Robert J. Maxwell I understand that this movie was made with little expectation that it would be profitable. The main idea was to use some expensive film that had been shot on location in Africa for "Trader Horn" but never seen on the screen. It's believable. There's not much evidence of effort having been put into the story or characters. A lot of animals chase each other through the jungle.Maureen O'Sullivan is Miss Jane Parker, the daughter of C. Aubrey Smith. They, an extraneous white guy, and their native bearers are on safari in a part o the Dark Continent where the hand of man has never set foot. They're searching for an elephant graveyard. You know, the place where moribund elephants wander to die among their ancestors' bones? That's how Jane puts it anyway. Why, there must be a fortune in ivory in all those tusks! Of course, it's the devil of a time getting the tusks out of the skulls. In Alabama the Tuscaloosa. I don't care. I refuse to put any more effort into a joke like that than the writers, Cyril Hume and Ivor Novello, have put into the script.And, man, have they butchered Edgar Rice Burroughs' original story and characters. I was addicted to them when I was barely a teen. They were implausible then. Now the story and characters are dumbed down so that a five-year-old can absorb them. Eg., the original Tarzan was a Viscount by birth. You won't find that mentioned here. Somebody might ask, "What's a Viscount?" And, if I remember, Tarzan spoke not only ape language, which apes don't have, but was self taught in English as well. And his English was as good as any Brit's. His lexicon encompassed words like "scarcely" and "width." However, having Tarzan speak English means writing more dialog, which takes time, effort, skill, and money. Better -- and easier -- to have Johnny Weismuller thump his chest, say "Tarzan," then thump Maureen O'Sullivan's chest, at the sternoclavicular notch, and say, "Jane!" There now. Isn't that easier than having him ask something like, "I say, actually, what is your sincere impression of this verdant paradise?" There are so many scenes of combat involving so many different kinds of animals, from hippos, lions, leopards, gorillas, and crocodiles to dwarf humans, that I lost interest after a while. My interest was piqued momentarily as Jane's dress was gradually ripped to shreds by the jungle shrubs, and when she deliberately tore some swaths off to make a bandage for Tarzan's head.That brings up another subject. I don't know what Tarzan thought of Jane, per se, but she evidently grows affectionate towards him after spending some time in his tree house. She comes up with something like, "Oh, Tarzan, you don't even know what a kiss IS, do you?" Well, he may not know how to kiss but he sweeps her up tenderly in his arms and carries her slowly off to his rude budoir. And what does Jane do, you ask? Protest? Hardly. She submissively buries her face in his shoulder and allows herself to be taken away. To do what -- make fudge?The next time we see her, it's day time and she's lying on a leopard skin rug in the tree house, wreathed in smiles of satisfaction. And, at the fade out, Tarzan and Jane wave good-bye to the departing remnants of the safari, content to seek happiness alone in the jungle. (Well, not alone -- all those elephants.) But without benefit of clergy, I might add. I ask you, what kind of movie IS this? Would you let your children watch this salacious filth? What do you suppose they'll learn from it -- that it's fun to swing from the chandelier? How to play doctor in the tree house? No, no. Take us back to the original, where Tarzan and Jane remain pure and Tarzan is articulate enough to say, "Now Tarzan will wage war on the miscreant Gomangani."

James Christian I'm sure I saw bits and pieces of "Tarzan, the Ape Man" on television when I was a kid, but I never really paid much attention to it. I just recently checked out the DVD from my local library, and I was amazed to discover what I had been missing all these years.This movie made me feel like a young boy, craving excitement and adventure. This first installment in the MGM Tarzan movies delivers big time. Yes, the special effects and interweaving of the stock footage looks a bit dated, but remember that this film was only made three years after the first "talkie" (i.e. a sound picture, not a silent movie). There are certain techniques that obviously stem from the silent movie days. But to me, this just adds to the charm.The animal footage is excellent. For the first time in a long time, I was actually on the edge of my seat during a movie. The CGI effects today are amazing, but they're so overdone (most of the time). The thrills and suspense in "Tarzan" are heightened, because you know everything you see is physically tangible, not an actor reacting to a green screen.I still don't know how they did some of those scenes without anyone getting hurt. Swinging from the treetops, wrestling with lions, wrestling with leopards, being chased by wild animals--all of these things make for great entertainment and adventure.I should also mention that the relationship between Tarzan and Jane is one of the most captivating I've ever seen in a movie. It's very understated, yet very sexy. Today, they would ruin the story by making the couple have sex after five minutes. But because the sexual chemistry is only hinted at, the entire relationship is one of Jane flirting and Tarzan pursuing. It just builds and builds. This romance actually has excitement to it. Definitely one of the best screen romances of all time.Despite a few minor shortcomings in the special effects of the time, this is a thrilling movie. Great adventure, great excitement, great entertainment. Don't miss it!

