During a scene involving Jane attempting to get away from Tarzan, Miles O'Keeffe found himself face-to-face with Neal, a full grown African lion, who took on the part of the gallant gentleman saving the damsel in distress. Neal, escaping his holding pen, dived into the fray, apparently more intent on protecting Bo Derek than attacking Miles O'Keeffe (it was noted that the two-hundred-pound man wasn't injured by the five-hundred-pound cat). The handler was on the scene almost immediately and stopped the interaction. Although neither human star was injured, rumor had it that Miles O'Keeffe thereafter made a habit of checking the security of the holding pen whenever other scenes of "violence" toward Bo Derek were done, citing a deep respect for Bo Derek's formidable self-appointed bodyguard.
This film was controversial because of sexual content utilized in a traditional story. Bo Derek is seen having a nipple suckled by an animal, a chimpanzee. There are also a number of scenes featuring explicit topless nudity of her. It was these reasons to why the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate allegedly sued the production of this movie. The case was lost but another litigation took place from the estate in regards to the prevention of the film being released. This case was lost too. However, apparently the estate was successful in having removed three minutes of footage deleted from the released version.
When production on this movie wrapped, remaining crew members were given an "I FINISHED TARZAN" armband.
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