Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Cyril Hume (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 June 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Family | Romance

Tagline:

Super Story of a Super Man ! The Titan of all Tarzans . . . Giant of all jungle thrills . . . worth the years it took to make !

Plot:

Tarzan's jungle home, and his family, Jane and Boy, are threatened by men greedy for gold.

Plot Keywords:

Jungle | Heir | Bare Chested Male | Gun | Self Sacrifice

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Parker
Johnny Sheffield	...	Boy (as John Sheffield)
Ian Hunter	...	Mr. Austin Lancing
Henry Stephenson	...	Sir Thomas Lancing
Frieda Inescort	...	Mrs. Lancing
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Mr. 'Sandee' Sande
Laraine Day	...	Mrs. Richard Lancing
Morton Lowry	...	Mr. Richard Lancing

Also Known As:

Tarzan in Exile (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #5299) | Norway:7 (1959)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Tarzan had to "find" a son, because censors would not allow Jane to become pregnant because she and Tarzan were not legally married.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Richard Lancing: Wildebeest again.
Mrs. Richard Lancing: I think we've seen about a million today.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle (2004) (V)

Good Tarzan Fun.

Tarzan and Jane adopt a baby boy, the sole survivor of a plane crash. The boy's parents perished and so Tarzan and Jane adopt the little tyke. A few years later and he's a boy grown into the guise of Tarzan...complete with Tarzan's abilities to swing vines and talk to jungle animals. Only unknown to Tarzan and Jane, this "Boy" they made their son is actually a wealthy heir and his relatives have come to their jungle hideaway searching for him. Now Tarzan and Jane are faced with a most difficult choice..let "Boy" return to civilization and lose him forever or hold on to him themselves and have him remain in the jungle at all costs and despite the many dangers.

This one is powerful and moves the viewer through a wide range of emotions as the plight of Tarzan and Jane over Boy really puts one through the wringer. Suitable for family viewing for the most part although a scene or two may disturb more impressionable kids.