Tarzan's Greatest Adventure

Scar-faced Anthony Quayle (as Slade) and his cut-throat crew are in Africa looking to get rich on diamonds, which doesn't sit well with loin-clothed lord of the jungle Gordon Scott (as Tarzan). Beautiful Sara Shane (as Angie) crashes the scene, gets rescues by Mr. Scott and chased by a lion. All of this sounds like the usual fare, but there is a rub. With new producer Sy Weintraub taking over, the "Tarzan" franchise decided to become more adult in orientation. In an early scene, Scott symbolically bids farewell to his adorable chimp "Cheta" before going on to face real danger...

Parents who sat with their kids for the "Tarzan" films must have been squirming in their seats as "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" presented increasingly realistic scenes of violence. Drama teachers could be proud as Scott and his guest stars, including sexy while clothed Sean Connery (as O'Bannion), are given opportunities to do some real acting, too. The inserted animals are still a stock footage nuisance, and it's easy to over-praise this film in context, but keep watching as the exciting ending may be the series' best. Scott had good reason to give a "Tarzan" shout-out.

******* Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (7/8/59) John Guillermin ~ Gordon Scott, Anthony Quayle, Sara Shane, Sean Connery

Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959)

*** (out of 4)

Gordon Scott's fifth attempt at playing Tarzan is certainly a step above the previous four. In this outing he must try and track down four British diamond smugglers who are blowing up African villages trying to gather supplies for when they reach this diamond cave. Along the way Tarzan rescues a woman (Sara Shane) and she joins him for the adventure. TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE was clearly meant to try and take the series to a higher quality level and I think it's fair to say that this is the most lavished film in the long running series since the early MGM/Johnny Weissmuller films. I think there's a lot of good here and this is clearly one of the best films in the series. You can start off with Scott who by this time was perfectly comfortable in the role and you must admit that he's probably the best Tarzan since Weissmuller. The actor certainly has the physical appearance to pull the part off but he also works well when it comes to delivering the dialogue. The earlier films always had Tarzan speaking in this weird broken English but this wasn't how the character was originally written so it's nice to see a different approach and Scott does a very good job with it. The supporting cast is equally great here including Shane who makes for a terrific love interest. The actress is very strong in the part and her and Scott share some real chemistry. The bad guys are all terrific with Anthony Quayle doing a remarkable job as the main guy. Niall MacGinnis is perfect as the snake diamond expert and a young Sean Connery plays the loud-mouth tough guy. Another major plus is that the majority of this was actually filmed in a jungle and this really adds some nice atmosphere. The cinematography really picks up everything quite nicely and adds an added dimension. The story itself is another winner as it clearly tries to break away from a lot of the comedy and silliness that a lot of the series had. Instead of comedy we pretty much get one action scene after another and most of them are quite fun and a few even has some nice suspense. There's a chilling scene involving quicksand and of course you have to have Tarzan battling a crocodile. With that said, if you're looking for high art you're certainly not going to find it here but there's no question that this is an entertaining little film with some strong performances and nice action.

This is easily the best Tarzan movie ever made.

Four British villains raid a settlement to obtain explosives for use in a diamond mine. In doing so they kill two men, so Tarzan sets off on pursuit of them.

George Scott is a perfectly cast as the title character. Both handsome and masculine in equal amounts. Anthony Quayle is the main villain of the movie Slade and he is aided by a pre Bond Sean Connery as O'Bannion in one of his first decent roles.

The stock footage, which plagues so many Tarzan movies by sticking out like a sore thumb is evident here, but it's not as distracting. We get to see Cheetah, but it's only briefly and instead of Jane we get two very attractive women Sara Shane and Scilla Gabel.

The action scenes are well executed and over all it's a well directed movie.

Tarzan's Greatest Adventure is directed by John Guillermin who also co- adapts the screenplay with Berne Giler from a story written by Les Crutchfield. Based on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs it stars Gordon Scott, Anthony Quayle, Sara Shane, Al Mulock, Sean Connery, Niall MacGinnis and Scilla Gabel. Music is by Douglas Gamley and cinematography by Ted Scaife.

When a native village is robbed of explosives and a couple of men are killed, it soon becomes apparent that the gang was led by a man called Slade. The mere mention of this name is of great interest to jungle man Tarzan (Scott), who promptly sets off in pursuit to settle an old score...

You can't reason with an idiot!

There's no Jane and Cheetah is barely in it, but this Tarzan "adventure" is all the more better for it. With Sy Weintraub producing, he was determined to steer Tarzan in a new cinematic direction, with a bit more mud, blood and literacy, Tarzan became as much for the adults as it was for the kids.

Actually the title, whilst true in the pantheon of Tarzan movies, still conjures up images of a kiddie friendly Tarzan, a more fitting title would have been Tarzan's Grudge! What unfolds in the story is a vengeful pursuit by Tarzan of a gang of diamond hunting crims led by a scarface Anthony Quayle. He uses his jungle whiles and hunting skills to pick them off if the opportunities arise, all the while accompanied by the foxy Angie (Shane) who literally dropped out of the sky and into the life of the loin cloth wearing one. Tarzan talks and isn't indestructible, but we still know there is savagery in the man, while on the boat up river the gang are an assortment of scallywags beginning to implode; which makes for rather good entertainment.

Film is infused with all the formulaic perils of jungle dramas (and comedies actually) past and present, reference crocodiles, spider, snake, quicksand, booby traps et al, but here it is definitely more fun and thrilling than annoying and cornball. Yes there is still some cheapness, with back screen projections, interwoven animal film footage and you really don't think Scott would be wrestling with a real life crocodile do you? But there's an edge to the narrative and it's great to see. Also helps to have a decent cast of actors on patrol as well, with Quayle leading the way as a broody bastardo. While Scott, looking in great shape and not unlike Kerwin Matthews, seems to be relishing the chance to play a Tarzan with grit and gumption.

The rope swings and famous yell are still here, but this is a much better and badder Tarzan and hooray to that. 7.5/10

This movie is a no nonsense, realistic action film, bolstered by a capable cast, a believable story and colorful location shooting. Gordon Scott showed here that he had some acting talent as well as the good physique. The rest of the actors in general, and Anthony Quayle in particular, are quality professionals whose performances keep things interesting. Unlike earlier films in the Tarzan genre, they actually went to Africa to shoot this one and the difference really shows. These items, along with generally good production values, fairly tight direction, and beautiful color photography move this film well above the norm. Definitely a welcome departure from earlier Tarzan films. Highly recommended.