The Lion Man

I came across this on DVD and had long been a fan of Jon Hall from my youth. "Lion Man" comes from a story by E.R. Borroughs of Tarzan fame, and has many of the same plot lines, i.e., an English boy, the son of an industrialist is orphaned by desert bandits and raised by a desert mystic who pals with lions. The boy is initially rescued by a Englishwoman who has been enslaved by the devilish bandit and earns a reputation as a fierce fighter protecting travelers from the bandits. There is a beautiful desert Princess whom he rescues and eventually he gains revenge on the wrongdoers.

This film is typical of the escapist romances filmed during the latter years of the great depression and is romantic to the max. The hero, "El Lion," comes riding in, on a white horse, fights the bad guys hand to hand-- no sword play, mind you-- and saves the day. Purist may cringe at the sight of Bactrian camels and clumsy attempts to portray Arab life but when viewed in the context of when and for whom this film was made, it has a great charm. See it. It's worth it.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this hidden treasure that I thought was long gone. I am so thankful that someone rescued it from the vault it was hidden in! My father was the little "Lion Man" - and I thought he did a FANTASTIC job. He told me that they filmed the entire movie in 3 weeks - and in that time he had to learn all his lines (several which were cut in this version, probably due to the condition of the original film), learn how to ride (and fall off of) a camel, and deal with the Arizona desert. His father was also an extra in the movie - one of the "Arabs" on camel back. Amazingly, I think this movie seems more raw and real than some other more current "Tarzan" like adaptations - because the fight scenes are hand-to-hand in the sand, the tents are more like what was really used at the time, and because my Dad did such a good job!

The original story that inspired The Lion Man was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs and it certainly has some of the same plot premise that his Tarzan character has. The young boy is the son of British explorer Eric Snowden who is the only survivor of a massacre in the desert by a treacherous Arab sheik Ted Adams. Raised by a jungle mystic among a pride of lions he grows up to be Jon Hall.

I suppose Edgar Rice Burroughs counted himself fortunate that his Tarzan series was originally picked up by MGM that Tiffany of studios. This was a cheaply made independent with scant production values and little direction for the human players.

Too bad Burroughs got the short shrift in this cheapie.

I was the seven-year-old boy, Bobby Fairy, who played Lord Chatham's son in early life. With admitted bias, I see the movie for its time, genre and budget, as a pretty good adventure film. There are a few places where the film itself has deteriorated since 1936.

The picture has a strong Edgar Rice Burroughs plot and the lead actors are believable. Jon Hall's athletic training shows in fight scenes.

The movie's exterior scenes were all shot on a vacant desert area near Yuma, Arizona. The cast and crew stayed in a hotel in Yuma and rode by bus into the desert area each day in the very early morning to take advantage of the first light. The bus was followed by trucks carrying camels, horses and equipment.

Acting in this adventure movie was very exciting for a little boy. In preparing for one scene I fell from a camel. With difficulty, the director finally persuaded me to be remounted with my actor father.

I was accompanied to the Arizona location by an adult escort (my real father) and a tutor required by California law.

My agent had given me a stage name (Bobby Fairy) only slightly different from my real name, Bobby Fairey, when I was 7. I am now (2012) 83, a semi-retired lawyer and may be the only surviving member of the cast. Robert A. (Bob) Fairey

This is an attempt, by both author Edgar Rice Burroughs and filmmakers, at an Arabian "Tarzan of the Apes". But, this desert-set film shows none of the majesty present in Burroughs' more successful jungle adventure. The focus is on the love between handsome English noble Jon Hall (as "El 'Lion" Chatham) and exotic Arab beauty Kathleen Burke (as "Princess" Eulilah), with revenge happening to coincide with their urge to merge. The opening states that, although guilty of conduct unbecoming, the lad's mother is living - but, she never re-enters the picture. Unfortunately, "The Lion Man" has deteriorated, and is looks like it's missing footage.

*** The Lion Man (1936) John P. McCarthy ~ Jon Hall, Kathleen Burke, Ted Adams