Tarzan Escapes (1936)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This may in fact have been the first movie in history to be the third installment in a series. It wasn't until much later that numbered sequels would even be applied to movies. I really do not like the title because it implies that Tarzan is captured and then he escapes from the city like King Kong. He is in fact captured in this movie, but he immediately escapes and it's pretty irrelevant to the rest of the movie. Anyway, this was still nice. I think my favorite bit would probably be how the sets still look great. I believe they used actual animals for this and it shows.I admit the plot could be better. It features Jane's cousin trying to bring her back to the city. It really is nice to see how this connects to the previous two films. It's not that much of a direct continuation, but still good. It's great to see all the characters and settings the original two movies had. While not a classic, it's still pretty enjoyable. It just has a very humble feeling to it and it's nice to see such an iconic star like Johnny Weismuller in such an iconic role. ***

Arriving in Africa from England are handsome medical student William Henry (as Eric Parker) and his attractive sister Benita Hume (as Rita). They are on the continent to find cousin Maureen O'Sullivan (Jane) and bring her back to civilization, where they hope she will claim an inheritance of half a million pounds. Living among the apes by choice, Ms. O'Sullivan mated with jungle man Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan) in "Tarzan and His Mate" (1934). Jane's cousins consider themselves lucky to find safari guide John Butler (as Captain Fry), but he secretly plans to cage Tarzan and display him as an exhibit... Not much happens here that hasn't happened before, some of it even in the previous MGM Tarzan adventures. The plot about bringing Tarzan and Jane back to civilization by hook or by crook didn't work before, and it won't work again. The title "Tarzan Escapes" should be comforting. As this installment was released after the enforcement of the Hays Production Code, MGM had O'Sullivan wear a much more modest costume. This isn't a total loss, however, as O'Sullivan is still sexy and beautiful. This was noticed by writer/director John Farrow, one of those brought in to patch up production problems.***** Tarzan Escapes (11/6/36) Richard Thorpe ~ Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, William Henry, Benita Hume

As a kid I LOVED all Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan flicks, including this one. But one incident has been bothering me all these years; Benita Hume finds two adorable lion cubs in a tree trunk, and as she picks them up in her arms and starts cuddling them, their mother appears rushing menacingly towards Benita. Capt Fry shoots the lioness dead just in the nick of time. What bothers me is that nothing more is said or shown of the two cubs, who, we are to assume, must have perished without their mother's protection and nourishment. My anxiety about the fate of the cubs was rekindled recently when I viewed the DVD version of the film. Another incident which disturbs me is when one of the native bearers tumbles screaming to his death from the precipitous rocky mountain passage; however, before falling he had dropped the large crate of supplies he was carrying, prompting Fry's comment: "That was a close call" (or something to that effect). Never mind that a human being has just perished horribly

Using tons of stock footage, not only from Trader Horn but also the first two films in the series (for example the alligator fight was used last time out) this is one of the weakest films in the MGM series. Its a huge let down after the classic Tarzan and His Mate which is possibly the best film in the series.The plot has Jane's cousins coming into the jungle to tell her that she has inherited a fortune if she'll come back to claim it. They are kind of in the bind since the relative that left her the money cut them out of the will.Hiring a great white hunter, who secretly wishes to capture Tarzan and sell him, the pair heads into the jungle where they run into the usual jungle troubles (more so because of the stock footage). After lots of talk Jane decides to go back to civilization and we get long sequences of Tarzan and Jame making kissy face. Finally into the last half hour the plot to capture Tarzan is put in motion and things at last become interesting as plans go awry and things look very grim for all concerned..Painfully dull film is clear evidence of a troubled production. the film seems to have been assembled from several different films with the first half hour playing as an almost exact repeats of the previous film. The middle third shows signs of having to stretch things out and having plot lines that ultimately went nowhere. The last third where Tarzan is captured and the party is put into peril is the point that the film finally comes to life (it also shows signs of the graphic violence that caused much of the need to re-shoot the film). To me its a great wonder how the series managed to continue on from here since this film isn't very good (except at the end).I would be hard pressed to explain it except I would have to say that it was the relationship between Weissmuller and O'Sullivan as Tarzan and Jane which kept people coming back. Its a beautifully acted pairing and really is one of the screens great couples.(I should probably also mention that this is the point that the film became less real and more fantastical with the appearance of the Tarzan tree house.) I really dislike the first hour or so of this film a great deal and find it a great waste of time and energy. If you can come in towards the end I would recommend giving the film a try. Otherwise I would just skip the whole film and move on to the next film in the series.