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Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Weissmuller's Tarzan RKO debut; Less Pretentious, Great Fun!, 10 November 2006

Author: Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada

While Tarzan was a popular moneymaker at MGM, with the outset of WWII, the studio felt Johnny Weissmuller was getting too old, Maureen O'Sullivan wanted out of the series, and the overseas market was lost, so the series was dropped...but RKO would prove the Ape Man had a LOT of life left in him!

Veteran producer Sol Lesser, 53, loved the character, and snapped up the rights for the studio, wisely keeping Weissmuller, 39, and 'Boy' Johnny Sheffield, now nearly 12, in their signature roles. O'Sullivan, no longer interested in 'Jane', was written out (caring for her ailing mother in London), and the elements that fans loved best (nearly superhuman heroics, comedy from chimp co-star, Cheetah, wild animal footage) were 'beefed up', dropping the romantic interludes, the large number of black 'extras', that provided authenticity (but were expensive for a smaller studio to maintain, for a single series), and, indeed, most of the 'glossiness' that marked the MGM entries. Even the signature Tarzan 'yell' had to be replaced (as the manufactured howl, part Weismuller, part studio magic), was the property of the studio; Weismuller created a 'new' one, that would become so popular that it would be kept, long after he finally retired from the role.

The first RKO entry was perhaps the best of their series; TARZAN TRIUMPHS brought the Nazis into the jungle to tap the mineral resources of a 'lost' city, eventually kidnapping Boy, and leading the previously isolationist Ape Man to utter the famous tag line, "Now Tarzan make war!" With lovely Frances Gifford as a native princess, providing sex appeal (and a really weird scene of Boy trying to 'hook up' the princess and lonely Ape Man, to enlist his help against the Nazis), and Sig Ruman, who went from Marx Brothers' foil to one of Hollywood's busiest 'Nazis', as one of the villains, the action adventure is very entertaining (if extremely violent...Tarzan actually encourages the locals to grab a gun and kill, Boy shoots one Nazi soldier with a pistol, and even CHEETA machine guns one!), and the film was a huge hit for the studio.

Tarzan, at a new home, was back in the 'swing' of things!

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
TARZAN AGAINST THE Nazis, 8 November 2004
Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida

TARZAN TRIUMPHS (RKO Radio, 1943), directed by Wilheim Thiele, the seventh in the long running adventure series starring Johnny Weissmuller, and the first of the Sol Lesser productions distributed by RKO Radio, finds Tarzan assuming new territory and dangerous ground at the RKO soundstages following six successful "Tarzan" adventures distributed by MGM between 1932 to 1942. The production values no way equaled the status MGM put into its series, however, the format used at RKO virtually follows the same pattern from the previous films, with slight alterations to the "Tarzan" character, such as the use of a new soundtrack for the Tarzan yell, heard twice here, unlike the yells many have become accustomed to from the earlier episodes, but more familiar to the ear since this became the same "ape call" used when Lex Barker assumed the role of Tarzan in a brand new series from 1949 to 1953. Weissmuller's Tarzan continues to speak in mono syllables ("Boy stay! Tarzan get." or "Tarzan thank," etc.) instead of complete sentences, unlike the stories originated by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Along with Weissmuller, Johnny Sheffield, who plays Boy, son of Tarzan, along and their pet chimpanzee, Cheetah, each resume their characters with much familiarity as enacted at MGM, with Cheetah adding some "comedy relief" and taking some attention away from the human actors by stirring up trouble, clapping, laughing, doing flipflops, among other things. Tarzan's mate, Jane, played six times previously by Maureen O'Sullivan for MGM, had broken away from the series, thus having her "Jane" character omitted here and in the next entry. For this initial outing for RKO, Frances Gifford substitutes as the heroine called Zandra. Due to Gifford's near physical resemblance to Maureen O'Sullivan makes one wonder why Gifford wasn't considered to play Jane. Would the public accept anyone else other than O'Sullivan playing Jane? It would be another two years before that question would be answered. But for now, Tarzan and Boy go it alone with the aid of new characters worked into the story. For TARZAN TRIUMPHS and its sequel, TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY, also released in 1943, the writers decide to use the then timely element of World War II in having Tarzan battling with Nazi enemies invading his African homeland and stirring up trouble.

