Movies don’t come much more classic than this great jungle adventure, Tarzan the Ape Man.
The Production: 4/5
Almost twenty years after his first appearance in newspaper serializations and book form, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan came to the sound screen at Hollywood’s biggest studio in W.S. Van Dyke’s Tarzan the Ape Man. A colossal hit, the film spawned a raft of sequels (at MGM and elsewhere) and made Tarzan an industry unto himself. Even today with all of those who came before and after him, Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller is still identified most strongly with the role, and his first effort, made in 1932, set the standard for all of the jungle epics that would come after it featuring the legendary ape man.
English merchant James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) and his handsome young partner Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) are about to start an African safari in search of the legendary elephants’ graveyard where millions of dollars’ worth of ivory abounds when the elder man’s daughter Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan) arrives from England at her father’s trading post and insists upon going along on their adventure. The company has no idea of the savagery of the jungle that awaits them especially as they have no idea where the Mutia escarpment is, how high a treacherous climb up its sheer cliffs it might be, and who (Johnny Weissmuller) and what awaits them at the top.
Having directed a huge jungle hit for MGM two years earlier with Trader Horn, director W.S. Van Dyke again assumes the reins of the movie, abetted by a screenplay penned by Cyril Hume with dialogue by Ivor Novello that establishes quite a few of the Tarzan tropes that would inevitably be utilized in future installments of the series (of course, when the film was made, there was no assurance there would be any future installments). But in this first of the MGM series, Tarzan battles a host of ferocious animals (a panther and a female and male lion with only his trusty knife, and outswims two crocodiles – he doesn’t tussle with them in this one), he speaks a language all of the friendly animals seem to understand (along with his infamous jungle call), is rescued by an elephant after being shot, and later depends on his pachyderm pals to stampede a village to rescue his friends. There are two extended sequences where Jane and Tarzan get to know one another, endearing themselves to one another, and making it obvious without dwelling on it that they have mated. Van Dyke also handles other tropes with surety: the hazardous climb up the escarpment that claims lives (with the majestic matte work that makes the setting look so real), and a savage dwarf tribe who poses the final threat to our heroes, complete with a gorilla pit in which Tarzan’s fight for survival leaves nothing to the imagination. Yes, all of that raw jungle footage from Trader Horn is generously spliced into this tale, sometimes matching nicely with MGM’s backlot jungle set and sometimes betraying its artificiality with the use of rear projection to place the actors into locales where they actually aren’t.
With five Olympic gold medals but no acting experience to speak of, Johnny Weissmuller makes an impressive man of the jungle. His lithe, cat-like nimbleness is perfect for Tarzan and not having to speak much dialogue is a great boon for him. Much more experienced actors round out the cast, and they’re all wonderful. Maureen O’Sullivan strikes pleasing sparks with her leading man, and C. Aubrey Smith is the perfect doting father who wants the ivory but is more concerned about his missing daughter once Jane gets abducted by the ape man. Neil Hamilton is too quick with a gun, of course, setting the standard for all of the white men who will invade the escarpment in the years to come, but he’s more courtly than most and a good sport on losing the lovely Jane to the better man.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
The film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 is faithfully rendered in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. This is the sharpest the film has ever looked (while still having a slight soft focus to give it a dreamy atmosphere and occasionally is abetted with shots done with a fish-eye lens), and while the grayscale is pleasing, black levels are never inky black. The clarity of the image allows us to see Johnny Weissmuller’s stunt double in long and medium shots in the various tussles with the animals, but the dirt and damage of almost a century are nowhere to be seen. The movie has been divided into 24 chapters.
Audio: 4.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound mix sounds slightly tinny at times, but there are no age-related artifacts like hiss, pops, crackle, or flutter. Dialogue is always completely understandable and has been mixed with the many sound effects and the slight music cues and native chanting to make a solid listening experience.
Special Features: 3.5/5
Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle (79:59, HD): highly entertaining documentary detailing Tarzan’s print origins, early screen incarnations, and his highly successful run of MGM films. Film historian Rudy Belhmer hosts other commentary by Scott Griffin, Olympic swimming champion John Naber, Robert Osborne, Geoff St. Andrews, star Johnny Weissmuller’s son John, Jr., and actress Maureen O’Sullivan.
Two 1932 Merrie Melodies Shorts: I Wish I Had Wings (7:03, HD) and Moonlight for Two (6:54, HD).
Theatrical Trailer (2:43, HD)
Overall: 4/5
One of the great jungle adventures and the film that began the truly memorable raft of MGM Tarzan films seen by millions of people for almost a century, Woody Van Dyke’s Tarzan the Ape Man looks smashing in its high definition debut on disc and only whets one’s appetite for all of the other Johnny Weissmuller adventures to come to Blu-ray. Highly recommended!
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) [Blu-Ray]
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Matt has been reviewing films and television professionally since 1974 and has been a member of Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2007, his reviews now numbering close to three thousand. During those years, he has also been a junior and senior high school English teacher earning numerous entries into Who’s Who Among America’s Educators and spent many years treading the community theater boards as an actor in everything from Agatha Christie mysteries to Stephen Sondheim musicals.
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