Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

a_chinn Tarzan vs. Nazis! Johnny Weissmuller is back as Tarzan, although no longer at MGM and instead produced at a more modest of budget at RKO, this time has the Lord of the Jungle fighting Nazis with the help of Frances Gifford, the princess of a lost city that's been invaded by Nazi paratroopers. This is more of a silly Hollywood WWII propaganda film than a genuine Tarzan story. Still, seeing Tarzan so out of place with this story is pretty entertaining both as a so-bad-it's-good type fo film due to the gonzo idea of Tarzan fighting Nazis, but also still kind of works as a straight adventure film. Overall, it's ridiculous, but it's also entertaining. Look for Sig Ruman as a Nazi, who'd later be better known as Sgt. Johann Sebastian Schulz on "Hogan's Heroes." FUN FACT! MGM would not let RKO use their iconic recording of Tarzan's jungle yell and RKO has to make their own new knockoff "Tarzan Yell."

MartinHafer I was amazed to see one reviewer thought this was among the best of the series, as the original MGM series with Johnny Weissmuller had just switched to lower-status RKO and now were being made with considerably smaller budgets. In addition, Maureen O'Sullivan was on contract with MGM still and so there was no Jane in the series (until they eventually replaced her with another actress). Until then, they gave a wider variety of reasons to explain why she wasn't there--and it sounded a lot like Larry Mondello's father from "Leave it to Beaver". Not only had the budgets and Jane changed, but RKO relegated these good films to B-movie status--not only because of the budgets but because of the plots which were, to put it charitable, strange.Here in this film, Tarzan actually (and I am NOT kidding) fought the Nazis!!! Now if this doesn't clearly illustrate the term "jumping the shark", I don't know what does!! To "jump the shark" means when a series has reached its apex and is on the way down--and they do something very desperate to try to revive it. On "Happy Days" it was having the Fonz jump a shark tank on his motorcycle. On "The Brady Bunch" it was the addition to Cousin Oliver. On "Fairly Odd Parents" (and MANY other series) it was the addition of a baby. Well, although the Tarzan series was before TVs were available to the general public, it was a series and Tarzan fighting Nazis was clearly a case of jumping that 'ol shark!! In addition to Nazis in the middle of a lush jungle (shouldn't they have been taking over Europe or invading Russia?!?), we find that Tarzan has gone to charm school and grammar school, as his normal vocabulary of about 20 words has grown dramatically. The real surprise, though, was Boy--who apparently was taking on-line classes with University of Phoenix, as he spoke BETTER than kids educated in the USA! If you care about the plot (and RKO obviously didn't), it begins with Boy blundering about and almost killing himself (a very familiar plot device). He is saved by a sexy lady who comes from a tribe that speaks perfect English and also went to charm school. Later, when this lady's tribe is enslaved by the dreaded Hun, Tarzan responds by becoming the next Chuck Norris and wiping them out pretty much by himself (with some help from his jungle friends). Never mind that the Nazis had guns and grenades and the like! Because the plot is 100% stupid, you can't seriously give this film a high score. However, it IS still entertaining in a kitschy sort of way. And, if you want to see just how badly the Weissmuller series has sunk, give this one a look.

rxpell2006 When I think of Tarzan films, I think of this one - Cheetah's seminal scene at the end is one of my all-time favourite movie moments. This is, in my opinion the best of the Tarzan genre and I rate it a "10". I may be a bit biased having grown up watching these on TV, then going down the woods with my mates to build dens, climb trees and throw spears at anything that moved, but all the classic formulaic events of a Tarzan masterpiece are here. The big man himself, the jungle, dangerous animals ... throw in a bunch of Nazis for Tarzan to deal with too and how could it be anything but great ? Cheetah gives the performance of his life - he will have you rolling in the aisles with his antics near the end.If you haven't seen it and it comes on TV, give it a go ... sit back, suspend your disbelief, accept it wasn't made yesterday and take the special effects at face value ... and simply enjoy ...Superb.... now, where's my spear ?

Tom Eastland I haven't seen this film in over twenty years, but I remember it vividly. I remember laughing all the way through. In its day of course, Tarzan defeating a bunch of bumbling nazi idiots was seen as a proper patriotic display. Now it is a wonderful example of propaganda and laughable in its lack of subtlety. The part that I remember most clearly is where Cheetah (the chimpanzee) gets hold of a Nazi radio and begins to chatter away on it. The Nazis on the receiving end assume it is the fuhrer and do the full Heil Hitler bit. Hilarious. If I could get a copy of this film I would use it in my film classes as an example of its era.