The story opens with Boy (Johnny Sheffield) leaving the treehouse and riding his elephant, accompanied by his chimpanzee pet, Cheetah, to meet up with Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), who had earlier gone to the seacoast to obtain a letter written to him by Jane, who is away visiting with relatives in war-torn England. Along the way, the ever curious Boy gets himself in trouble when wanting to take a closer look at the lost city of Palandria located at the bottom of a cliff. Falling off the crevasse and landing on top of a semi loose branch, Zandra (Frances Gifford), the white princess of that lost civilization, who happens to be nearby, comes to Boy's rescue, but in helping Boy, the two find themselves unable to return to safety while being trapped on the narrow ledge, that is, until Tarzan arrives in time to save the day. As Tarzan, Boy and Zandra part company, Zandra returns to her civilization where her people welcome in some strangers, Nazis who have parachuted down from their airplane. In time, the welcomed guests "repay" their friendly hospitality by turning the peaceful community into slaves in order to take possession of their wealth in tin and oil. In the meantime, a young German, Lieutenant Scheldon Schmidt (Rex Williams), who had also parachuted from an airplane along with others, but separating himself from the others when landing in a different location, injuring his leg in the process while holding onto his shortwave radio. Tarzan rescues the German youth from a near drowning and an almost crocodile attack, and with the help of Boy, takes the injured party into their treehouse where he receives rest and recovery. Because Cheetah has taken and hidden the coil needed to make radio communication to his homeland, Schmidt stirs up enough anger to go chasing after the animal and shooting at him. When Boy tries to stop him, the German forces him to the ground, causing the youngster's head to hit on top of a grounded rock. Sensing danger, Boy's elephant comes to Cheetah's rescue by forcing both Nazi and heavy boulder over a cliff, killing the abductor. Because of the Nazi invasion in her city, Zandra comes to Tarzan for help. Tarzan succeeds in doing away with the Germans chasing after and shooting Zandra by having them cross the river by foot and getting attacked by cannibal fish. However, feeling the Nazi invasion in Palandria does not really concern him, Zandra feels it does, and as long as the Nazis are around, no one is safe, not even Tarzan. But only after the Nazis do invade Tarzan's domain, with the leader (Stanley Ridges) giving Boy a couple of facial slaps for not revealing the whereabouts of the coil for the radio, leading to him being taken away and held hostage in the Nazi headquarters where Boy is placed all tied up on a bed does Tarzan come to realize that the invasion from the enemy concerns him after all. After nearly getting himself killed by dodging machine gun bullets aimed at him by the Nazis does Tarzan become forceful and angrily saying, "Now, Tarzan make war!!!" (It's been said by Bob Dorian, former host of American Movie Classics, that this scene alone found audiences in movie theaters cheering and applauding). While it is obvious that Tarzan will come to the rescue, it is how he accomplishes this that adds to the action and suspense to the story. And it is Cheetah who gets the last laugh before the fadeout. Watch for it.

An average Tarzan adventure by today's standards with a timely message of how an invasion of a territory and war amongst a peaceful people does concern everybody, not just the victims, and the attackers will not go away until the victims gather enough courage to fight back to win their defeat. As with the Tarzan character, who lives a secluded life in his little habitat, with his philosophy, "Nazi leave me alone, Tarzan leave them alone," but all that changes when Nazis invade his territory and become a danger to Boy. Against all odds, such as being held prisoner himself, tied up against the pole to await execution by firing squad at dawn does Tarzan manage to become a one man revolution, adding to the popularity for this lord of the jungle. Tarzan, who fights to survive while the enemy, the Nazis in this case, survive to fight, brings forth his own war for that, as quoted by Tarzan, "In jungle, the strong always win."

