''Tarzan, the Ape Man'' is a 1959 American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

adventure film released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

starring Denny Miller as

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal 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 adv ...

Joanna Barnes Joanna Barnes (November 15, 1934 – April 29, 2022) was an American actress and writer. Early life and education Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the eldest daughter of John Pindar Barnes and Alice Weston Mutch. She had two younger ...

as Jane,

Cesare Danova Cesare Danova (March 1, 1926 – March 19, 1992) was an Italian television and screen actor. Best known for his roles in ''The Captain's Daughter'' (1947), ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964), '' Chamber of Horrors'' (1966), '' Mean Streets'' (1973), and ...

, and Robert Douglas. The film is loosely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel ''

Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 story by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' beginning October 1912 before being released as a novel in June ...

'', and is a remake of the classic 1932 film of the same name. The film was directed by Joseph M. Newman, and the score was composed by jazz musician

Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arrang ...

. MGM would release another '' remake'' of the film in 1981. MGM reused a fair amount of footage from their 1932 version rather than reshooting, including scenes of Tarzan swinging on vines and the elephants' destruction of a pygmy village. A scene of Tarzan fighting a crocodile was reused from ''

Tarzan and His Mate ''Tarzan and His Mate'' is a 1934 American pre-Code action adventure film based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Directed by Cedric Gibbons, it w ...

'', the sequel to the 1932 film. Other footage was reused from ''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

''. Tarzan's distinctive

call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call, a type of betting in poker * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...

was also taken from the original version. The "African" elephants in some scenes are clearly Indian ones with some sort of canvas "ears" added, and with the characteristic double humps on the forehead all too obvious. The "jungle" vegetation, from three different continents, an extremely phoney looking rubber mask used for close ups of a roaring leopard and the clumsy back-projection in the "underwater" scenes make it a treat for lovers of the ludicrous.

Plot

The plot of the film reprises that of the 1932 version, with James Parker ( Robert Douglas) Harry Holt (

) and Parker's daughter Jane (

) on an expedition in Africa in which they encounter

( Denny Miller), a wild man raised by apes. Various adventures ensue.

Cast

* Denny Miller as

as Harry Holt *

as Jane Parker * Robert Douglas as Colonel James Parker * Thomas Yangha as Riano (uncredited)

Production

The film was made at the same time as another Tarzan film, ''

Tarzan's Greatest Adventure ''Tarzan's Greatest Adventure'' is a 1959 Eastmancolor adventure film directed by John Guillermin, produced by Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin, and written by Les Crutchfield, based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. With a stro ...

'' produced by Sy Weintraub. MGM had kept the remake rights to the 1932 ''Tarzan the Ape Man'', enabling them to make this film. The rights to the bulk of the Tarzan stories were owned by Weintraub.

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $660,000 in the US and Canada and $1,050,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $92,000.

Musical score and soundtrack

The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

was composed, arranged and conducted by

and the soundtrack album was released on the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

label in 1960 as ''Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan''.MGM Album Discography Part 5: E-3601 to E-3800 (1957–1960)
accessed October 3, 2016

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Scott Yanow says "Although there are many short solos, the emphasis is on the dense and frequently exciting ensembles. The music, which is heard here in full-length form (unlike in the movie, where it is often buried behind the action), sounds quite self-sufficient apart from the action".

Track listing

All compositions by Shorty Rogers'' # "The Elephant Walk" – 3:25 # "Les Barbaros" – 1:40 # "Paradise Found" – 3:05 # "Trapped" – 1:55 # "Los Primitivos" – 2:14 # "Oomgawa" – 3:15 # "Tarzanic Suite" – 17:34

Personnel

– flugelhorn, arranger, conductor * Buddy Childers,

Don Fagerquist Donald Alton Fagerquist (February 6, 1927 – January 23, 1974) was a small group, big band, and studio jazz trumpet player from the West Coast of the United States. Career Fagerquist was a featured soloist with several major bands, including M ...

Ollie Mitchell Oliver Edward Mitchell (April 8, 1927 – May 11, 2013) was an American musician and bandleader. He was the son of Harold Mitchell, lead trumpeter for MGM Studios, who also taught Ollie to play the trumpet. Career Mitchell would go on to play in ...

, Al Porcino –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Harry Betts,

Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, Ge ...

–

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

Bob Enevoldsen Robert Martin Enevoldsen (September 11, 1920 – November 19, 2005) was a West Coast jazz tenor saxophonist and valve trombonist born in Billings, Montana, known for his work with Marty Paich. Career Enevoldsen recorded did sessions with Art ...

–

valve trombone A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

* Marshall Cram – bass trombone *

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

– flute, alto saxophone * Bill Perkins – flute,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Bob Cooper –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, tenor saxophone * Bill Holman – tenor saxophone * Bill Hood – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone * Chuck Gentry – baritone saxophone *

Pete Jolly Pete Jolly (born Peter A. Ceragioli Jr., June 5, 1932 – November 6, 2004) was a two-time Grammy-nominated American West Coast jazz pianist and accordionist. He is known for his performance of television themes and movie soundtracks. Biogr ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Buddy Clark,

Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career ...

– bass *

Frank Capp Francis Cappuccio (August 20, 1931 – September 12, 2017), known professionally as Frank Capp, was an American jazz drummer. Capp also played on numerous rock and roll sessions and is considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew. Biography ...

– drums * Frank Guerrero –

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

* Modesto Durán, Rafael Rosario – congas * Chacho González –

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

References

External links

* * * *
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan, the Ape Man''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan the Ape Man (1959 film) 1959 films 1950s action adventure films 1950s fantasy adventure films American action adventure films Remakes of American films Films based on American novels Films directed by Joseph M. Newman Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Tarzan films American fantasy adventure films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films