Petri Pelkonen Tarzan: a mighty man who lives in the mighty jungle.He was raised by the apes and speaks the language of the apes.One day an elderly man named James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) and Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) come for an expedition to Africa in search of the elephant burial ground.Also Parker's beautiful daughter Jane joins them in the search that would bring them great riches.Then they hear an ululating yell coming from the trees.It is the yell of Tarzan who captures Jane and it is the beginning of a beautiful romance.W.S. Van Dyke is the director of Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) that is based on the famous book by Edgar Rice Burroughs.Johnny Weissmuller makes his first entrance as the character.Nobody did it better than Johnny.Maureen O'Sullivan plays the part of Jane Parker for the first time.What a beauty! What a talent! Together they make the couple of the century.And then there's of course Cheeta the chimpanzee.Today he's known as the world's oldest chimpanzee said to be born in 1932.The movie is full of thrilling situations.Just look at Tarzan fight all those wild animals of the jungle.Tarzan is a big thing for many kids, especially boys.In my life it also played some part in my younger years.And watching this movie now really brings the child out in me.Tarzan is for all ages.

Cyke 061: Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) - released 3/25/1932; viewed 6/04/06.Gandhi is arrested by the British again. The 1932 Winter Olympics go down in Lake Placid, New York. The first daytime soap, Clara, Lu, and Em debuts on the radio. Six million unemployed in Germany. Japan and China fight over Manchuria. The son of Charles Lindbergh is kidnapped and a media circus ensues. Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.BIRTHS: Dabney Coleman, Piper Laurie, Francois Truffaut, John Williams, Milos Forman, Ted Kennedy, Majel Barrett, Johnny Cash, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Shalit. DEATHS: Edgar Wallace, John Philip Sousa, George Eastman.DOUG: As 1932 gets underway, MGM unleashes the first of a long series of films starring Edgar Rice Burroughs' titular hero in Tarzan the Ape Man, starring Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane and Olympic gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. Big John looks good as Tarzan. He doesn't have to do much acting, just look wide-eyed, pose shirtless for the camera, and don't be afraid to touch Ms. Sullivan anywhere (I do love the moment when Tarzan grabs Jane's foot right out from under her). The scenes where he swings through the jungle are pretty cool, though they're clearly trapezes (did he do any of his own stunts?). Maureen O'Sullivan plays Jane. She gets to shoot a shotgun (and quite well at that), which surely made her a powerful female character in her day, but she's still a damsel in distress to me since she fills her luggage with her entire fall wardrobe, and for most of the movie she WON'T STOP SCREAMING! The best scenes are between Tarzan and Jane, particularly in the scene in the pond where she amuses herself with the fact that he can't understand her, while he looks over her with such childlike curiosity while touching her rather inappropriately and repeating every last word she says. There is some good action here, such as Tarzan battling a pair of lions (they look like real lions), but some of the effects look fake, especially at the beginning, when the Parkers walk in front of the row of natives, and it's clearly a processed screen; it looks so fake it's bizarre. The film is very uneven, switching between jungle scenes shot on set and choppy stock footage, with unconvincing effects and gorillas that are obviously guys in suits. I wasn't very satisfied with this, the first installment in Weissmuller's 12-film Tarzan series. I would like to check out the second film, Tarzan and his Mate, which I've read is the best.KEVIN: Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Johnny Weissmuller makes his debut as Edgar Rice Burroughs' titular hero in MGM's Tarzan the Ape Man. I doubt this is the best installment of the Tarzan movie series, but it's a cool adventure nonetheless. Some of the special effects are laughable, such as a scene at the beginning when Jane and her father admire a local tribe that is obviously a composite screen. Most of the apes look like guys in suits. Tarzan swings through the jungle on conveniently placed trapezes. But we do see Tarzan duking it out real live lions and tigers in between intimate scenes with Maureen O'Sullivan's Jane Parker. The character of Jane felt uneven to me. She's comfortable shooting a rifle and being outdoors, yet she brings along the entire east wing of Bloomingdale's with her on safari. The climax could've been better, (and easier to see), plus it's no fun watching the black guys get killed first. I look forward to the next adventure, Tarzan and His Mate. I'm sure the Production Code cracked down on the sexuality and the cruelty to animals in later films. Until then, welcome to the jungle, baby! Last film viewed: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). Last film chronologically: One Hour With You (1932). Next film: Scarface (1932).