Tarzan the Ape Man

"Mothered by an ape—he knew only the law of the jungle—to seize what he wanted!"

1932 1h 40m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 236

Adventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

James Parker and Harry Holt are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich. Parker's beautiful daughter Jane arrives unexpectedly to join them. Jane is terrified when Tarzan and his ape friends abduct her, but when she returns to her father's expedition she has second thoughts about leaving Tarzan.

“Mothered by an ape—he knew only the law of the jungle—to seize what he wanted!”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Johnny Weissmüller
Tarzan
Maureen O'Sullivan
Jane Parker
Neil Hamilton
Harry Holt
C. Aubrey Smith
James Parker
Doris Lloyd
Mrs. Cutten
Forrester Harvey
Beamish
Ray Corrigan
Ape (uncredited)
Ivory Williams
Riano

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Writers: Ivor Novello, Cyril Hume
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

94 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, shot by Harold Rosson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tom Held shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Johnny Weissmüller and Maureen O'Sullivan and Neil Hamilton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Mothered by an ape—he knew only the law of the jungle—to seize what he wanted!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0023551 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

W.S. Van Dyke directs. Harold Rosson behind the camera. Tom Held cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
294 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, shot by Harold Rosson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Tom Held shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Johnny Weissmüller and Maureen O'Sullivan and Neil Hamilton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Mothered by an ape—he knew only the law of the jungle—to seize what he wanted!".
8IMDB entry: tt0023551 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "based on novel or book", "africa", "expedition", "hippopotamus".

The technical file

Cinematography: Harold Rosson
Editing: Tom Held
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $652,675
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) Collection

Tarzan is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer

Also by

W.S. Van Dyke

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-13
★ 7/10
By my reckoning, it takes around twenty-three minutes before our intrepid explorers C. Aubrey Smith ("Parker") and his on-screen daughter "Jane" (Maureen O'Sullivan) hear the jungle call of vine-swinging Johnny Weissmuller and the pace of this treasure hunt really starts to get going. Our travellers, alongside Neil Hamilton ("Holt") are in search of the legendary elephant's graveyard - riches beyond the dreams of avarice. Of course this journey through the hitherto unknown wilderness is perilous: lots of treacherous rivers, mountains and beasties - oh yes, lots and lots of hungry beauties. Much of the imagery is back shot (or stock footage) which isn't great, but there is still quite bit of chemistry once the agile and handsome "Tarzan" comes to the screen and kidnaps/rescued (depending on your point of view) the beautiful "Jane" and the stuff of cinema legend is established. The quality of the production struggles a bit 90-odd years later, but the story is a characterful boy meets girl affair with plenty of action, noise and a good bit of loin-cloth clad romance. I imagine that at the time, this may have been the first exposure many people would have had to a jungle scenario and it must have been quite exciting to watch... There are plot holes a-plenty, but I'd suggest that you don't judge it by modern standards (though I'd say it is still better than any of the 1981, 1984 or 2016 iterations). It's a fun adventure story that is there to be enjoyed on face value.

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