Tarzan's Secret Treasure

Tarzan's secret treasure is not the gold they find in the water.In "Tarzan escapes" we had already seen Jane meeting her English cousins and displaying no interest in the rich inheritance .The beginning of the movie displays a true garden of Eden ,where you can have what you want for nothing ,so why bother to make money or use gold? This Rousseauesque side is all that makes these Tarzan movies (with Weissmuller) so endearing ;all the other ones are mediocre adventures flicks ,without heart and without emotion.It's only natural that Boy wants to know what civilization is.The movies the men from the cities show is good propaganda.This scene takes us back to the prehistory of cinema ,when the Lumiere bros' shorts used to scare the crowds who were afraid to get run over by a train.the rest of the plot is more conventional,but the scene on the river with hungry crocodiles is still impressive today.It seems that some scenes (the first victims of the nasty tribe) were taken from "Tarzan escapes" .

These black and white Tarzan movies have no contender ,with the possible exception of "Greystoke:the legend of Tarzan" (1982)

Wow! I really enjoyed this one even if the formula at work here had gotten a little predictable...this still has fantastic action, great animal chase scenes(who knew a Rhino could be so mean and deadly?) and an entertaining supporting character in Barry Fitzgerald's O'Doul. Great fun!

Favorite scenes: O'Doul outsmarts a crocodile ...

Weissmuller made a dozen Tarzan films over sixteen years. Tarzan's Secret Treasure is just about in the middle of that run, and Weissmuller is a bit older and "thicker" but still has the muscular look of Tarzan. I always liked the Tarzan films when I was young and regretted that Weissmuller never had the opportunity to become John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, but remained a monosyllabic Tarzan. I had read all of Burroughs' books and believe only John Carter and David Yates' The Legend of Tarzan capture Burroughs' characters.

Regardless, Tarzan's Secret Treasure is an enjoyable Tarzan entry even though there is little new here; however, the rescue of Jane and boy and the fight with crocodiles is worth it at the film's end. Good film to kick back with on a winter weekend or rainy weekend and sofa down with popcorn and just go along for the fun.

Enjoyable Tarzan movie , plenty of action , adventures and quite entertaining . It starts with the following preface : ¨Beyond the last outpost of civilization , a mighty escarpment towers the skies of Africa -uncharted on maps- a strange world , a place of mystery¨ . The picture concerns a naive Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) in his loincloth , living his fairy tale with Jane Parker (Maureen O'Sullivan) and cohabiting in unmarried bliss , this situation being really criticized by Hays Code . Tarzan , then , saves an expedition from a savage tribe , only to be repaid by having the mean hunters (Tom Conway , Philip Dorn , Reginald Owen) hold Jane and spunky ten-year-old Boy (Johnny Sheffield) hostage . As Boy is tricked by evil hunters and abandoning his parents . As the greedy explorers scheme heinous plans and want Boy's help in finding a secret cache of gold . Thus , Tarzan -helped by O'Doul (Barry FitzGerald) and Cheeta- , now heads to jungle in order to save the boy and gets into trouble with bad guys and cannibal tribes . But Tarzan doesn't take kindly to threat and kidnap to his family and executes against the evil-doers an extreme lesson .

The movie is dubiously faithful to Edgar Rice Borroughs story . It contains noisy action , sensational adventures , many angry natives , nasty white hunters , hungry lions and wonderful outdoors , though mostly shot in Hollywood studios . Well starred by Johnny Weissmuller , Maureen O'Sullivan Johnny Sheffield , both of them bring wit and style to their classic characters . However , Johnny Weissmuller is better Olympic swimmer than actor . Here stands out Johnny Sheffield whose first role was in ¨Tarzan finds a son¨ (1939) as an orphan whose ambitious relatives hope he stays lost so they can collect an inheritance . And , of course , special mention for the likable Chimpanzee Cheeta that steals the show , giving some humorous moments with his antics , frolics and mayhem . As usual , there are the obvious uses of stock footage due to many budget cutbacks following the death of Irving Thalberg many stock shots regarding wild animal sequences from former movies were used , such as intervention of a well trained Lion and a Chimpanzee ex-professed for the film . The sets and production design are visually appealing , including a brilliant cinematography by Clyde De Vinna . The motion picture was decently directed by Richard Thorpe .

