I read somewhere that the legend of the first version of Tarzan Escapes being too strong for audiences is a hoax. Does anyone have real info on whether the vampire bat scenes were cut because they were too scary or because they were too hokey. I also read that the movie was a mess because of continuity and just had to be reworked to give it that MGM polish.
shareThere were actually two versions of the film. The story from the first version has been preserved in the Whitman Big Little Book edition, which also features many stills from the unreleased version. It can be read online here:
http://www.geostan.ca/blb-index.html
I believe that some shots from the first version were worked into the second. Near the beginning of the film, when the safari has been attacked by the Gabonis and are crossing the river at the base of the Mutia escarpment, Jane is among them in one brief shot, with her back to the camera. It is strange that the half sheet from the 1954 reissue features a still of Tarzan aiming a spear at a crocodile, a still from the bat sequence, and artwork that shows Jane with the shorter hair she had in the earlier version. Some of the lobby cards from the 1954 reissue might also reflect scenes from the unreleased version. I really wish it would turn up in the vaults somewhere.
Smeghead1, THANKS for that link! I'm reading the book right now, and having re-watched the film last night, the differences are quite pronounced.
For one thing, Eric & Rita are surrounded by danger right from the beginning. Then, when they meet Captain Fry, we learn he has a BAD reputation with everyone who knows him. Also, he plans to find and capture "the white ape" from the beginning. he was planning an expedition to do this, even before Eric & Rita arrived.
And then we see Tarzan rescues his animals friends. He LEFT the escarpment to do this, something we never saw him do until several movies later.
Whatever (apart from the Hayes Office) compelled them to scrap all this??? It's been my observation that, the more rewrites a project has, the WORSE it tends to get.
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Is there any chance there is a copy of the original version somewhere in the world .
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