The Adventures of Tarzan

THE ADVENTURES OF TARZAN - 1921


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Directors

Robert F Hill & Scott Sidney

Producer

Louis Weiss

Story

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Adaptation

Robert F Hill & Lillian Valentine

MAIN CAST

Tarzan

Elmo Lincoln

Tarzan as a boy

Gordon Griffith

Jane Porter

Louise Lorraine

Queen La of Opar

Lillian Worth

Rokoff

Frank Whitson

Monsier Gernot

George Monberg

Clayton

Percy Pembroke

Arab Guard

Frank Merrill

The ape

Joe Martin

Waziri chief

Maceo Bruce Sheffield

BACKGROUND

• The Great Western Producing Company, witnessing the success of The Son of Tarzan serial (1920), approached ERB for a property, with the intention of producing their own Tarzan serial. He informed them that no further Tarzan rights could be sold until

the Weiss brothers' Numa Pictures Corporation filmed the second half of The Return of Tarzan. Great Western, who had produced a string of serials featuring Elmo Lincoln - The Flaming Disc, Elmo the Mighty and Elmo the Fearless - approached the Weisses to complete the project. Their initial hesitation subsided when they learned that Elmo Lincoln was to star. The Weiss brothers quickly negotiated a deal whereby they handled the sole distribution rights for the film. The screenplay for the 15-chapter serial was based partly on The Return of Tarzan, partly on Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar, and a considerable amount of invention by director Robert Hill and screenwriter Lillian Valentine. Filming began on 1 January 1921 at the Great Western west coast studios and later moved to Arizona for the desert sequences. A young, petite actress with a bright-eyed smile, Louise Lorraine, played Jane. A story that she celebrated her 16th birthday during production appears to be spurious as she was born in 1901, making her 20 at the time. She was obviously superior to all previous Janes. Frank Merrill, who was to play Tarzan eight years later in Tarzan the Mighty and Tarzan the Tiger, had a small role as an Arab. Lillian Worth plays La of Opar. The film was released in December 1921 and enormous box office returns proved once again the lasting popularity of the character. (Essoe, Fenton & Fury)

PLOT - Note: Spoiler warning

• The story is an amalgam of The Return of Tarzan and Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. The origin of the Tarzan legend is recounted once again before switching to a tropical island where William Clayton and Rokoff compete for Jane's attention following a shipwreck. Tarzan, of course, arrives to save her from the villains and the obligatory lion. The story mentions a plot by Rokoff to steal a plan for the development of a deadly nerve gas but a search for the gold of the lost city of Opar drives most of the action. Strangely, the only map to Opar is tattooed on Jane's shoulder, making her a highly desirable prize. Jane is also sought by some Arab ivory bandits keen to sell her into slavery. She is repeatedly kidnapped by the Arabs, Rokoff, and his sidekick, Gernot, but Tarzan rescues her every time. Once in Opar, Jane is also threatened by Queen La who wants to kill her because La wants Tarzan for herself. Tarzan traps Rokoff and Gernot in a cave and takes them prisoner to hand over to the French government. Tarzan also makes his peace with La and the Oparians. The story closes on the happy couple, united once more.

SERIAL CHAPTER TITLES

Chapter 1 - Jungle Romance	Chapter 2 - The City of Gold	Chapter 3 - The Sun Death
Chapter 4 - Stalking Death	Chapter 5 - Flames of Hate	Chapter 6 - The Ivory Tomb
Chapter 7 - The Jungle Trap	Chapter 8 - The Tornado	Chapter 9 - Fangs of the Lion
Chapter 10 - The Simoon	Chapter 11 - The Hidden Foe	Chapter 12 - Dynamite Trail
Chapter 13 - The Jungle's Prey	Chapter 14 - Flaming Arrows	Chapter 15 - The Last Adventure

MOVING PICTURES

Click on the images below to view Chapter 2 of this film - Part 1 (left) & Part 2 (right).

SOURCES
• Tarzan of the Movies by Gabe Essoe, 1968, The Citadel Press
• The Big Swingers by Robert W Fenton, 1967, Prentice Hall
• Kings of the Jungle by David Fury, 1994, McFarland Classics
• Many thanks to Dave Eversole for pointing out Louise Lorraine's correct age
IMAGES
• The Adventures of Tarzan poster was pilfered from an eBay auction item
• The top photo is from Kings of the Jungle by David Fury
• The bottom photo is from Tarzan of the Movies by Gabe Essoe, 1968, The Citadel Press
• The embedded Youtube videos were provided by Youtuber serialsquadron. Many thanks!

LYNX
• An Elmo Lincoln filmography from IMDB (Internet Movie Database)
• Essay: Five Tarzans - The Silent Apemen by Gene Popa
• Learn much more about this film at Bill Hillman's comprehensive The Adventures of Tarzan page
CAPTURE
• Bag yourself a copy of this film on DVD at eBay - it appears there regularly

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