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What did you rate 'Tarzan Finds a Son!' (1939)?

posted 17 years ago by J. Spurlin
7 replies | jump to latest

A plane crash in the jungle kills a mother and father but their baby survives; Tarzan and Jane adopt it. The boy grows to five before his relatives come looking for him.

Due to censorship of the time Tarzan and Jane must find a baby son, rather than have one, as the pair weren't legally married. (The only thing wrong with censorship is that the wrong people are always the censors.) Once you accept their jungle Neverland as a fantasy, Tarzan and Jane become remarkably convincing and sympathetic within it.

This fourth adventure is a step above the sloppy third one. I rated this a 7. What did you rate it? And what do you think of it?

... Justin

[–] jimbo-38 13 years ago

I give it a 7, as well. Jane looked absolutely fabulous (man, did she ever have big hair in this movie). Tarzan was his usual great albeit stoic self. But Boy truly stole the show- what a charismatic kid. The only real weakness-- the white villains weren't that strong. And Tarzan let the wife and the other guy go at the end. I mean, I have no objection to that, except they shoulda fallen into some quicksand or been eat by a rhinoceros or something.

[–] J. Spurlin 13 years ago

Jane looked absolutely fabulous (man, did she ever have big hair in this movie).

Did she? It's now been about three and a half years since I saw this movie. Was it 1980s big?

...Justin

[–] jimbo-38 13 years ago

Pretty darn big
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/5672765647_8b4ff47668.jpg

[–] J. Spurlin 13 years ago

Wow, maybe she's concealing a few coconuts in there.

Are you watching this collection? amazon.com/Collection-Starring-Weissmuller-Treasure-Adventure/dp/B0001 NBLYA I watched that one, and more recently, Vol. 2, which has the even-sillier (but still entertaining) RKO films.

...Justin

[–] jimbo-38 13 years ago

If you watch the movie, the size of Jane's hair seems to change every now and then. I think it depended on the level of humidity the day they were shooting. I'm not watching the collection you mention, but TCM was featuring a Tarzan movie every Saturday morning. Yeah, the RKO films were sillier, but who could resist Tarzan beating up some Nazis.

[–] J. Spurlin 13 years ago

Tarzan: Nazi hyena dead now.

imdb.com/title/tt0036414/quotes?qt=qt0183305

You gotta love it.

...Justin

[–] profh-1 12 years ago

This may be the greatest film ever made starring a 5-year-old actor. Honestly, people who don't like "Boy" are crazy. What a kid!

Only 2 things really bother me about this film. First is Henry Stephenson's character getting shot in the back, the same way the "comic relief" guy did in the previous film. 2 films in a row where the most symnpathetic character is killed by someone they knew. That ain't right. Sure, the person who did it came to a bad end, but that's not enough...

Also, I think they missed a real bet here. MGM never gave their Tarzan an "origin" story. Along comes "Boy" who is said to be the nepphew of "Lord Greystoke". Just imagine if, halfway thru the film, Henry Stephenson's character had recognized that TARZAN was actually Lord Greystoke!! That would mean HE had as much legal right to keep Boy as the greedy relatives. It would have supplied a more complex dynamic with all the other characters, as well. (It seems absurd that in the MGM series, both Jane and Boy are heirs to great estates-- but Tarzan is a complete mystery.)