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Actually, the second Lex Barker outing as Edgar Rice Burroughs' Lord of the Apes should have been called "Tarzan and the Slave Girls" rather than "Tarzan and the Slave Girl." Of course, the action unfolds in darkest Africa and it has a largely incidental quality. Tarzan and Jane are riding an elephant through the jungle with Cheetah following close behind them on a smaller elephant. They enter the land of the Nagasi , natives that Tarzan is friendly with just as some intruders abduct one of the village girls out picking fruit. The villains are the Lionians and they are led by Sengo (Anthony Caruso) and capturing one village maiden is not enough for them so they try to snatch Jane as a prize. Predictably, Tarzan thwarts them. Along the way our heroes discover that the Lionians are afflicted with some deadly disease. Tarzan has to fetch a doctor to save the day. Barker makes a hard charging Tarzan and "Superman and the Mole People" director Lee Sholem likes to show Barker scrambling through the foliage like a linebacker on the prowl. Indeed, Sholem prefers to have Barker run toward the camera and leap over it and uses this set-up on several occasions. Fans of the NBC-TV show "The A-Team" may remember how all kinds of vehicles used to drive over the camera. Well, Sholem constantly has Tarzan jumping over the camera running toward it or leaping over it from a reverse angle. Clocking in at 79 minutes, "Tarzan and the Slave-Girl" follows the Ape man as he plunges into the jungle and follows the Lionians to their stomping grounds. Along the way, Tarzan and company encounter some creepy natives that used poisonous blow darts and disguise themselves like the bush around them. Anthony Caruso is the chief villain and all his efforts are aimed at usurping the High Priest so he can take over. This "Tarzan" outing has future sex-pot Denise Darcel as a native girl who wants to make out with Tarzan. At one point, Darcel tangles with Tarzan's mate Jane (Vanessa Brown in a two-piece outfit) over Tarzan. The feverish action, Barker's straightforward but muscular performance and a solid supporting cast bolsters this predictable fare. Yes, Tarzan belts out his signature yell at the end when he gets trapped in a tomb and he needs an elephant to knock the walls down. Cheetah has a couple of good scenes. One of them has the chimp guzzling liquor while in the second one he is knocking out Lionian guards during the finale.
lugonian
TARZAN AND THE SLAVE GIRL (RKO Radio, 1950) directed by Lee Sholem, returns Lex Barker to the role made famous by Johnny Weissmuller in years past. After a promising start with TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN (1949) that introduced Barker as Lord of the Jungle, along with acquiring Weissmuller's very own blonde Jane (Brenda Joyce) in the process, this second edition finds Barker as well as the series going through another period of adjustment, not so much for the stories or character development, but in selecting the right actress to play Tarzan's mate. Although another blonde in the physical resemblance to Brenda Joyce might have helped fit the bill, a darker red-headed type of Vanessa Brown, in two piece attire, in the physical manner of Maureen O'Sullivan's interpretation back in the MGM days (1932-1942). Regardless, Brown is no threat to either O'Sullivan or Joyce.Scripted by Hans Jacoby and Arnold Belgard, the writers keep the story going by inventing new tribes and situations for the jungle man to encounter. As Tarzan (Lex Barker) and Jane (Vanessa Brown), accompanied by Cheta and companion, riding down the path on their elephants, their peaceful venture is interrupted by the scream and abduction of one of the tribal Nagasi girls gathered together by the pond. The kidnappers are revealed to be warriors of the Lionian tribe who've been abducting girls throughout the surrounding area. With a deadly disease found among the Nagasi's that could spread and kill within a few hours, Tarzan comes to the village seeking help from Doctor Campbell (Arthur Shields), who happens to carry a special serum that can both vaccinate and cure those infected. Campbell is assisted by Lola (Denise Darcel), a temperamental half-breed nurse with flirtatious intentions on Neil (Robert Alda), a drunken big game hunter. She soon takes an interest in Tarzan, causing Jane to become jealous. As Tarzan, Campbell and others head for the Nagasi village with the serum, Jane and Lola remain behind in the tree house where they are soon taken by the Lionians