Tarzan's Greatest Adventure

TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE - 1959


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Director

John Guillermin

Producers

Sy Weintraub & Harvey Hayutin

Story

Les Crutchfield

Screenplay

Berne Giler & John Guillermin

MAIN CAST

Tarzan

Gordon Scott

Slade

Anthony Quayle

Angie

Sara Shane

Kruger

Niall MacGinnis

O'Bannion

Sean Connery

Dino

Al Mulock

Toni

Scilla Gabel

BACKGROUND

• Sol Lesser, who had been involved in the production of fifteen Tarzan films since 1931, finally decided to sell the vehicle because of ailing health and poor returns. The buyers, young producers Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin, had a new vision for Tarzan and were confident that with proper management money could be made from the character. They paid Lesser two million dollars for all the physical assets of the production company, all Tarzan properties including past films, the TV and film rights, and, importantly, Gordon Scott's contract. In an attempt to interest women in Tarzan they eliminated the wholesome Jane and tried to make Tarzan more literate, without diminishing his primitive side. They also concluded that the two most successful elements of any of the recent films were the use of location footage and English production crews. British director John Guillermin and writer Berne Giler developed a taut, fast-paced script, hired talented actors to co-star and filmed eighty per cent of the film in Africa. Scott plays Tarzan as a grim-faced avenger, much like the Tarzan of the novels, and the results are exceptional. I consider this film to be among the top four Tarzan films of all time - the others are Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), Tarzan and His Mate (1934) and Tarzan the Magnificent (1960). (Essoe)

APE CRY
• Click on the image at right to hear the ape cry used in this film

PLOT - Note: Spoiler warning

• When Tarzan's old enemy, Slade, a ruthless killer, and his gang murder a doctor and his assistant at the nearby hospital while stealing dynamite to use in a diamond mine they are seeking, Tarzan offers to help track them down. Angie, an attractive, cynical blonde pilot crashes her plane in the jungle and Tarzan is forced to drag her along on the man hunt. Tarzan uses a jungle shortcut to get upriver of Slade's boat and manages to build a blockade of fallen trees to trap the boat. Slade uses dynamite to clear the blockage and Tarzan is badly injured by the explosions. He still manages to track O'Bannion, Slade's tough young partner, and kills him with an arrow through the heart. Angie is captured by Slade, Toni, Slade's girlfriend, and Kriger, a German gem cutter. Toni is killed in a lion pit, Angie escapes and finds Tarzan, and Slade and Kriger push on to the mine. Kriger is killed by Slade in the mine and Tarzan sends Angie back to the settlement while he pushes on to track Slade alone. Tarzan overtakes Slade atop a waterfall where they battle savagely until Slade is thrown to the rocks below. When Angie hears Tarzan's victorious ape-cry she knows he has survived the struggle.

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 Spanish poster for this film was pilfered from an eBay auction item
• Both photos are screenshots 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 web page

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

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