Tarzan and his Mate is basically a sleazy soft core porn movie featuring Tarzan. Trust me, the only reason why this pre-code Tarzan movie is considered a "classic" is because of the nudity.
Fortunately, the Hollywood production code (also called "The Hays Code") made the Weissmuller's Tarzan so much better. The movies focused more on storytelling than naked women and gruesome violence. The way black people were portrayed in these movies also improved. It was far from perfect, but still better than the disturbing racism seen in the first two, where blacks were treated worse than animals.
Just compare Tarzan The Ape Man, where Tarzan kills black people for fun (and the main characters actually say that white people are worth more than black people), and Tarzan's Secret Treasure, where Boy befriends the native boy Tumbo.
Another positive thing is that Jane is less sexualized in the movies made during the code. Pre-code Jane was just a pin-up girl, she's there to satisfy the male viewer's lust for naked female bodies. The "new" Jane is a more interesting, motherly character.
Tarzan himself acts a bit more like ERB's character. He's more of a gentleman than the pre-code version, who treated Jane like a ragdoll and tore of her clothes. I agree with the irish character O'Doul from Tarzan's Secret Treasure, if more people were like Tarzan, the world would be a better place.
Skip the pre-code Weissmuller movies. Watch the good ones instead.
Fortunately, the Hollywood production code (also called "The Hays Code") made the Weissmuller's Tarzan so much better. The movies focused more on storytelling than naked women and gruesome violence. The way black people were portrayed in these movies also improved. It was far from perfect, but still better than the disturbing racism seen in the first two, where blacks were treated worse than animals.
Just compare Tarzan The Ape Man, where Tarzan kills black people for fun (and the main characters actually say that white people are worth more than black people), and Tarzan's Secret Treasure, where Boy befriends the native boy Tumbo.
Another positive thing is that Jane is less sexualized in the movies made during the code. Pre-code Jane was just a pin-up girl, she's there to satisfy the male viewer's lust for naked female bodies. The "new" Jane is a more interesting, motherly character.
Tarzan himself acts a bit more like ERB's character. He's more of a gentleman than the pre-code version, who treated Jane like a ragdoll and tore of her clothes. I agree with the irish character O'Doul from Tarzan's Secret Treasure, if more people were like Tarzan, the world would be a better place.
Skip the pre-code Weissmuller movies. Watch the good ones instead.