Tarzan movies featuring Johnny Weismuller in the title role began appearing in cinemas in 1932 with Tarzan the Ape Man. The series of Weismuller/Tarzan movies concluded in 1948 after a total of 12 motion pictures featured the Olympic swimmer-turned-actor Weismuller. These films are significant for several reasons.
Not only was Weismuller noteworthy, having built an impressive career as an Olympic swimmer with five gold and one bronze medal to his credit, but Tarzan and his Mate (the second film in the series) was considered a "technological marvel" in the 1930s. Mondo Cane reported in the article “Welcome to the Jungle” that “In 2003, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film (Tarzan and his Mate) ‘culturally, historically or aesthetically significant’ and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.”
Tarzan and Movie-making History
In a 2010 LA Times article called "Tarzan and his Mate the Avatar of its Time," Susan King explains that although the MGM Tarzan movies of the 30s and 40s "might seem primitive today, they displayed incredible technological achievement in their era." King then quotes Ben Burtt, an award-winning sound designer, who states that “It would be impossible to do a film like that today with all the animal work and stunt work....They are a one-of-a-kind in film history.”
The stock footage used in the Weismuller films was obtained from locations in Africa and contains authentic scenes from the country. The footage of African natives has historical value, and the film utilized sounds and techniques that add to the film’s significance. However, a discussion about Weismuller/Tarzan films should also include a common criticism of the character as created by pulp fiction writer Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan Marked by Racism
Some critics complain of racist undertones in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan stories. The original series of Burroughs books rationalize that Tarzan, due to inherent genetic superiority, is able to accomplish feats that the dark-skinned natives – despite living in the area for centuries – cannot. For instance, Tarzan communicates and commands many of the animals, learns to read, and adapts to the African jungle with more skill than the native-born Africans.
Jerome Weeks of the Baltimore Sun wrote a July 27, 1999 article, "Tarzan and the Race Card" saying that "According to (Edgar Rice) Burroughs, the white upper classes were meant to rule the world because they're stronger, smarter, tougher....Faced with the racism in the Tarzan books ("the baiting of blacks was Tarzan's chief divertissement," Burroughs declares in one story), editors of recent reprints have softened their language -- without altering Tarzan's domination over "ignorant tribes of savage cannibals."
The following passage from Jungle Tales of Tarzan is one example of Burroughs' language that may inspire offense: "[The little black boy] had seen Tarzan bring down a buck, just as Numa, the lion, might have done... Tibo, the little black boy, lacked the divine spark which had permitted Tarzan, the white boy, to benefit by his training in the ways of the fierce jungle. In imagination he was wanting, and imagination is but another name for super-intelligence. Imagination it is which builds bridges, and cities, and empires. The beasts know it not, the blacks only a little, while to one in a hundred thousand of earth's dominant race it is given as a gift from heaven that man may not perish from the earth."
Changing the Tarzan Character in Books, Television, and Movies
Such language has led to changes and modifications in Burroughs’ Tarzan character. To appeal to a culturally diverse audience, the Ape-man has been made less offensive in books and on screen. The Tarzan character has continually been revised and re-imagined. Among some of the television and movie actors portraying Tarzan:
- Ron Ely television series in the 60s - Tarzan
- Miles O’Keeffe (starring Bo Derek as Jane) in 1981 - Tarzan the Ape Man
- Christopher Lambert in 1984 - Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan
- Disney’s animated movie version in 1999 with Tony Goldwyn as the voice of Tarzan
- Travis Fimmel in short-lived television series of 2003
The character continues to be popular, and in April of 2011, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) released a DVD set containing eight of the Tarzan movies starring Johnny Weismuller in the title role and Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane (Brenda Joyce assumed the role of Jane after MGM studios transferred the franchise to RKO studios). The Weismuller characterization of Tarzan (although still considered offensive to some critics) diverged from the original Burroughs’ character and pleased many filmgoers in the 1930s. And as evidenced by the re-release of the films in DVD format, the Weismuller Tarzan movies still hold appeal.
Tarzan as a Hero in the 2000s
The Tarzan character underwent various incarnations after being created by writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Ape-man continues to be popular despite problems of racism in the characters original inception. Johnny Weismuller was a movie version of one of the most popular incarnations of the character, and the appeal of Weismuller’s Tarzan has endured from the 1930s to the 2000s. Audiences are still enthralled by these classic movies.
In the essay "Tarzan Revisited" written in 1963 by Gore Vidal for Esquire magazine, Vidal attempts to explain the continued appeal of the character. He writes “at every level, the human imagination has tried to imagine something better for itself than the existing society....In its naive way, the Tarzan legend returns us to that Eden where, free of clothes and the inhibitions of an oppressive society, a man can achieve in reverie his continuing need.” Gore concludes of Tarzan's appeal to human nature, “The individual’s desire to dominate his environment is not a desirable trait in a society which every day grows more and more confining. Since there are few legitimate releases for the average man, he must take to daydreaming.”
Sources:
- Cane, Mondo. "Welcome to the Jungle." DVDTown 2010.
- King, Susan. "Tarzan and his Mate the Avatar of its Time." 2010.
- Vidal, Gore. "Tarzan Revisited." Esquire.1963.
- Weeks, Jeremy. "Tarzan and the Race Card." Baltimore Sun.1999.
Marian Henderson - I was in the Marine Corps for 12 years, and after completing my last four-year enlistment, I became a Merchant Marine. I worked aboard ...
Join the Conversation