Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Directed by W. S. Van Dyke. Starring Maureen O’Sullivan, Johnny Weissmuller, C. Aubrey Smith, Neil Hamilton, Forrester Harvey, Doris Lloyd, Ivory Williams.

Dated attitudes and effects don’t spoil too much of the fun in this jungle adventure, a significant outing on the big screen for Edgar Rice Burrough’s creation: the first featuring swimmer Weissmuller in the title role (a character-performer pairing almost as synonymous in both directions as Lugosi and Dracula), and the introduction of the famous Tarzan jungle call, the “Wilhelm scream” of the series. Jane Parker (O’Sullivan) travels with her father (Smith) and explorer Hamilton through Africa on an expedition to discover the elephant graveyard of lore, encounters an “ape man” called Tarzan who rescues Jane from danger, but the others take it as an abduction. No one risks pulling a muscle in the acting department, but they’re always at risk of being upstaged by (real or fake) animal action, so come for the savage scraps and phony scenery—the pic was shot in California. Never quite exciting, but should satiate those in the mood for goofy escapist kitsch. Avoid that colorized version.

66/100