Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959)

Sick Product of a Sick System

A different way of telling a story

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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

Easily the best Tarzan film ever made. So well produced it might have been filmed in 2006 instead of 1959, it's that good. As an action film it can't be beat by anything made today, much less almost fifty years ago. The scenery, photography, action, cast, everything in this is first rate.If you're a Tarzan fan, I think this movie comes closest to capturing the essence of the original character. There has never been a better Tarzan than Gordon Scott, before or since. Not only does he look powerful, his face shows a complex range of conflicting emotions, like that of a man torn between the savage jungle world in which he survives and the civilized world that he realizes, for all his education and intelligence, he can't be a part of. In one amazing piece of acting, Scott kills an enemy, gives the Tarzan yell, then runs to a pool to watch his reflection, as if to reassure himself that he is still a man.The story moves very fast as Tarzan pursues a gang of killers down a jungle river. Sean Connery, as one of the criminals, has an outstanding role as a nasty, bullying drunk. The other characters are so well written and acted that in a few minutes we are given amazing insight into their motivations. There are several well directed action sequences, all very plausible, and the location photography is so good you feel the jungle heat.With the presence of Connery and other great actors, it's hard to believe this film has not been seen more, or at least released on DVD. The only drawback is that it's too good, kind of like the Bond flick "Goldfinger" and any follow up films would pale in comparison.

When producer Sy Weintraub took over the reins of the "Tarzan" franchise, in 1958, he set as his goal the dream of Edgar Rice Burroughs and countless fans of the Jungle Lord over the years; a return to the character as originally envisioned in Burroughs' novels. An intelligent, articulate 'defender of the jungle' gifted with nearly superhuman abilities, John Greystoke, aka Tarzan, had the savagery to survive in a primeval environment, but could also function comfortably in the world of men. MGM had thought the concept too far-fetched, and had turned Tarzan (as personified by Johnny Weissmuller) into a monosyllabic savage, only 'humanized' by the love of British society girl Jane Parker (Maureen O'Sullivan). When the formula proved successful, the Ape Man was 'locked' into the characterization, much to the chagrin of Burroughs, and when RKO took over the series, in 1943, no effort was made to change the formula. Weismuller eventually aged out of the role, but successor Lex Barker, despite credentials that would have made 'smartening' Tarzan logical (he was an Ivy Leaguer with a pedigree nearly as impressive as Greystoke), was forced to carry on the "Me, Tarzan" tradition through four more films. When Barker became fed up with being stereotyped, and passed the Tarzan loincloth to ex-lifeguard Gordon Scott, in 1955, the powerfully-muscled Scott carried on the duties of role adequately, but the series had degenerated into low-budget formula pictures, only notable for an occasional future star in an early role (Vera Miles appeared in TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE, and would, in fact, marry Scott, after filming was completed).After four mediocre Gordon Scott "Me, Tarzan" films, the time was ripe for change, and Weintraub was a man of vision, and terrific entrepreneurial skills. Not only would the actor speak full sentences in TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE, he'd be backed by a first-rate supporting cast, and the film would be the first "Tarzan" shot, in Technicolor, in Africa! With a large contingent of press on hand, the cast and crew arrived on location, and Gordon Scott proved himself the very personification of Tarzan, riding a zebra, wrestling a lion, and performing other tasks with grace and astonishing skill. It was an auspicious start to what would become a landmark "Tarzan" film.The tale of a band of escaped British criminals killing innocents, and stealing dynamite for a robbery, the gang leader, Slade (Anthony Quayle) is a homicidal maniac that Tarzan had put in prison before, making the Ape Man's pursuit a 'personal' vendetta. Not even the presence of an alluring distraction (Sara Shane) would deter him on his quest, and the frequent close-ups of the scarred and cold-blooded Slade, and Tarzan, with a fixed, merciless grin across his face, give clear evidence of two predators, circling for a kill. As Tarzan whittles down the gang, the stage is set for a terrific, violent climactic fight that ranks as one of the best of the entire "Tarzan" series. When Tarzan beats his chest and gives the classic Ape yell at the conclusion of TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE, he's EARNED the right!Featured in the cast is 29-year old Sean Connery, excellent as the brutal, but wise-cracking "O'Bannion", Slade's right-hand man, and he so impressed Weintraub and director John Guillermin that the pair actually asked him to become the next screen "Tarzan", after Gordon Scott's last contracted film, TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT. Connery, thrilled, was prepared to accept the role, but a call back from another audition...to play a secret agent in an upcoming production called DR. NO, resulted in a contract, and he, regretfully, passed on Tarzan, and became James Bond, instead! Weintraub ended up replacing Gordon with his 41-year old TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT co-star, Jock Mahoney, and the new, literate Tarzan would continue on into the sixties.TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE may not be everyone's favorite Tarzan film, but in it's daring approach to both the character and the use of actual locations, it certainly deserves it's place as a classic of the series!

British director John Guillermin was not entirely certain of how to make the character of Tarzan contemporary with the tendency towards realism...Pulled by Sly Weinhaub's great vision, they made the Ape Man literate, but still disposed to chest-beating and ape-calls...Their screen treatment provided a 90 minute superior action film tightly interwoven and very entertaining..."Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" quick-paced action is supplemented with violence and, in the absence of the wholesome Jane, we get two sexy women, a sensual Italian (Scilla Gabel) for the villains and a gaily blonde named Angie (Sara Shane), as the romantic interest for Scott who gives an excellent characterization...The villains are four different British types: Slade (Anthony Quayle), Kruger (Nial McGinnis), O'Bannion (Sean Connery), and Dino (Al Mulock). In raiding a settlement for explosives to use in a diamond mine, they practically destroy it... Tarzan, discovering the cruelty, pursues them upriver to their mine...For his parts in "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure," Sean Connery earned $5,600; his 'big' Bond film "You Only Live Twice" brought him $350,000.