Tarzan, the Ape Man

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David K Apr 12 There are so many Tarzan movies out there, but this one is close to being the definitive, must-see entry. The first one. I had seen this one long ago but many others in the interim. Coming back to this one as part of TCM's April 2025 Spotlight on films based on pulp fiction novels, I was reminded how good it was, not the tired entries of later years. See more 12/14/2021 This film introduced the chimpanzee Chetah and provided the first yodel yell. This was the first to introduce Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. See more dave s 03/28/2021 Many an hour was spent on Sunday mornings when I was a kid watching Tarzan movies on TV, so from a nostalgia perspective, Tarzan, the Ape Man is great. Unfortunately, the movie itself isn't all that great. It takes what seems like an interminable amount of time to get Tarzan involved in the action and once he arrives, it becomes a repetitive cycle of Tarzan leisurely kibitzing with Jane followed by a fight with a threatening animal, usually a lion, equipped with nothing but a knife and his good looks. Most scenes drag on much longer than they have to and many of the scenes that incorporate rear-screen projection are downright embarrassing. And the pygmies have to be seen to be believed, especially the one that gets tossed by the elephant. See more 06/18/2020 The best. Still amazingly exciting. See more jordan m 04/19/2020 I'm on the fence about the first half of the movie, as one can reasonably expect a very long prologue when the likely intention from the outset was a series of movies after a well-told origin story, but the pace was absolutely languid at the exact same time as the dialogue was positively SPRINTED through - I couldn't make out what Jane said to her dad any more than I could understand the tribesmen in their foreign language. They were talking far too fast for people who weren't in any hurry to do anything. That said, as soon as Tarzan starts fighting big cats, particularly one after another, seeing that in a 1932 movie just blew me away - I'm truly baffled as to how they pulled it off. A lot of the monkey suitwork and the costumes for them were very convincing as well, truly impressive coming a year before King Kong. They did a good job highlighting the acting prowess of Jane and of developing the character of Tarzan through how gently he comes to treat her. They did waste running time on scenes that should likely have been cut shorter, like the slow trek of the elephants carrying them at the end and the lengthy swimming scene with Jane. At the same time, they did a superb job splicing in different camera angles of the jungle cat fights. The first 30 minutes are definitely skippable, but otherwise an excellent watch. See more @TMProofreader 05/07/2019 The best thrilling movie ever made! With the best movie character ever portrayed: Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan! And the best movie quote ever spoken: "Jane. Tarzan. Jane. Tarzan." See more Read all reviews

Tarzan, the Ape Man

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