TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE - 1958
NEXT
Director H Bruce Humberstone
Producer Sol Lesser
Screenplay Thomas Hal Phillips
MAIN CAST
Tarzan Gordon Scott
Jane Eve Brent
Tartu/Boy Rickie Sorenson
Anne Sturdy Jil Jarmyn
Futa James Edwards
Dr Sturdy Carl Benton Reid
Dr Ken Warwick Harry Lauter
Ramo Woody Strode
BACKGROUND
This production marked the fortieth anniversary of the ape-man in films.  When Sol Lesser announced that he was planing an NBC Tarzan TV series he became embroiled in legal wranglings with Walter White who produced and distributed a Tarzan radio show.  White had acquired first refusal rights on a Tarzan TV property because television was seen as a growing threat to radio.  Lesser, a cunning operator, outmaneuvered White and White was paid off.  Conferences about the TV show concluded that Tarzan's family should be reinstated to maximise family appeal and they decided to produce a feature film to introduce the new characters.  A wholesome Texan blonde, Eve Brent, was cast as Jane (Ms Brent is the last surviving Jane and was still working in 2008), while Rickie Sorenson was cast as their adopted son, who is confusingly referred to as both Boy and Tartu, an elision of "Tarzan-two".  The slow moving script by Thomas Hal Phillips was shot in the MGM Culver City Studios, but publicity for the films declared "Filmed where it happens", largely because footage from the African journey for Tarzan and the Lost Safari was generously inserted.  Three half-hour pilot episodes of the TV series were produced at the same time as this feature but the series was never taken up by a major studio.  These eventually became the equally lame film Tarzan and the Trappers.   (Essoe)
APE CRY
• Click on the image at right to hear the ape cry used in this film
PLOT - Note: Spoiler warning
• Dr Sturdy, the Randini doctor, and his daughter Anne, are having difficulty treating the local natives because they have fallen under the influence of their witch-doctor, Futa.  The old chief has died and Futa is keen to show that the chief's son is too young to rule.  Dr Sturdy must amputate the leg of a native woman, Toshina, who Tarzan has saved from a crocodile attack.  Jane suffers from abdominal pain and Tarzan and Tartu rush her to the hospital where her appendix is removed (above).  However, they learn that Toshina has died.  Futa urges Molo, Toshina's husband, who works at the hospital, to murder "Tarzan's woman" but Tartu scares him off.  Futa's henchman, Ramo, steals a vial of dangerous viral serum from the hospital while attempting to steal medicine that Futa hopes to use to take credit for curing the young chief, who has fallen ill.  Tarzan is captured and Ramo is about to remove his heart and feed Tarzan to a golden lion but the lion kills Ramo while Tarzan escapes (right).  Tarzan forces Futa to drink the deadly viral serum and he dies instantly.  Dr Sturdy cures the boy and Tarzan is happy to have his beloved Jane back.
 
MOVING PICTURES
Click on the image below to see the trailer for this film:
 
SOURCES
• Tarzan of the Movies by Gabe Essoe, 1968, The Citadel Press
IMAGES
• The poster for this film was pilfered from an eBay auction item
• Both photos are screenshots taken from my DVD of this film
• The video clip of the trailer for this film was uploaded to Youtube by me specifically to embed in this page

LYNX
• Read a review and rating of this film at At-A-Glance Film Reviews
• Read a fascinating Eve Brent filmography at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
CAPTURE
• This film has never been released commercially but collectors sometimes offer it on DVD on eBay

TARZAN® is the property of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Tarzana CA.
This independent, nonprofit, fan-based analysis of the Tarzan material is copyright © 2002-2008 Paul Wickham
This page was updated January 2008