Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Cedric Gibbons
(more)

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Leon Gordon (adaptation)
(more)

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 | Sequel | Safari | Africa

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)
Everett Brown	...	Bearer (uncredited)
Ray Corrigan	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Yola d'Avril	...	Madame Feronde (uncredited)
Paul Porcasi	...	Monsieur Feronde (uncredited)
Desmond Roberts	...	Henry Van Ness (uncredited)
William Stack	...	Tom Pierce (uncredited)

Directed by
Cedric Gibbons
Jack Conway		(co-director) (uncredited)
James C. McKay		(uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bud Barsky		story (uncredited)
Edgar Rice Burroughs		characters
Leon Gordon		adaptation
James Kevin McGuinness		screenplay
Howard Emmett Rogers		adaptation

Produced by
Bernard H. Hyman	....	producer

Cinematography by
Charles G. Clarke
Clyde De Vinna		(as Clyde DeVinna)

Film Editing by
Tom Held

Art Direction by
A. Arnold Gillespie		(as Arnold Gillespie)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nick Grinde	....	second unit director (uncredited)
James C. McKay	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Errol Taggart	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Errol Taggart	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
George E. Lee	....	on-set propman (uncredited)
Warren Newcombe	....	art effects (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
James Graham	....	sound effects (uncredited)
T.B. Hoffman	....	sound effects (uncredited)
C.S. Pratt	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
Michael Steinore	....	sound effects (uncredited)

Special Effects by
James Basevi	....	special effects director (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Irving G. Ries	....	photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Alfredo Codona	....	stunt double: Johnny Weissmuller
The Flying Codonas	....	stunt doubles: Johnny Weismuller/Maureen O'Sullivan
The Picchianis	....	stunt doubles: Johnny Weismuller/Maureen O'Sullivan
George Barrows	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ray Corrigan	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ted Allen	....	still photographer (uncredited)
William Foxall	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Ellsworth Fredericks	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Ray Ramsey	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Bob Roberts	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Lester White	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
William Axt	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Ray Corrigan	....	double: Johnny Weissmuller (uncredited)
George Emerson	....	animal supervisor (uncredited)
George Emerson	....	double: Johnny Weissmuller (uncredited)
Louis Goebel	....	animal supervisor (uncredited)
Josephine McKim	....	double: Maureen O'Sullivan when swimming (uncredited)
Bert Nelson	....	animal supervisor (uncredited)
Bert Nelson	....	double: Johnny Weissmuller (uncredited)
Betty Roth	....	double: Maureen O'Sullivan in retakes (uncredited)
Louis Roth	....	animal supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1951) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Eén (2009) (Belgium) (TV)
• IC International Classics (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Nothing's New Video (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Dunning Process Company  additional composite effects
• Williams Composite Laboratories  additional composite effects

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:

The "African" elephants were actually Indian elephants fitted with prosthetic tusks and ears, as MGM already owned several Indian elephants and considered them easier to handle.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Throughout the film, it is possible to see Tarzan flying on trapezes.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: The Good Wives Club (#2.2)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Voo-Doo Dance

Maureen O'Sullivan is irresistible as Jane!

It feels weird saying this as a young black man of 29, but Maureen O'Sullivan engenders/embodies a flirty sexuality unequaled in today's movies. She plays tomboyish, but is so flirty at the same time that renders her simply irresistible as Jane. I'm also surprised that Tarzan is still so rough with her and that that was acceptable back in the day. I mean, it's cute, but a tad ungentlemanly.

Since I need to write at least ten lines, I'll continue on...

It's actually really refreshing, the irrelevance of the shame of nudity in this film. Here we are, in 1934, with a man undressing for a bath in the same room with his friend. Jane's naked silhouette tempting the imaginations of every red-blooded American. It's just so natural and alluring in its unabashedness. The skinny-dipping scene is a beautiful ballet of light, water, and skin. It's not pornographic, simply playful and free.

As a black man, I'd love if there was some way the treatment of blacks in this film weren't so harsh, as though all they are are beasts of burden, but I suppose it was a sign of the times. It's darned near slavery. But then again, I never traveled on safari in Africa in the 30s.