as their latest slave girl victims. After Lola is whipped brutally for refusing the Prince's (Hurd Hatfield) advances, she and Jane soon break away from their captures. As Tarzan and the safari have their own troubles avoiding poisoned darts from attacking natives, and misplacing the bottled serum in the process, Jane and Lola, discovered hiding in the dead king's mausoleum, become trapped inside as the evil Sengo (Anthony Caruso) gives orders to have the tomb sealed, leaving the girls to be buried alive.As the Tarzan formula proved popular enough to resume a new film annually, the story used for TARZAN AND THE SLAVE GIRL, which plays like a chaptered serial or Saturday matinée, is satisfactory enough to hold interest for 74 minutes. What bogs it down is the bad acting by Vanessa Brown. After being accustomed by Brenda Joyce's interpretation, Brown's performance pales in comparison. It's even hard to interpret during the crowd scenes whether she's one of the slave girls or Jane. There's nothing about her Jane that stands out. The only redeeming quality is the blonde Denise Darcel, whose mannerism and voice comes as an instant reminder to Mexican actress Lupe Velez from the "Mexican Spitfire" film series (1939-1943) for RKO Radio. Sporting a revealing sarong, she gets her chance to shine with her hair pulling fighting match with Jane. Guess who wins? Robert Alda, who, a few short years ago played the lead as George Gershwin in RHAPSODY IN BLUE (Warner Brothers, 1945), is sadly wasted as the booze-drinking hunter. His scenes are as limited as Hurd Hatfield, best known for his title role in THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (MGM, 1945). Anthony Caruso as the prince's wicked adviser comes off well, but not enough to rise the script to a different level. Amusements revolving around Cheta, one where she gets drunk, are thrown in for good measure. Robert Warwick as the High Priest and Tito Renaldo playing the chief's son also round up the supporting cast.As for its title, it's hard determining which slave girl is actually the key factor, considering how Tarzan spends much of his time with the safari and Jane rather than with any sole slave girl. Maybe this should have been retitled TARZAN AND THE SLAVE GIRLS, indicating they are the ones he's set out to rescue, but by using that could indicate Tarzan is now husband with harem girls.Formerly presented on Tarzan festivals on Cable TV's American Movie Classics (1998-2000), TARZAN AND THE SLAVE GIRL, available on DVD from Turner Home Entertainment, has turned up on Turner Classic Movies where it premiered as part of its weekly "Tarzan" lineup on July 9, 2011. Lex Barker returns for the next installment in TARZAN'S PERIL (1951), but without Vanessa Brown playing Jane. (**)
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This film offers some special treats: poison darts, a mysterious tribe of camouflaged warriors known as the Whati, Denise Darcel as Lola the Nurse, a man-eating lion pit, Vanessa Brown and a slave girl dog pile on one of the fat guards. The darts are particularly pungent and drop victims in their tracks. The Whati are foreboding and could have been used more throughout the film. The lion pit shows a continuity problem where one of Tarzan's adversaries is thrown in to be devoured only to reappear thirty seconds later to get thrown in a second time with same result. Vanessa Brown is fun to watch and feels "girl next door". She leaves the tree house in pursuit of rogue warriors with her bow and arrow - would have been great for her to show archery skills and get one of the bad guys - if this film were made today would surely have given Jane an opportunity to shine this way with an arrow to one or two of the kidnappers thorax or esophagus. Denise Darcel exudes sexuality and you can see her longing to have her way with Tarzan. She surely must have been the inspiration for Charro's hoochie coochie bumps and grinds made famous 15 years later on 60's TV variety shows. The dog pile scene occurs when Tarzan breaks into the palace and the slave girls on cue immobilize one of the lucky(er...)unlucky accomplices and block the door momentarily long enough for Tarzan to get away. Lex Barker looks particularly fit doing most of his fight and climbing scenes(Jock Mahoney doing tough stunts?). Anthony Caruso is the heavy and does his usual great work. Robert Alda, Alan's dad, is also on hand to lend credibility to the story. Chimp antics in this film are not as good as those in Magic Fountain but are still timeless fun for the kid in all of us.
