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Tarzan, the Ape Man

Play trailer Poster for Tarzan, the Ape Man Released Mar 25, 1932 1h 39m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Ivory-seeking explorers Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) and James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) arrive in a remote jungle to search for a mythical elephant graveyard. Accompanied by Parker's lovely daughter, Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), the men are at odds with their dangerous environment. When the virile Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and his primate companions abduct Jane, it creates conflict between the jungle dwellers and the outsiders. As Jane spends time with Tarzan, however, she begins to fall for him.
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Tarzan, the Ape Man

Critics Reviews

View All (15) Critics Reviews
Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: 4/5 Aug 1, 2002 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy It’s interesting to note the differences between the pre-Code Tarzan flicks and the ones produced after the Hays office put a tight lid on “immorality” in the movies. Rated: 3.5/4 Dec 26, 2023 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Sticking to one of the primary themes of Burroughs’ series, it’s eventually evident that man is more barbarous and cruel than the untamed beasts merely surviving in the wild. Rated: 7/10 Aug 29, 2022 Full Review María Luz Morales (Felipe Centeno) La Vanguardia (Spain) Beautifully linked to a fable, within its genre, full of originality, emotion and interest. [Full Review in Spanish] Feb 29, 2020 Full Review Steve Crum Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers Very vine, er...fine Weismuller, his first, with sexy O'Sullivan Jane. Rated: 5/5 Aug 25, 2006 Full Review Daniel Eagan Film Journal International First and rawest of the Weismuller Tarzans Rated: 4/5 Sep 13, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (91) audience reviews
Audience Member This film introduced the chimpanzee Chetah and provided the first yodel yell. This was the first to introduce Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review robert p Only the Great Johnny W, could do Tarzan and its a great movie even though its in black and white screen. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review dave s 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. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The best. Still amazingly exciting. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review jordan m 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. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member 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." Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Tarzan, the Ape Man

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Movie Info

Synopsis Ivory-seeking explorers Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) and James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) arrive in a remote jungle to search for a mythical elephant graveyard. Accompanied by Parker's lovely daughter, Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), the men are at odds with their dangerous environment. When the virile Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and his primate companions abduct Jane, it creates conflict between the jungle dwellers and the outsiders. As Jane spends time with Tarzan, however, she begins to fall for him.
Director
W. S. Van Dyke II
Producer
Bernard H. Hyman, Irving Thalberg
Screenwriter
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Cyril Hume, Ivor Novello
Distributor
Warner Home Vídeo, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 25, 1932, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 7, 2016
Runtime
1h 39m
Sound Mix
Mono
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