott) goes after them to their mine . Meanwhile , an airplane en route to Kenia has an accident in the jungle . The private plane is piloted by Angie (Sara Shane) , an avid flyer whose hobby is aviation .Tarzan encounters the downed crashed plane , rescues the gorgeous girl who crashes her small airplane and leads her throughout the lush jungle . Along the way Tarzan develops amorous feelings for Angie and they start to Kiss themselves . As for Slade and his group, greed , betrayal , envy and jealousy ,take the motley bunch , and they are taking down one by one , leaving only a few of them for Tarzan to battle in the finish . Then , Tarzan is nearly killed in the jungle in a dynamite blast by Slade and things go wrong . Adventure's Mightiest Hero Lives His Mightiest Adventure!

This ¨Tarzan's lastest adventure ¨contains noisy action , sensational adventures , many angry natives , nasty white hunters , hungry Crocs and wonderful outdoors , though mostly shot in Africa , studios and excessive use stock footage . Well starred by Gordon Scott , here Tarzan/Scott rescues a flyer and takes on five cutthroat diamond hunters . Tarzan on his hunt upriver is accompanied by a beautiful American pilot well played by Sara Shane , who has crash landed nearby , and Tarzan falls for her . Gordon Scott brings wit , bravery and style to the classic character . Afer of a job as a lifeguard at the Las Vegas Sahara Hotel led him to leave his delivery job. Soon thereafter, a Hollywood talent scout took note of him and signed him to a contract with Sol Lesser, producer of the Tarzan movies. His handsome features, muscular physique, and imposing height made him an excellent choice to replace Lex Barker as Tarzan, and he won out over 200 candidates for the role. It was Lesser who changed his name from Werschkul to Scott. Scott's Tarzan films ranged from rather cheap re-edited television pilots to larger scale epics. Two of them, Tarzan's lastest adventure (1959) and Tarzan the magnificent (1960) are generally considered to be among the very best Tarzan films ever made. Scott's and his writers' particular gifts to the series included returning Tarzan to his former status as a literate, well-spoken character. Following his departure from the Tarzan films, he moved to Italy and became a popular star of what were known as "sword and sandal" epics, featuring handsome body-builders as various characters from Greek and Roman myth. Scott was a friend of Hercules star Steve Reeves, and collaborated with him as Remus to Reeves's Romulus in Rómulo y Remo (1961). Scott also played such mythic heroes as Goliath, Zorro, and Buffalo Bill in various low-budget productions during the mid-1960s . Gordon starred 5 Tarzan movies : ¨Tarzan's fights for life¨ by H. Bruce Humberstone , ¨Tarzan and the trappers¨ by Sandy Howard and Charles Haas , ¨Tarzan's greatest adventure¨ produced by Sy Weintraub , directed by John Guillermin , "Tarzan and the Lost Safari" and ¨Tarzan the magnificent¨ by Robert Day . Although Gordon Scott also played all kinds of genres as Spaghetti : ¨Tramplers¨, Euro-spy : ¨Death ray¨ , Pirate movie : ¨Marauder¨ , and especially Peplum : ¨Hércules and the princess of Troy¨, ¨Coriolanus¨, ¨Conquest of Mycene¨, ¨Gladiator of Rome¨, ¨Hero of Rome¨, ¨Samson and the 7 miracles of the world¨. His final film appearance, apparently, was in "The Tramplers," filmed in 1966, released in the U. S. in 1968. Scott was married apparently three times, including once to his Tarzan co-star, actress Vera Miles, from 1954 to 1959.

Support cast is pretty good , such as the Italian Scilla Gabel who starred various Peplum and the ordinary secondaries as Niall MacGinnis , Al Mulock who committed suicide in Spain while shooting ¨Once upon a time in the West¨; furthermore , a young newcomer : Sean Connery . And special mention for the nasty Anthony Quayle , really stealing the show , and giving a nice interpretation . And of course , the likable Chimpanzee Cheeta, though appears only during a few lines , delivering some brief humorous moments with his antics , frolics and mayhem . As usual , sets and production design are visually appealing , though there are the obvious uses of stock footage and shot on location in Kikuyu, Kenya . Including a brilliant and shimmering cinematography by Edward Scaife . And atmospheric as well as evocative soundtrack by Douglas Hamley .This was the first film for producer Sy Weintraub , he would make Tarzan adventures, including the popular television series, throughout the 1960s. The motion picture was well produced by Sy Weintraub and decently directed by John Guillermin . Being professionally directed by John Guillermin , habitual of disaster films ( Skyjacked , King Kong , Kong lives ) , adventures ( Tarzan in India , Tarzan's greatest adventure , Sheena ) , Wartime ( Bridge of Remangen , Guns at Batasi , I was Monty's double ) and intrigue ( Death on the Nile , Shaft in Africa , The whole truth ) . John Guillermin usually worked with George Peppard in various films ( such as P.J , House of cards and Blue Max) and Peter Sellers (Never let go , Walz of the Toreadors) .Rating : Good and entertaining , it's a fairly watchable and breathtaking film , in which the splendid casting stands out and results to be a good and original treatment of Tarzan series .The picture will appeal to adventure buffs and Gordon Scott fans