MY favorite of the Johnny Weisemuller Tarzan movies, contains great B-movie over-the-top performances and classic lines.
The Tarzan family's shopping trip to Zambezi is cut short by the arrival of a bloodied,dying man, the only survivor of a caravan apparently attacked by leopards. But the Jungle Man knows something is not quite right. "Man not killed by Leopard" he declares, pointing out that leopards use not just their claws but their teeth to kill. Challenged by skeptics to give an alternative explanation, he responds with the classic line "Something Leopard that isn't Leopard".
That something is this freakish cult of Leopard people,who enjoy dressing up in animal skins, attacking people, and ripping out their hearts to sacrifice to their god. They are led by Lea (Aquanetta) (based loosely on the character of the high priestess "La" in the Tarzan novels) and her lover, Lazar, a proto-environmentalist?- who is obsessed with stamping out civilization - a great "over-the-top performance by Edgar Barrier.("Away with them! Down with them!")
But the character to watch is "Kimba" Lea's brother, deliciously portrayed by Tommy Cook - as a conniving, sadistic little creep, who despises Lazar and harbors a not-so-secret lust for his sister and for Jane, the "lady with golden hair".
Taunted by his friends for his pretentiousness,Kimba boasts "When I come back,I will show you a heart". Kimba ingratiates himself into the Tarzan family, then turns on the unsuspecting Jane and Boy declaring "Now I take back TWO hearts". It stretches credulity when the bumbling Boy temporarily overpowers the clever and calculating Kimba.
Tarzan knows more about the ways of the jungle and its inhabitants than anyone, so of course NO ONE in the movie takes his warnings seriously until another caravan is attacked, and the "Zambezi maidens" (student teachers who have been hired to civilize the natives)are captured, along with the entire Tarzan family, and all are bound and prepared for sacrifice to the leopard god. Following classic adventure movie logic, the leopard folks bind Tarzan to the main support beam of their temple, providing him (with the aid of the ever-helpful Cheetah)not only with the opportunity to escape but to literally bring down the house. In a final moment of dramatic retribution, the dying Kimba finally gets his coveted heart - Lazar's heart.
As a kid, I just loved this movie, and I wish it were available on video or DVD. Does anyone know if it is going to be released?
