Tarzan the Ape Man (1932 film)
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- You may be looking for Tarzan, the Ape Man from 1959, or Tarzan, the Ape Man from 1981
| Tarzan the Ape Man | |
|---|---|
 Tarzan the Ape Man 1932 poster |
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| Directed by | W.S. Van Dyke |
| Written by | Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel) Cyril Hume (adaptation) |
| Starring | Johnny Weissmuller Neil Hamilton Maureen O'Sullivan C. Aubrey Smith |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | March 25, 1932 (New York City premiere) |
| Running time | 99 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $652,675 (estimated) |
| Followed by | Tarzan and His Mate |
| IMDb profile | |
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith and Maureen O'Sullivan. The movie is loosely based on Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes, with the dialogue written by Ivor Novello. The movie was directed by W.S. Van Dyke (who later went on to direct The Thin Man and the first three of its five sequels). It was remade twice, first in 1959 and later in 1981.
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[edit] Plot
James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) and Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich. Parker's beautiful young daughter Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) arrives unexpectedly to join them. Harry is obviously attracted to Jane and he does his best to help protect her from all the dangers that they experience in the jungle. Jane is terrified when Tarzan (Weissmuller) and his ape friends first abduct her, but when she returns to her father's expedition she has second thoughts about leaving Tarzan. After the expedition is captured by a tribe of violent dwarfs, Jane sends Cheeta to bring Tarzan to rescue them.
[edit] Firsts
- Tarzan the Ape Man was the first Tarzan film to star Weissmuller, O'Sullivan and Cheeta the chimpanzee. The character of Cheeta was created for this film, never having appeared in the original Burroughs novels.
- It also marked the first film appearance of the chimpanzee most closely associated with the Cheeta role, Jiggs -- not as Cheeta himself, but as the young chimp riding on the back of Cheeta. He would take over the Cheeta role with the third film of the series, Tarzan Escapes. As of 31 March 2008, Jiggs is still alive, living at "Casa de Cheeta" in Palm Springs, California, and has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-living non-human primate in history.
- The film was the first of a long series of franchised Tarzan films running from 1932 into the 1970s, initially starring Weissmuller and later other actors.
- Tarzan's distinctive call was first heard in this film; it was reportedly created by sound recordist Douglas Shearer using special audio effects, including an Austrian yodel played backwards at quickened speed. Weissmuller himself always claimed he had created the trademark Tarzan yell in a yodeling contest he won while he was a boy. He later learned to mimic the famous call so well people assumed that he was the one doing the yell in the films.
[edit] Cast
Johnny Weissmuller ... Tarzan
Neil Hamilton ... Harry Holt
Maureen O'Sullivan ... Jane Parker
C. Aubrey Smith ... James Parker
Doris Lloyd ... Mrs. Cutten
Forrester Harvey ... Beamish
Ivory Williams ... Riano
[edit] References
DVD commentary for the Tarzan Collection DVD set released in 2005.
