Tarzan Goes To India

TARZAN GOES TO INDIA - 1962


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Director

John Guillermin

Producer

Sy Weintraub

Screenplay

Robert Hardy Andrews
& John Guillermin

MAIN CAST

Tarzan

Jock Mahoney

Jai, the Elephant Boy

Himself

Gajendra, King of the Elephants

Himself

Bryce

Leo Gordon

Princess Kamara

Simi

O'Hara

Mark Dana

Raju Kamar

Feroz Khan

Maharajah

Murad

Raj

Jagdish Raj

Chakra

G Raghaven

BACKGROUND

• With the retirement of Gordon Scott, Sy Weintraub began searching for Tarzan number 13. A driven 38-year-old striving for independence, he began by buying out his partner, Harvey Hayutin, and renaming his company Banner Productions. Weintraub saw Tarzan as taller, leaner and more agile than Gordon Scott had been. He had already chosen his next Tarzan when watching the first rushes of Tarzan the Magnificent. Playing the malevolent Coy Banton in that film was ex-stuntman Jock Mahoney. Mahoney, at 42, has the distinction of being the oldest rookie Tarzan ever - Weissmuller retired at 43. Mahoney had auditioned for the part when Weissmuller retired but had lost out to Lex Barker. Weintraub was keen to tap the lucrative foreign market and chose India as his new setting. He chose Simi, his lead actress, from 800 applicants who answered an ad in a Bombay daily and he discovered Jai the elephant boy on the streets of Bombay (see photo at left). Many felt that Mahoney was too lean to portray Tarzan but at the time the film became the biggest commercial success in the history of the series. (Essoe & Fury)

APE CRY

• To hear the ape cry used in this film click on the image at right

PLOT - Note: Spoiler warning

• Tarzan is summoned to India by an old friend, a maharajah, who is concerned that 300 elephants will be drowned when a valley is flooded by a new dam for a hydroelectric scheme. Tarzan clashes with O'Hara, the project manager, and Bryce, the construction engineer, who are determined to complete the project by the deadline and see Tarzan's plan to rescue the elephants as a major hindrance. Tarzan is assisted by the maharajah's daughter, Princess Kamara, and Jai, a young mahout who rides a mighty elephant named Gajendrah. Local refugees displaced by the new dam build a large stockade and Tarzan kills Bala, the rogue that leads the elephants, with an arrow to the brain. The refugees drive the elephants into the stockade and then Tarzan, riding Gajendrah, leads the elephants through the pass but he must demolish a blockade with an arrow rigged with dynamite to allow the elephants to escape. Tarzan then offers the services of both the elephants and the refugees to help finish the project on time. His mission is now completed.

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
• Kings of the Jungle by David Fury, 1994, McFarland Classics
IMAGES
• The French 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 web page

LYNX
• Read a review and rating of this film at the At-A-Glance Film Reviews
• Read a Jock Mahoney 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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