Tarzan Goes to India

Tarzan Goes to India (1962)

** (out of 4)

A group of evil contractors are in India building a damn, which is going to flood several villages as well as kill over three hundred elephants. Tarzan (Jock Mahoney) is called in to try and rescue the elephants but a rogue is causing all sorts of trouble and making the other elephants do a lot of harm. Not only does Tarzan have to fight the elephant but he must also go against the head engineer (Leo Gordon) who doesn't care about human life. TARZAN GOES TO India comes as a major disappointment and especially when you consider it followed TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT, which was one of the greatest in the series. That film got a great villain performance by Mahoney who wound up taking the lead role here. Having seen both of his Tarzan films, it's clear Mahoney really wasn't the right person for the job. He was a very good actor as the previous film shows but he just didn't have the personality for Tarzan. You never believed him in the part and this is something that really kills this film because it really does seem like a non-Tarzan movie. The excitement of the character is missing and Mahoney just seems as if he's either bored and just doesn't know what to do with the part, which is a real shame because some of the story here is interesting. The one major benefit going on here is that the film was actually shot partially in India so we get some nice visuals. Another major plus is that there are quite a bit of elephants on hand and we get some very good shots of them. There's even a major battle between two of them that contains some nice drama. The rest of the story is pretty much the same thing just a new location. Once again Tarzan has to battle an evil person who is evil for no other reason than to have someone for Tarzan to fight. Gordon is very good and sinister in his role but at the same time you really wish the screenplay had given him more to do or at least built up his character some. The supporting cast also includes Jai "The Elephant Boy" playing Tarzan's travel mate. Fans of the series who must see all of them are the only ones that this is going to be recommended to.

Not the worst of the Tarzan films for sure, but maybe not at the scale of the still John Guillermin's TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE. But this one is very good, with of course the help of maybe not Jock Mahoney but Leo Gordon as the villain. Gordon was anyway the ideal, perfect villain for so many films. Mahoney is fine though, and the whole result is excellent for me, with splendid locations, animal scenes and a topic which announces nature, preservation of environment. The fight between natives and big, huge Western world companies. John Guillermin was the best Taran directors for me, better maybe than Robert Day and Bruce Humberstone. I won't compare however with the oldies, from the thirties and forties period. It is then a matter of taste. Directing and acting techniques were not the same....

With freshly shaved chest and golden tan, Jock Mahoney (as Tarzan) takes over for departing jungle king Gordon Scott. Sporting a more traditional muscular frame than his pumped-up predecessor, Mr. Mahoney had been the main villain in the previous "Tarzan" movie. He would stick around for one more film. Like the title says, "Tarzan Goes to India" where Mahoney must move an elephant herd because a newly constructed dam will flood their valley home. He receives help from an "elephant boy" named Jai (as Jai the Elephant Boy). Filling secondary roles are impressive prince Feroz Khan (as Raju), villainous Leo Gordon (as Bryce), and local princess Simi (as Kamara). The Indian scenery is nice.

**** Tarzan Goes to India (7/62) John Guillermin ~ Jock Mahoney, Jai, Feroz Khan, Leo Gordon

After actor/stuntman Jock Mahoney played the villain to Gordon Scott's Tarzan in TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT, he was chosen to portray the swinging ape-man himself, a bit older, more sinewy than muscular and facially resembling former Tarzan (who Scott replaced) Lex Barker...

Here against several villains, beginning with formidable Leo Gordon as a foreman on a vast desert construction site (foreshadowing Tanis from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK)... An infamous elephant hunter, he threatens to kill any wildlife that could hinder the work -- unless Tarzan and his boy sidekick... with a trained pet elephant... saves the day...

The plot, also involving middleman local Feroz Khan and lovely princess Simi Garewal, gets a bit weary, and, halfway through Leo Gordon is surprisingly killed... and HOT CARS villain Mark Dana, an always effective square-jawed/deep-voiced heavy, steps up: and he's even more of a formidable corporate-menace...

Once we trudge past overlong scenes with Tarzan, the boy and the elephant bonding in the jungle, there's a final-act involving Mark Dana with explosives vs Tarzan riding on and charging with a herd of Elephants: all filmed in action-packed-widescreen glory by British filmmaker John Guillerman, who also directed Gordon Scott and Jock Mahoney's previous MAGNIFICENT and would one day take the primal reigns for the 1970's KING KONG remake.

For the first time since Johnny Weissmuller took that plane with Jane to New York to rescue Boy in Tarzan's New York Adventure, the famed jungle man leaves the African continent. Tarzan Goes To India, but in this case the title does not say it all.

Tarzan who is now played by Jock Mahoney is summoned to India at the request of a local maharajah. A needed dam is being built to provide hydroelectric power for his area. But the maharajah is also a conservationist. The dam will flood a certain valley that has been an animal preserve and a rather large herd of elephants will drown.

Mahoney's mission is to save the animals and his biggest problem is a nasty and mean rogue elephant who is leading the herd. Assisting him is Jai the elephant boy, a Twentieth Century version of Sabu and his pet pachyderm. Tarzan's also got some human opposition in dam engineers Mark Dana and Leo Gordon, the latter with whom Tarzan has some history with.

Just the mention of Leo Gordon and you know who the real villain is. On his last job in Africa which brought him into contact with Tarzan he did a little ivory poaching on the side.

Jock Mahoney replaced Gordon Scott as Tarzan and at 43 he brings a more mature Tarzan to the picture. But Mahoney who was a college jock and a stuntman before becoming an actor and he's one fit and athletic Tarzan in the first of two films he did as Edgar Rice Burroughs's legendary primeval hero.

What I like about this film is not only is it shot in India, but brings Tarzan fully into the present era. This film could never have been done on the MGM back lot, let alone RKO's back lot later on.

It's a nice story and while Jock Mahoney replaced my favorite Tarzan Gordon Scott he certainly does credit to the part and to the film. Tarzan Goes To India holds up very well after almost 50 years. It's quite a bit more than just G rated family entertainment, the film is a nice statement about the other creatures with whom man shares domain of planet earth with.