The supporting players include Stanley Ridges as Von Reichart; Sig Rumann as the Head Nazi; Philip Van Zandt as Captain Bausch; Pedro De Cordoba as Patriarch; and Stanley Brown as Archmet. Frances Gifford, who makes her sole venture in the series, gets some screen time in a stretched out segment filling in for Jane by swimming with Tarzan, and preparing dinner for him and Boy, but all this was done, at the suggestion of Boy, only to get Tarzan to help her enslaved people from the clutches of the Nazis.

As with the entire Tarzan movie series that has spanned decades, TARZAN TRIUMPHS, at 76 minutes, aired frequently on commercial television for many years before shifting over to the American Movie Classics cable channel between 1997 and 2000. Unlike the MGM entries, the six features made at RKO Radio starring Weissmuller from 1943 to 1948, were never distributed onto video cassette. Next chapter in the series: TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY, where Tarzan and Boy (minus Jane) encounter more Nazis once more but with a few added surprises along the way.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Tarzan with Looney Tunes-style propaganda, 13 November 2006

Author: zetes from Saint Paul, MN

Breaking into the second volume of WB's Weismuller Tarzan movies, all of which were made at RKO, and which previously had been produced at MGM. Maureen O'Sullivan finally got her way and was able to leave the series when it left MGM, while Weismuller and Johnny Sheffield, who plays Boy, not to mention Cheetah, stayed on. Tarzan Triumphs isn't a great film (I don't have high expectations for any of the remainder of this series, honestly), but it is historically interesting, and amusing in the way all Tarzan movies are. In the thick of WWII, Nazis invade Tarzan's jungle looking to enslave the lost city of Palandra. The princess of Palandra, Zandra (Frances Gifford), begs Tarzan for help. Tarzan refuses, claiming that the Nazis have done nothing to him. But when they actually do do harm to him, by kidnapping Boy, he vows revenge. Strange this one wasn't made in 1941 instead of 1943. Or perhaps by '43 people were already getting tired of war and this is "stay the course" propaganda. Don't know, but it is fascinating as propaganda. It gets very violent, more violent than the other Tarzan movies as far as I can remember. Well, some black people get wasted in nasty ways in the early Tarzan movies, of course. But Tarzan mercilessly slaughters the Nazis. Cheetah pushes one off a cliff, and then pushes a boulder over after him! Even Boy gets to shoot a guy! And the final living Nazi suffers one of the most entertainingly horrible, Roman-style deaths ever. The film ends on a joke worth of Looney Tunes.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Johnny Weismuller's best screen moment, 23 August 2005

Author: NewEnglandPat from Virginia

This Tarzan adventure departs from the norm and has an interesting plot as the Jungle Man battles the soldiers of the Third Reich who invade the town of Zambesi looking for ore, tin and other natural resources to bolster their war effort. The Nazis abuse the hospitality of a native tribe and enslave them while the colonel searches frantically for a radio part that will enable him to communicate with his home base for supplies and establish a base of operations in the jungle. Tarzan and Boy are befriended by a pretty native girl but Tarzan, ever the isolationist, refuses her plea for help and wants only to be left alone until Jane returns from London. All that changes when Boy is seized by the Nazis and Tarzan goes on a rampage and turns the tables on the German invaders with the help of a native uprising. Stanley Ridges, with his excitable and rapid staccato delivery, is perfect as the Nazi colonel who gets a nifty comeuppance after being taunted by Tarzan in a wild chase scene at the end of the movie. As usual, Cheta and an elephant supply the comedy angle and Patricia Gifford is a fetching Zandra. Johnny Weismuller gives a rare, dramatic breadth to his role as Tarzan when he realizes that Boy has been taken from him and declares, "Now, Tarzan make war!" This moment is the best in the film and perhaps Tarzan's most memorable quote.

