Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

Director:

Cedric Gibbons

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Leon Gordon (adaptation)

Release Date:

20 April 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Johnny Weismuller is back again!

Plot:

The idyllic life of Tarzan and Jane is challenged by men on safari who come seeking ivory, and come seeking Jane as well.

Plot Keywords:

Tarzan | Ivory | Africa | Elephant | Rescue

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Parker
Neil Hamilton	...	Harry Holt
Paul Cavanagh	...	Martin Arlington
Forrester Harvey	...	Beamish
Nathan Curry	...	Saidi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Doris Lloyd	...	Mrs. Cutten (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

104 min | Finland:96 min (1951) | 91 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1951) | Finland:K-16 (1934) | USA:Approved (PCA #1305-R) (26 August 1935 for re-release)

Filming Locations:

Big Tujunga Canyon, Sunland, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Cedric Gibbons was replaced as director due to other duties as the head of MGM's art department. He was officially replaced by Jack Conway. Maureen O'Sullivan recalled that the actual direction was carried out by James C. McKay (uncredited as director), who was only billed as the animal director. Betty Roth (wife of animal supervisor Louis Roth) doubled for O'Sullivan for some close-up lion scenes at the end of filming due to O'Sullivan's absence for an appendectomy.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jane lies in front of two furious lions with her back next the rock. The following shot, just from the rock side, shows that she is a little way from the rock.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Beamish: I wouldn't trust meself in that jungle if it was me, sir.
Harry Holt: Well, I will.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Voo-Doo Dance

This Tarzan Film Just About Has It All, Including Skin

Considered by almost all the critics to be the best of the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films, I have no argument with that, although there are a couple of others I thought just as entertaining. One thing: it's the longest of the series that I've seen at 105 minutes. I've only seen six of them but this was longer than I'm used to and with the drawn-out action finale I thought the whole thing was a bit too long.

Nonetheless, it is a good mixture of action, suspense and romance. The only things missing are color and stereo sound. The primitive special-effects don't bother me, as that was all that they had back in the 1930s.

Among some, this film is most noted for one thing: skin! "Jane" never wore anything this skimpy after this film as the Hays' Code was instituted by the time the next Tarzan film was made. Her outfit showed what a great figure Maureen O'Sullivan possessed. The nude underwater scene, however, was not her - by a longshot. The woman under the water didn't have a good figure at all, whoever it was.

There is plenty of action in here. Up to the finale, it was not overdone, either. The ending went on for 15 minutes, though, and was so intense that it was almost too much to watch.

Still, this movie offers about everything - except "Boy" (their adopted son) - you'd want to see in a Tarzan film, even O'Sullivan doing her Tarzan yell about a dozen times. With her pair of "lungs," that was no problem.