''Tarzan and the Jungle Boy'' is a 1968 adventure film starring Mike Henry in his third and final appearance 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 ...

Rafer Johnson Rafer Lewis Johnson (August 18, 1934 – December 2, 2020) was an American decathlon, decathlete and film actor. He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold in the 1955 Pan Amer ...

and

Aliza Gur Aliza Gur ( he, עליזה גור, born Alizia Gross; 1 April 1940) is an Israeli actress who was Miss Israel of 1960 and a semifinalist in the Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a Unite ...

co-star. The film was produced by

Sy Weintraub Sy Weintraub (May 28, 1923 – April 4, 2000) was an American film and television producer best known for his series of Tarzan films and television episodes between 1959 and 1968. Weintraub broke with the Johnny Weissmuller formula of portraying ...

and Robert Day, written by Stephen Lord (based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs) and directed by Robert Gordon. It was released on May 1, 1968.

Plot

At home in Africa, Tarzan ( Mike Henry) assists a photojournalist named Myrna (

) and her associate Ken (

Ron Gans Ronald Kenneth Gans (August 9, 1931 – June 29, 2010), sometimes credited as Ron Kennedy, was an American character actor and voice-over artist, known for portraying Q.T. the Orangutan on The Disney Channel's ''Dumbo's Circus'', the voice of Ar ...

) in their search for Erik Brunik ( Steve Bond), a thirteen-year-old boy lost in the jungle since he was seven years old. Tarzan is assisted by his friend Buhara (Ed Johnson) whose brother Nagambi (

) does not wish the boy found, and attempts to kill him before Tarzan saves the day.

Cast

* Mike Henry as Tarzan *

as Nagambi, villain who hinders Tarzan's search for the Jungle Boy *

as Myrna, photojournalist searching for Erik * Steve Bond as Erik Brunik, the missing Jungle Boy *

as Ken, Myrna's associate * Ed Johnson as Buhara, ally to Tarzan, brother of Nagambi

Production notes

''Tarzan and the Jungle Boy'' was filmed in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and along the Amazon River immediately after production of the previous film, ''

Tarzan and the Great River ''Tarzan and the Great River'' is a 1967 adventure film starring Mike Henry in his second of three film appearances as Tarzan. The film was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash (from a story by Barbash and Lewis Ree ...

''. All three of Mike Henry's Tarzan films were completed before the first (''

Tarzan and the Valley of Gold ''Tarzan and the Valley of Gold'' is a 1966 Eastmancolor adventure film starring Mike Henry in his debut as Tarzan. The Panavision film, produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Clair Huffaker, and directed by Robert Day, is remembered for its v ...

'') was released in 1966. The roles of opposing brothers Nagambi and Buhara were played by real life brothers Rafer and Ed Johnson. Mike Henry was attacked and his jaw bitten by the chimpanzee playing

Cheeta Cheeta (sometimes billed as Cheetah, Cheta, and Chita) is a chimpanzee character that appeared in numerous Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s–1960s, as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarza ...

during filming (named Dinky in the previous production, ''

'') and sued Sy Weintraub's Banner Productions.CHIMPANZEE BITES HENRY, GETS SUED Los Angeles Times 22 July 1966: b5. Citing exhaustion and unsafe work conditions in the suit, he bowed out of the ''

'' television series (for which he had been signed to play the lead). The case was settled for an undisclosed sum.

Ron Ely Ronald Pierce Ely (born June 21, 1938) is an American actor and novelist born in Hereford, Texas, and raised in Amarillo. Ely is best known for having portrayed Tarzan in the 1966–1968 NBC series ''Tarzan'' and for playing the lead role in ...

replaced him as Tarzan in the TV series. If one does not count two later theatrical releases of episodes from the Ron Ely TV series, this film was the final release in the "mainstream" Tarzan film franchise that had begun in 1918. The next official made-for-theatrical release production featuring the character would be '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'', an attempted rebooting of the concept, in 1981.

References

Essoe, Gabe. ''Tarzan of The Movies'', 1968, published by The Citadel Press.

External links

* * *
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan and the Jungle Boy''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan And The Jungle Boy 1968 films 1960s fantasy adventure films American sequel films Films set in 1968 Films set in Africa Films shot in Brazil Paramount Pictures films Tarzan films American fantasy adventure films Films produced by Sy Weintraub 1960s English-language films 1960s American films