Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953)

Director:

Kurt Neumann

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)
Karl Kamb (writer)

Release Date:

18 June 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Plot:

Ivory poachers, headed by Lyra the She-Devil, Vargo and Fidel, capture a native tribe to carry their loot...

Plot Keywords:

Tarzan | She Devil | Beautiful Woman | Bare Chested Male Bondage | Sequel

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Lex Barker	...	Tarzan
Joyce Mackenzie	...	Jane (as Joyce MacKenzie)
Raymond Burr	...	Vargo
Monique van Vooren	...	Lyra, the She-Devil
Tom Conway	...	Fidel
Michael Granger	...	Philippe Lavarre (as Michael Grainger)
Henry Brandon	...	M'Tara, Lycopo Chief

Also Known As:

Tarzan Meets the Vampire (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Sol Lesser Productions

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The "natives" were the wrong color.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955)

Typical Tarzan, maybe a little better than most.

Tarzan looks like a real hero of the '90's here, not only stopping illegal ivory poaching but upholding human rights by foiling some latter-day slave trading. This time it's one of those curiously light-skinned tribes that inhabit Central Africa in some of his movies.

The film's title is something of a misnomer. The nominal she-devil here is Monique van Vooren, who sponsors the poachers, but she's a pussycat compared to Raymond Burr, full into his "heavy" role. This was the last time around as Tarzan for Lex Barker, no reason to shed any tears, though admittedly the character isn't one you can do a whole lot with. Joyce Mackenzie was the fourth actress in a row to give a single performance as Jane, and she does an OK job. There are some nice scenes of domestic bliss with the happy couple in this movie. All in all this is just another Tarzan flick, not so great, a little better than most. But you always knew what you were getting with these movies.