Tarzan Escapes (1936)

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Cyril Hume (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 November 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

It's New! It's amazing! 2 years to produce!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Tarzan | Expedition | Jungle | Hunter | Attack

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Parker
John Buckler	...	Captain Fry
Benita Hume	...	Rita
William Henry	...	Eric
Herbert Mundin	...	Rawlins
E.E. Clive	...	Masters
Darby Jones	...	Bomba

Also Known As:

The Capture of Tarzan (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U | West Germany:12 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Norway:7 | USA:Approved (PCA #1563) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Footage of the Murchison Falls in Africa, originally shot for Trader Horn (1931), was used in the film.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the boat, Capt. Fry gives an order to Bomba who agrees saying, "Yes, bwana," but he does not move his lips.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Day of the Locust (1975)

Soundtrack:

Cannibal Carnival

Misleading Title To Entertaining Film

Let me say two things right off the "bat:"

1 - This is one of the better Tarzan films; 2 - The title is a misnomer. Tarzan doesn't get trapped anywhere to escape from until the last 20 minuets and he isn't in a cage long enough to warrant that title.

This film also is noted for it being chopped down a bit at the last minute. Apparently, a scene or two was a little too scary for preview audiences (giant bats in a swamp, for instance) so they edited it out at the last minute. They didn't re-shoot the material to make the transition smooth, so there are a few holes in the story's last 15 minutes. But it's nothing major and doesn't detract from the interesting adventure.

Slowly browsing through the recently-released "Tarzan Collection" DVD pack has made me appreciate these films all over again. They were really great entertainment. There were very few, if any, boring lulls in these films and some of the African wildlife footage is still amazing to this day!

Tarzan Escapes is considered one of the best in the series, even if some parts were cut. It's very entertaining with the typical mix of adventure, humor, good guys vs. bad guys, romance and the like. In this film, elephants are the heroes, coming to the defense of Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller).; the humor is provided by a member of the safari team ; Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) doesn't appear the first half hour and the action ends with some great film-noir like photography in a swamp (minus the bats). Along the way are an assortment of wild animals and birds, always interesting to view. It's a fast-moving 89 minutes.