First Tarzan/Johhny Weissmuller was ¨Tarzan , the ape man¨ (1932) by W.S. Van Dyke , this one being the definitive Tarzan movie , the original of the long series . Followed by ¨Tarzan and his mate¨ (1934) by Jack Conway . Richard Thorpe continued the following sequels : ¨Tarzan escapes¨(1936) , ¨Tarzan finds a son¨ (1939) with the addition of the five-year-old Johnny Sheffield as Boy , ¨Tarzan's secret Treasure¨ (1941) , and ¨Tarzan's New York adventure¨ (1942) where Boy is abducted by an evil circus owner , then Tarzan goes to rescue him and he meets N.Y. big city , being Maureen O'Sullivan's final appearance and in which Elmo Lincoln's , the screen's first Tarzan, had a cameo . These stories were lavishly produced by M.G.M. and R.K.O. Subsequently , to be appeared other Tarzans produced by independent producers as Sol Lesser ; the latter being replaced by Sy Weintraub , these movies were interpreted by Lex Barker and Gordon Scott : ¨Tarzan the Magnificent¨ and ¨The greatest adventure¨ directed by John Guillermin . Furthermore , Mike Henry starred as Tarzan in ¨Tarzan and the jungle boy ¨ , ¨ Tarzan and the great river¨ , and ¨Tarzan 66¨ directed by Robert Day . Besides , two performed by Jock Mahoney : ¨Three challenges¨ and ¨Tarzan goes to India¨ directed by John Guillermin , among others . Plus , other TV Tarzan as Ron Ely , Wolf Larsen , Joe Lara ...

TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE (MGM, 1941), directed by Richard Thorpe, the fifth installment in the popular adventure series based on Edgar Rice Burroughs immortal characters as portrayed by Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan, is another good entry. In the last chapter, TARZAN FINDS A SON (1939), Tarzan and Jane acquired an orphan from an airplane crash and raise the child they call Boy (Johnny Sheffield) as their own. Unlike the movies released between 1932 and 1936, this entry plays more for the juvenile crowd, having the story revolving more around Boy than on his adoptive parents, and concentrating more on fast-pace adventure along with recycled animal fighting scenes lifted from previous films, but with limitations of violence.

The story begins typically as the jungle family is seen swimming under water where Boy discovers gold on the bottom. Learning of its true value from Jane, the curious Boy later sneaks away, accompanied by Cheetah, to venture the outside world of civilization. After a few close calls involving wild animals and crossing a tree stump over a cliff that may break in half, Boy meets an African native boy named Tumbo (Cordell Hickman), who, after saving him from being chased by a rhino, is taken to his village. Because Tumbo's mother has died of the plague, the angry Ubardi tribe believe Boy responsible for her death, thus capturing and tying him to wooden poles where he is placed to be sacrificed by being burned alive. Just in the nick of time, a group of researchers scare away the tribe by driving their jeep through their village and honking the horn. Grateful for the rescue, Tarzan accepts Professor Elliott (Reginald Owen), Dennis O'Doul (Barry Fitzgerald), Medford (Tom Conway) and Vandermeer (Philip Dorn) as friends and invites them, along with native boy Tumbo, to his tree-house to show his appreciation. It is only after Boy shows off his piece of gold do Medford and Vandermeer show signs of greed, turning against Tarzan for refusing to lead them to the secret treasure, and scheming to do away with him as well as holding Jane and Boy hostage until they get what they want.

Production values by MGM standards still good, and cast quite impressive, especially by the major attractions of Weissmuller, O'Sullivan and Sheffield as the jungle family, along with supporting MGM stock players, headed by Reginald Owen. By this time, the Tarzan formula was becoming fairly routine ranging from elephant stampedes, Tarzan's crocodile/ wild animal fights, the jungle warlord's battle against a native tribe uprising who hold Jane and Boy prisoners, among others. One interesting scene involving Jane and Boy as they are seated in separate canoes with their hands tied behind their backs surrounded by natives, with Boy, falling out of the canoe where he is then seen sitting at the bottom of the river struggling to loosen the ropes that bind him while Tarzan tries desperately to reach him in time before he drowns. Suspense builds as Tarzan meets with delays as he not only dodges spears thrown at him by the tribe, but fighting off crocodiles getting in his way. One can imagine the roars and cheers in the movie houses at that time. As usual, intruders enter the scene, at first in good faith, until some of them become untrustworthy when learning of priceless gold on Tarzan's domain. Of the expedition team, there is usually one trusting soul, in this instance the drunken Irishman named O'Doul, wonderfully played by Barry Fitzgerald.

TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE marks a very rare instance in the series by which Boy is befriended with another boy of equal age. Although it appears that Tumbo might remain as part of Tarzan's family as well as becoming Boy's best friend, his character would never reappear in future installments. One thing that is certain, aside from the frequent Tarzan ape calls is Cheetah the chimp around for assurance in aiding one of the characters as well as providing well intentional humor.

Aside from frequent revivals on commercial television prior to 1990, TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE, which runs at 81 minutes, was distributed on video cassette through MGM/UA in the early 1990s, and formerly presented on the American Movie Classics cable channel (1997-2000) before making its Turner Classic Movies debut April 30, 2010. In 2004, the Tarzan/MGM series was distributed on DVD as part of the six movie Tarzan MGM package (1932-1942). The Tarzan legend lives on. Next exciting chapter in the series: TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE (1942). (**1/2)