wes-connors Jungle king Johnny Weissmuller (as Tarzan) rescues sexy screaming Shirley O'Hara (as Athena) from some hungry felines. She turns out to be part of a group of similarly sexy White Amazon women in leopard skin one-piece suits. Apparently, the animals wanted their fur back. Soon after carrying Ms. O'Hara home to Amazon queen mother Maria Ouspenskaya, Mr. Weissmuller and cute son Johnny Sheffield (as Boy) welcome beautiful blonde Brenda Joyce (recast as Jane) into the wilds of Africa, after the her character spent two films nursing soldiers during World War II...Ms. Joyce notices how much young Sheffield has grown, is politely mum about Weissmuller's expanding waistline, and has a hug for "Cheeta" the chimp. As it turns out, Harry Stephenson (as Guy Henderson) and the archaeologists bringing Joyce back to the fold become interested in finding the recently visited (by Weissmuller) Amazon kingdom. Villainous Barton MacLane (as Ballister) gets greedy and Sheffield's life is threatened. "Tarzan and the Amazons" is fairly typical for the series, with lovely background scenery and Ms. Ouspenskaya's women being the main attractions.***** Tarzan and the Amazons (4/29/45) Kurt Neumann ~ Johnny Weissmuller, Johnny Sheffield, Brenda Joyce, Maria Ouspenskaya

Richard Burin Tarzan and the Amazons (Kurt Neumann, 1945) is a pretty joyless third entry in the low-budget RKO continuation, following the very strong Tarzan's Desert Mystery. Boy (Johnny Sheffield) is being sullen and stupid - ignoring Tarz's best advice as he helps lead a dodgy expedition to a rich land ruled by women. Then Muscles has to go and bail him out. Wooden acting and predictable plotting sink it, after a reasonable opening. Brenda Joyce appears as the returning Jane - her first entry in the series - with Barton MacLane your arch villain. The cast also includes Henry Stephenson, as key supporting players of the '30s and early '40s find themselves somewhat slumming.

gerdeen The politics of this movie struck me like a thunderbolt a few years ago. Even as a child, I had found something odd about it. But finally I realized as a middle-aged man what was wrong: The empire of the Amazons is a xenophobic, brutal, collectivist dictatorship.It's not at all like the gentle lost civilizations in other Tarzan movies. It's a robotic workers' paradise, a Stalinist mini-state plopped down in the primeval heart of Africa. It's the kind of place Tarzan normally would hate, but he is its staunch ally. He practically grovels. And the villains are greedy men obsessed with gold. They're not saints, certainly, but are they any worse than the people Tarzan throws in with? And to cap it all off, the high priestess is played by the most famous Russian actress in America at the time, Maria Ouspenskaya.I can't cite all the evidence without spoilers, but just look at this movie for yourself. They are everywhere.What's up here? Consider the timing. This movie was made in 1945, the last year of World War II, the apex of U.S.-Soviet cooperation. American movies were celebrating the Soviet system, with the active encouragement of the U.S. government. All this would change soon, but in 1945, Josef Stalin was a hero in Hollywood.Are the Amazons the Soviets? Are the gold-seekers the forces of capitalism? I think so. With the kind of strong left-wing views permeating Hollywood at the time, it wouldn't be so ridiculous to have a Red screenplay in the jungle.This doesn't alarm me, and it probably sailed over most viewers' heads. (Nothing like pretty girls to take your mind off politics.) But I find it a very cogent theory, and I'm certain I wasn't the first person to think of it.Please don't write me off as a kook. Look and see.

NewEnglandPat This jungle adventure was a popular Saturday matinée entry and has a simple but effective plot of archaeologists looking for a mysterious city of a warrior tribe of women. The white hunters are searching for wealth and riches believed to be in the domain of the Amazons and convince Tarzan's son to guide them to the hidden valley. Tarzan and Jane quarrel about Boy's involvement with the safari because the jungle man knows that the intruders are headed for trouble when they encounter the Amazons. Johnny Weissmuller was winding down in his role as Tarzan but is good as always as the king of the jungle. Brenda Joyce is okay in her first role as Jane and Johnny Sheffield is the troublesome youngster who disobeys Tarzan. Barton MacClane is good as the heavy and Cheetah is along for some scene-stealing fun.