La fuga de Tarzán

Jane's cousins come to Africa looking to take her back to England. They enlist the help of a big game hunter who, like every hunter in the Tarzan series, is evil. None of this goes over well with Tarzan. Third entry in MGM's Tarzan series is less impressive than the first two but still entertaining in its own right. Maureen O'Sullivan's charm and playful chemistry with Johnny Weissmuller is the best part of the movie. Actually, it's probably the best part of the entire series to me.

As other reviewers have discussed, this one was meddled with by the studio, who deemed the original cut too violent after poor screenings. Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how good that version was. The biggest cut we know of is the much-talked about climax involving giant bats. It sounds pretty cool and I hope someday a copy of that cut exists so we can see it. Still, even with the cuts, the climax of this film is still exciting.

It's an enjoyable film, even if it doesn't hold up well compared to the two that preceded it. Weissmuller and O'Sullivan are terrific. The rest of the cast is pretty good, too, with Herbert Mundin a standout. I can't imagine any fan of the series not liking this one, even if the spectre of "what might have been" hangs over it. Too bad about those bats, though.

The Hays Code brought the Tarzan Series down from Adult Adventure to Teen Adventure (this one) to the Kiddie Adventures to come after.

"Tarzan Escapes" was made prior to the Hays Code but was released after it took effect and therein is the Problem with the Third in the Series. It Suffers from Extended Reshoots and Editing the "Good Stuff".

Although the Movie does Retain a bit of the Jungle Violence, the Nasty Natives of Previous Entries, and a Few Scenes of Terror, it Loses the Pre-Code Edge and is Replaced with some Clunky Scenes (Tarzan walking zombie like with depression and extended Cheetah shenanigans).

Overall, the Story of Tarzan being Caged and put on Exhibition is a Nervous Anxiety and some Safari Scenes Impress, the much Talked About Ju-Ju is Only Talked About.

After this, when the Hays Code and "Boy" showed up, the Series fell into a "Flintstones" Frolic that can at times be Witnessed in this one. The Beginning of the End for Tarzan as an Adult Adventure.

Third film in the Johnny Weissmuller--Maureen O'Sullivan Tarzan series. Two of Jane's cousins come to the jungle to persuade her to return to civilization. With them is safari hunter Captain Fry (John Buckler) who secretly has plans to capture Tarzan and bring him back to civilization as a sideshow attraction. And then there is the vicious native tribe near by...

Not as good as the first two (which were great) but still very enjoyable. This film was a disaster--it took 2 years to make and went through multiple rewrites, reshoots, cutting, editing and was overhauled completely when a test audience hated it. The film is pretty violent (for 1936) but the original was even more so with a vampire bat sequence that got completely cut out! The sex has been toned down too--Jane is dressed VERY modestly this time around and she's fully clothed during the underwater swimming sequence (she was totally nude in "Tarzan and his Mate". Still, this film isn't really for kids. The violence IS pretty strong. Also Tarzan and Jane's tree house is quite elaborate this time around. And there are shots of Cheetah laughing that are hysterical.

The acting varies--Weissmuller is very good as Tarzan--his emotions show clearly through his face (but he does look a little old in a few sequences); O'Hara is still bad as Jane and everybody else is TERRIBLE--especially Buckler and Herbert Munder (stuck with the thankless "comic" relief role).

Still this is fast-moving with plenty of action. Worth catching.

Tarzan Escapes is OK, though not a patch on its predecessors, Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and Tarzan and His Mate (1934). Most interestingly, it was originally shot as Tarzan Returns in 1935, but this film was completely remade, largely because it 'lacked a central plot menace'. Paradoxically, what was cut from Tarzan Returns was its biggest 'plot menace' - a Giant Vampire Bat sequence, set in a swamp, which would have been great! Tarzan Escapes retains the swamp sequence but with giant lizards only and no bats. I've seen stills and production drawings of the prop bats and they were wonderful creations (as ridiculously large as the crocs were in these movies), with flashing red eyes... What a shame that we'll never get to see this version!

Tarzan Escapes was released on VHS in the UK by Warner Brothers as part of a box set which also includes Tarzan Finds a Son and Tarzan and His Mate. I enjoyed this one.

Janes cousins, Eric and Rita arrive in the jungle to look for Jane to tell her she has inherited a lot of money. They arrive with Captain Fry, who plans to kidnap Tarzan and have him as part of his freak show. He does manage to get him into a cage but with the help of some of his elephant friends and Cheetah, he escapes and towards the end, gets his revenge when he makes Fry go back into a cave they just went through where there are hungry lizards and Fry is killed.

As always, Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan are excellent as Tarzan and Jane.

Tarzan Escapes is a must for any Tarzan fan. Great fun.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.