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Overrated

Highly Overrated But Still Good

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

OK, I knew going into this viewing that "Tarzan and the Green Goddess" was another compilation of the series that was also used for the earlier film, "The New Adventures of Tarzan." I expected—and, sure enough noticed—that this film might be a bit choppy; after all, serials are known to end each chapter with a cliffhanger that is somewhat different in the opening of the subsequent episode where the hero/heroine escapes the certain calamity. I have no problem understanding that would make the conversion into a full movie a bit out of sync. But . . . I do not like it when the "escape" part is totally missing!An earlier reviewer noted that the movie version she viewed began with Tarzan at a garden party reminiscing about this trip to Guatemala with its accompanying adventure. That "party" opening was not in the copy I viewed; although the ending did contain that garden party scene (where the characters were dressed in gypsy costumes?). The version I watched began with a voice-over reading of an on-screen card where the narrator was saying: "Guatemala, a strange and beautiful country many thousands of miles away, a country with lofty, snow-crested mountains, mighty rivers and deep lakes, quaint little villages and picturesque natives. This is Guatemala on the surface, what a tourist might see if a tourist could ever get there...."So now that I am aware of the different versions that exist of this film, I am certain my copy—which came from TCM—is missing at least two segments. But . . . as I was telling my wife when we watched this, it looked like Tarzan and his companions would all drown with the ship that appeared would sink in a massive storm. Then, suddenly, they are all at the garden party, smiling and wrapping up the story (in those gypsy costumes?), apparently back in England! What happened with the ship?Oh, well . . . what can I say? It IS a Tarzan movie, after all. And we still have 22 more to view since we decided to revisit all the old Tarzan films in chronological order by their release dates. (Some folks just have strange ways to spend their advanced years. We figure these would make the time drag on—thereby making us feel as if we're living that much longer.)Onward to "Tarzan Escapes," 1938!

It's a trial to sit through this travesty. First, Bruce Bennett is not Tarzan. Johnny Weissmuller is Tarzan. True, Bruce Bennett, like Wiessmuller, was an Olympic Champion, but Bennett is merely bland and well spoken, while Weismuller is majestically stupid and has poetry. This takes place deep in the jungles of Guatamala, so deep that the hand of man has never set foot there, and which some will be surprised to find teeming with African animals like giraffes. The country is primitive. The natives of Guatamala worship a stone idol that is sought by rival teams of explorers. Why? Because hidden inside the idol is an ancient Mayan recipe for a salad dressing which was dreamed up by a chef in San Francisco's Palace Hotel in 1923. Spoiler Alert:1 avocado, peeled and pitted; 1 cup mayonnaise; 5 anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped; 2 tablespoons chopped green onion1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 clove garlic, chopped; salt and pepper to tasteIn a blender combine the avocado, mayonnaise, anchovies, green onion, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper. Process until smooth, then chill for 24 hours before servingThe first words out of this well-groomed Tarzan's mouth are: "Good-bye, old man.""Tarzan and his band of intrepid followers" must get this secret recipe back to Livingston, whom I thought long dead, before an "unscrupulous band of crooks" can get their hands on it and become "a menace to the whole world."I frankly don't know whether they made it not. I got so hungry that I shut the movie off and made a chef's salad. But, looking at the shape the world is in today, threatened from all sides, my bet is that they didn't get to Livingston and that the formula fell into those unscrupulous hands.

Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938) * 1/2 (out of 4)In 1935 a serial called THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN was released in 12-chapters but then the producers got cheap and wanted to make some extra cash so they released a feature version of it. Then, three years later, the producers decided to re-edit some more footage and throw this thing out as the second feature taken from that serial. What we basically have here is the second portion of the serial as Tarzan (Herman Brix) travels to various locations trying to track down the Green Goddess and destroy the evil ones doing harm to get it. That's pretty much all the story you need to know or better said it's pretty much the only story I could come up with. It's always hard to judge these features that were trimmed down from serial simply because you're missing so much footage. You certainly can't judge the original serial from just these features. With that said, this here was pretty hard to get through for a number of reasons but the biggest is that it simply never makes any sense. It's clear that this production was trying to stay close to the source material as Tarzan is well spoken and is even able to dress nice. These touches are so fast that you really don't get to know this "other" Tarzan as it doesn't take long for him to be in the loin clothe and swinging around on vines. The performances are all rather bland and the added running time doesn't help. Fans of cheap "C" movies might get a kick out of this but it's probably best looking for the uncut serial.

This is the kind of movie I usually delight in making fun of, but I'll hold back a bit in deference to one of my three childhood fictional heroes (the others - Superman and The Lone Ranger). I'm sure the film makers tried hard to put together a serious picture, but the result was somewhat dubious. The best I can say is that it's better than ANY of the Jungle Jim adventures made over a decade later, but certainly below the standard of the Johnny Weissmuller 'Tarzan' films, though I haven't seen one of those recently. I also have to add that I've just learned, after the fact, that this was cobbled together from an earlier serialized version, which would explain a serious jump cut where Tarzan escapes from an unconscious state, tied to a tree in the jungle, only to find himself about to be accosted by an alligator (or crocodile, I can always go back to check for sure).You know, you'd think Tarzan would get it after the first two times he got that part of his anatomy under the loin cloth kicked, but no, he does it again at Mantique, jumping into a crowd of villains in an attempt to secure the 'green goddess'. No credit for learning by your mistakes. And by the way, what kind of Tarzan yell was that? Chalk another one up for Weissmuller.The version of the film I just watched was part of a one hundred! movie DVD compilation from Mill Creek Entertainment, that must have taken seriously some of the other reviewer comments on this board, because I didn't see any African animals like giraffes or rhinos. Not that they were missed, but I was certainly expecting wildlife that didn't honor geographic integrity, common for the era. But wait, there was that lion in the Dead City that should have made mincemeat out of the jungle hero, but guess what? - not a scratch on him!And let's not allow Major Martling (Frank Baker) off the hook so easily either. Why did he commission that 'mysterious ship' at Mantique to make the getaway with the idol? It was pretty much confirmed by all concerned that the lone vessel appeared about the time bad guy Raglan (Ashton Dearholt/Don Castello) arrived in Mantique.Oh well, I tried. I'm still wondering why the warning about the combination of characters relating to the explosives code was written in English. But as for Herman Brix who portrayed Tarzan - quite the superb physique, perhaps the most natural build of any of the movie Tarzans. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the heroine, Una Vale (Una Holt), who kept me guessing with all those costume changes - well done!