The Son of Tarzan

THE SON OF TARZAN - 1920


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Director

Arthur J Flaven & Harry Revier

Executive Producer

David P Howells

Producer

Harry M Ruby

Story

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Adaptation

Ray Somerville

MAIN CAST

Tarzan

P Demsey Tabler

Jane Parker

Karla Schramm

Korak as a boy

Gordon Griffith

Korak

Kamuela C Searle

Ivan Paulovitch

Eugene Burr

Meriem as a girl

Mae Giraci

Meriem

Manilla Martan

BACKGROUND

• The death of Bill Parsons, and his replacement by former National Film Corporation treasurer, Harry M Ruby, allowed that studio

to reopen negotiations with ERB (see Background - The Revenge of Tarzan). National paid Burroughs $20,000 for the rights to the fourth Tarzan novel, The Son of Tarzan, and a decision was made to abandon the format of the other three films and to make it into a 15-chapter serial, then very popular in the heyday of the silent era. After several substitutions of the key players the principal roles of Korak and Meriem went to Kamuela C Searle, a muscular Hawaiian actor with long dark hair, and Manilla Martan (below left). Gordon Griffith, the child actor who had played the young Tarzan in both Tarzan of the Apes and The Romance of Tarzan played Jack, Tarzan's son, and Mae Giraci, played Meriem as a girl (left). Karla Schramm reprised her role as Jane from The Revenge of Tarzan and Tarzan was badly miscast in the person of P (Perce) Dempsey Tabler, a balding 40-year-old with a poor physique who wore an ill-fitting wig in the jungle flashback scenes (below right). Kamuela Searle was supposedly killed during production when a nervous and excited elephant dropped the stake that he was tied to, crushing him to death. Taliafero doubts this story and points out that Searle's brother claimed that Kamuela died from cancer in 1924, four years after this film. It is also interesting to note that he made one other film after this one, Fools Paradise in 1921, for Cecil B DeMille. (Essoe, Fury, Taliafero & IMDb)

PLOT - Note: Spoiler warning

• Tarzan and Jane now live in civilised London with their son, Jack, who shows inclinations of having inherited some of his father's wild instincts. Jack attends a vaudeville show where an ape is being exhibited and the ape, an old acquaintance of Tarzan's, goes

berserk when he recognises the ape-man's son. The ape's keeper, Paulovich, Tarzan's old antagonist, sees an opportunity for revenge and attempts to kill Jack, but Akut, the ape, saves the boy. Jack and Akut flee the scene and embark for Africa with Akut disguised as an elderly invalid and Jack posing as her grandson. Once in Africa Jack and Akut disappear into the jungle and Jack's wild side quickly develops until he becomes Korak (ape language for "killer"). Korak rescues a young, white girl named Meriem from a band of cruel Arabs and together they mature into adults, both savage denizens of the jungle (left). Tarzan and Jane (right) return to Africa, lured there by Paulovich with news that Jack may still be alive. Meriem is recaptured by the Sheik who raised her many years before. He also captures Jane, and Tarzan and Korak are soon converging on the same Arab camp. Paulovich is murdered by his partner, the Swede, who desires Meriem. Korak kills the Sheik but is captured and is being burned at the stake when Tantor, the elephant, arrives to save him. Korak is reunited with Meriem, Tarzan with Jane, and the long-separated family are together again.

SERIAL CHAPTER TITLES

Chapter 1 - The Call of the Jungle	Chapter 2 - Out of the Lion's Jaws	Chapter 3 - Girl of the Jungle
Chapter 4 - The Sheik's Revenge	Chapter 5 - The Pirates Prey	Chapter 6 - The Killer's Mate
Chapter 7 - The Quest of the Killer	Chapter 8 - Coming to Tarzan	Chapter 9 - The Kiss of the Beast
Chapter 10 - Tarzan Takes the Trail	Chapter 11 - Ashes of Love	Chapter 12 - Meriem's Ride in the Night
Chapter 13 - Double Crossed	Chapter 14 - Blazing Hearts	Chapter 15 - An Amazing Denoument

MOVING PICTURES

Click on the image below to see a short montage of scenes from this 15 Chapter serial:

LOBBY CARDS

Click on the image below to view a partial set of lobby cards 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
• Tarzan Forever by John Taliaferro, 1999, Simon & Schuster
• Many thanks to Dave Eversole for clarifyng the use of P Dempsey Tabler's wig
IMAGES
• All three photos are from Tarzan of the Movies by Gabe Essoe, 1968, The Citadel Press
• The video clip of the montage of scenes from this film was uploaded to Youtube by me specifically to embed in this web page
LYNX
• Read the essay: Five Tarzans - The Silent Apemen by Gene Popa
• Learn much more about this film at Bill Hillman's comprehensive The Son of Tarzan page
CAPTURE
• This film has never been released commercially but you can sometimes bag yourself a copy on DVD from collectors on eBay

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