Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

Director:

Wilhelm Thiele

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Carroll Young (story)

Release Date:

19 February 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Action | War | Adventure

Plot:

Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle...

Plot Keywords:

Loincloth | Animal Attack | Nazi | Sequel | Tarzan

Cast

Johnny Weissmuller	...	Tarzan
Johnny Sheffield	...	Boy
Frances Gifford	...	Zandra
Stanley Ridges	...	Colonel Von Reichart
Sig Ruman	...	Sergeant
Philip Van Zandt	...	Captain Bausch
Rex Williams	...	Lt. Reinhardt Schmidt aka Sheldon
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Oman, the Patriarch

Also Known As:

Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan Triumphs (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:7 (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8892)

Filming Locations:

Sherwood Forest, California, USA

Company:

Sol Lesser Productions

Trivia:

Jane's absence was explained in a letter saying that she's visiting relatives in England. Maureen O'Sullivan was sick of playing Jane, but her absence probably had more to do with the fact that the franchise had switched from MGM to RKO, and O'Sullivan was a Metro contract player.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tarzan is fighting the Nazis, he rips the magazine off a machine gun and tosses it to the ground. A moment later, one of the Nazis starts climbing to the top of the building to use the gun, and you can see the magazine still there. Yet when the Nazi arrives at the gun, the magazine is missing again.

Quotes:

Tarzan: Nazi hyena dead now.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)

Think of it as "Tarzan vs. the Nazis"

Johnny Weismuller and Johnny Sheffield are back as Tarzan and Boy, but Maureen O'Sullivan declined to appear in this film for personal reasons. Rather than recast the part, the writers decided to explain her absence by having Jane be in England tending to a sick friend. But, they felt that the film wouldn't be successful without a love interest for Tarzan, so they developed a character named Zandra, who is the queen of a lost city in the African jungle.

Nazis appear in Africa, searching for raw materials for their war machine. They parachute a team of explorers into the jungle to set up a base camp, but their radio operator gets separated from the rest of the platoon and is injured during the drop. Tarzan comes along and rescues him, while the other Nazi soldiers make their way to the Lost City and enslave the peaceful inhabitants, using them as cheap labor for the mines. Zandra tries to stop them but is defeated and has to flee the city, pursued by the Nazi invaders. Just as she is about to get captured and/or killed, Tarzan comes along and rescues her.

Boy likes Zandra and convinces her to flirt with Tarzan, and at one point Tarzan, seeing Zandra on a distant river bank wearing Jane's leather skirts, mistakes her for Jane. Could this be a blossoming romance?

Eventually, the Nazis learn that Tarzan has their radio and they attempt to get it back. They kidnap Boy and demand the radio as ransom. Tarzan and Zandra sneak into the city to rescue Boy and are captured and scheduled for execution. Fortunately, Cheetah comes along and brings Tarzan his knife, which he uses to cut his way through his bonds. In the fight that ensues, the Nazis are defeated.

Overall, its not as good as the classic "Tarzan And His Mate" film, but is still good entertainment even with the hokey "Let's beat the Nazis" theme. But then, this film was made in the dark days of World War 2 so a certain amount of patriotic fervor is understandable. Sure, the plot is formulaic but this is a "Tarzan" film after all so don't expect any deep social drama. The Zandra character was somewhat interesting and could probably have been developed into a recurring sub-plot in later movies, possibly to set up a love triangle between Tarzan and Jane. The two Johnnies do a good job with their roles and Frances Gifford is attractive in a 1940's sort of way. Curiously, after Jane's 2-piece leather outfit raised eyebrows in "Tarzan and His Mate", the costume was changed to a one-piece leather dress. So what is Zandra wearing? A 2-piece outfit that looks vaguely Arabic and shows a bit of mid-section. I guess its ok for supporting characters to show tummy but not a main character.