The fever for gold corrupts the hearts of men, and Tarzan, the undisputed lord of the jungle, finds himself betrayed and captured by the denizens of Opar...
Director J.P. McGowan films the second Tarzan film ever created, the first budgeted larg…
The fever for gold corrupts the hearts of men, and Tarzan, the undisputed lord of the jungle, finds himself betrayed and captured by the denizens of Opar...
Director J.P. McGowan films the second Tarzan film ever created, the first budgeted large enough for decent effects and sound stages, and the only one to star author Edgar Rice Burroughs' son-in-law James Pierce. Nepotism notwithstanding, Pierce does a decent job of it, with co-stars Dorothy Dunbar, Edna Murphy, Frederick Peters, Harold Goodwin and Boris Karloff (in a relatively minor role, alas) giving it their all in this 58-minute feature. Pierce actually plays a dual role in this, both as the Lord of the Jungle and coincidental duplicate Esteban Miranda-in a 'twins' sub-plot that was a lot less cliche back in 1927. Although there are a few regrettable instances of 'ethnic' makeup on Caucasian actors-Karloff among them-most of the inhabitants of both Opar and nearby villages are played by African-American actors, a notable and refreshing change from the normal casting standards of the day. The plot takes nearly no liberties with the source material-and when the script was written by both Hollywood alumni William E. Wing and Edgar Rice Burroughs himself, this is hardly surprising...between the decently-budgeted sets and the Louisiana shooting locations, I doubt that you'll find a better scenery and effects until at least the 1980's...
I wouldn't expect this film to be deep or life-changing...and it wasn't meant to be. But as a fast, entertaining action film in the Pulp tradition? Grab a huge bag of popcorn, beverage of choice and thrill to some Jungle action...Silent, B&W.
I'll be looking for a copy of the earlier 1918 film when I can...
