Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Myles Connolly (screenplay)

Release Date:

May 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

In All The World No Thrill Like This!

Plot:

Tarzan and Jane go to New York to rescue Boy after he is kidnapped into a circus.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Elephant | Animal Trainer | Jungle | Brooklyn Bridge

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Parker
Johnny Sheffield	...	Boy
Virginia Grey	...	Connie Beach
Charles Bickford	...	Buck Rand
Paul Kelly	...	Jimmie Shields, Pilot
Chill Wills	...	Manchester Montford
Cy Kendall	...	Col. Ralph Sergeant
Russell Hicks	...	Judge Abbotson
Howard C. Hickman	...	Blake Norton, Tarzan's Lawyer (as Howard Hickman)
Charles Lane	...	Gould Beaton, Sargent's Lawyer
Miles Mander	...	Portmaster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matthew Boulton	...	Portmaster (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Tarzan Against the World (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:6 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #5040) | Norway:7

Filming Locations:

Wakulla Springs, Florida, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Cameo: [Elmo Lincoln]the first movie Tarzan, as a circus roustabout.

Goofs:

Continuity: Tarzan gives the spear to Boy handle up and blade down. When Boy takes it, next shot, it is reversed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Boy: Cheetah! What is it?
Jane: Cheetah must be seeing things. What is it, Tarzan? What is it?
Tarzan: Uguna. Strange sound in sky. Big. Far off.
Jane: I don't hear anything.
Tarzan: Tarzan hear. Cheetah hear. Elephant hear.
Boy: Now I hear it. Like a great wind coming.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Tarzan and the Trappers (1958)

Soundtrack:

Dance of the Hours

Tarzan better without clothes

Of course, this is the line Johnny Weissmuller uses as Jane tries to convince him to "suit up" for their adventure to New York. Of course, it applies as Tarzan (and Jane) spend an excessive time in this film out of their jungle togs. Perhaps it could have served to have Tarzan accompany a clothed modest Jane to the city in his jungle loincloth, but it was not to be.

Rumor was that the studio used a more mature civilized setting as a way to persuade Maureen O'Sullivan to continue in the series as Jane, as she reportedly had tired of the role of Jane. Unfortunately, though due to her frequent pregnancies, this would be her final outing as Jane, ending one of the most sensual on screen pairings of herself & Weissmuller as Jane & Tarzan.

That being said, this film probably has the most memorable comical scenes and lines of any Tarzan entry. From the jungle tailor's inabilities to find dress clothing to fit the muscular Tarzan, to Tarzan's branding of New York as a "stone jungle", to his taking a shower with his suit on in the hotel, this film is worth its weight in the laughs alone.