Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959)

An English colonel's daughter meets the lord of the jungle who makes her his mate.

Director:

Joseph M. Newman (as Joseph Newman)

Writers:

Robert Hill (screenplay), Edgar Rice Burroughs (character)

Stars:

Denny Miller, Cesare Danova, Joanna Barnes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Denny Miller	...	Tarzan
Cesare Danova	...	Harry Holt
Joanna Barnes	...	Jane Parker
Robert Douglas	...	Col. James Parker

Storyline

This movie has little connection with the 1932 original. It does, however, have lifted footage (tinted to more-or-less match the color), including obvious footage of Weissmuller's vine-swinging. Miller is not once called Tarzan in the movie, and his yell is also lifted Weissmuller. The elephants who wreck the pygmy village are lifted/tinted from the original, but the "pygmies" (real in the original) were kids from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. Costumes are left over from "King Solomon's Mines" so that more stock footage could be lifted. And the crocodile fight is taken from "Tarzan and his Mate"

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | tarzan character | character name as title | psychotronic film | jungle | 

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Taglines:

They Challenge the TABOOS of a Forbidden Land !

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film's budget was so miniscule that, when footage from previous M-G-M Tarzan titles is used, there is almost no effort made to disguise that the earlier footage is black-and-white and this film was made in color.

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Goofs

The elephant that is shown charging soon before Jane is picked up by Tarzan is an Asian elephant, not an African elephant. The fake large ears are noticeable as Tarzan says, "Un-ga-wa" to the elephant to lift Jane and himself onto it; they are almost falling off. Asian elephants are less aggressive than African, and are more easily trained. Also, they don't live in Africa.

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Quotes

Col. James Parker: Has any woman ever meant anything to you?
Harry Holt: All women mean something to me!

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Connections

Follows Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953)

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Soundtracks

Liabango
(uncredited)
Written by Thomas Yangha

User Reviews

A memorable Tarzan for the wrong reasons

I remember seeing this in the theater when it was first released and being appalled at its lousiness. So strong was that impression that I remembered now, 45 years later, that I could find it by searching IMDb for "Denny Miller". I talked for days, weeks, months and now years afterward about the miserable "borrowing" of scenes from the original Weissmuller films and color-tinting them in a vain attempt to blend in with the new footage. One example: a burning pygmy village features brown tinted film with flames overprinted. The pygmies calmly go about their quiet life while their huts supposedly burn around them. This is undoubtedly the WORST Tarzan movie ever made. Even Elmo Lincoln is better.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tarzan, the Ape Man

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,438,800

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,727,800

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1