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Fun, 2 March 2008
Author: MichaelElliott1 from Louisville, KY

Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

*** (out of 4)

War propaganda 101 as Nazi's take over a lost city but Tarzan shows up to kick their ass. This probably should have been called Triumph of Tarzan's Will but the politically incorrect humor works just fine for this film. The story is pretty stupid and the German bashing stuff might not go over well today but the film remains a lot of fun due in large part to the animals. Cheetah and the various other monkeys really steal the show here as they're giving a lot of fun things including the one scene where Cheetah steals a bunch of food from three monkeys. Weissmuller is in great form again and Frances Gifford is entertaining as well. There's plenty of nice humor (if politically incorrect) and the action is great. This first RKO Tarzan ranks right up there with the best from MGM, although it does get a little long winded at the end.

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Tarzan Triumphs (1943) ***, 13 February 2007

Author: JoeKarlosi from U.S.A.

The first of the RKO Tarzans and quite an enjoyable entry. Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) finds himself involved in battling the Nazis when they invade the peaceful nearby village of Palandria and try to make slaves out of its citizens. For this film, Tarzan's partner Jane is absent while doing business in London, so we have the gorgeous Frances Gifford subbing for the feminine interest of the story as a princess of Palandria who makes contact with Tarzan and his son Boy (Johnny Sheffield). Gifford would have made a stunning and perfect Jane. A fun, fast, and entertaining installment with an occasional display of violence, with good actors like Sig Ruman, Stanley Ridges, and Philip Van Zandt playing the Nazi bad guys.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful entry with a beautiful Frances Gifford, 17 June 2007

Author: petick

This film fantastically carries on the series without Jane, who is away during World War II at the film's time. As such, the lovely Frances Gifford of Jungle Girl plays the beautiful lead as Zandra, whose people are being overrun by the Nazis.

Her chemistry with both Johnny Weissmuller and Johnny Sheffield's Tarzan and Boy respectively is thoroughly engaging, and you believe at times in the film that both Tarzan and Boy were developing crushes on Zandra. Tarzan even shares in the delights of all male viewers at the pleasure of seeing Zandra in Jane's jungle mini-dress and even shares a playfully cozy jungle swim with her.

Such a propaganda film would never fly today, as it was well warranted back then for film and media during the war to rally round the flag against the Nazis. Likewise, the conclusion of this picture includes a satirical poke which Mel Brooks would make in many of his productions as he felt it was better to comically make fun of the Nazis rather than take them seriously.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Superb - Tarzan at his finest, 9 December 2006

Author: rxpell2006 from Scotland

When I think of Tarzan films, I think of this one - Cheetah's seminal scene at the end is one of my all-time favourite movie moments. This is, in my opinion the best of the Tarzan genre and I rate it a "10". I may be a bit biased having grown up watching these on TV, then going down the woods with my mates to build dens, climb trees and throw spears at anything that moved, but all the classic formulaic events of a Tarzan masterpiece are here. The big man himself, the jungle, dangerous animals ... throw in a bunch of Nazis for Tarzan to deal with too and how could it be anything but great ? Cheetah gives the performance of his life - he will have you rolling in the aisles with his antics near the end.

If you haven't seen it and it comes on TV, give it a go ... sit back, suspend your disbelief, accept it wasn't made yesterday and take the special effects at face value ... and simply enjoy ...

Superb.

... now, where's my spear ?

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Propaganda at its best (worst?)., 26 December 2000
Author: Tom Eastland (eastland@newave.net.au) from Australia

I haven't seen this film in over twenty years, but I remember it vividly. I remember laughing all the way through. In its day of course, Tarzan defeating a bunch of bumbling nazi idiots was seen as a proper patriotic display. Now it is a wonderful example of propaganda and laughable in its lack of subtlety. The part that I remember most clearly is where Cheetah (the chimpanzee) gets hold of a Nazi radio and begins to chatter away on it. The Nazis on the receiving end assume it is the fuhrer and do the full Heil Hitler bit. Hilarious. If I could get a copy of this film I would use it in my film classes as an example of its era.

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Think of it as "Tarzan vs. the Nazis", 2 June 1999
Author: Troy Whigham (troyair@aol.com) from Florida, USA

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.

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