''Tarzan Goes to India'' (1962) is the first film featuring
Jock Mahoney
Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and ''Yancy Derringer''. He ...
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 ...
. It was written by
Robert Hardy Andrews
Charles Robert Douglas Hardy Andrews (October 19, 1903 – November 11, 1976) was a novelist, screenwriter and radio drama scriptwriter.
Career
Andrews began his career as a reporter for the ''Chicago Daily News'', and edited the newspaper's maga ...
and directed by
John Guillermin
John Guillermin (11 November 192527 September 2015) was a French-British film director, writer and producer who was most active in big-budget, action-adventure films throughout his lengthy career.
His more well-known films include ''I Was Monty ...
, who also directed ''
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 ...
''. The film also stars Indian
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actors
Feroz Khan,
Simi Garewal
Simi Garewal (born Simrita Garewal; 17 October 1947) is an Indian actress, director, producer and a talk show host. She is the recipient of two Filmfare awards and an ITA Award. She is known for her work in Hindi films like ''Do Badan'', '' Saa ...
and
Murad
Murad or Mourad ( ar, مراد) is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East.
Etymology
It ...
in pivotal roles. It was followed by ''
Tarzan's Three Challenges'' (1963) which was set in Thailand. It was one of two Mahoney films that took Tarzan out of Africa and sent him to the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
. It was a
co-production between Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Jock Mahoney had appeared as the villain in the previous ''Tarzan'' film, ''
Tarzan the Magnificent
''Tarzan the Magnificent'' is a 1960 British Eastmancolor film, the follow-up to ''Tarzan's Greatest Adventure'' (1959). Its plot bears no relation to that of the 1939 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name. The film was directed by R ...
''.
Plot
Tarzan is called to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to save three hundred elephants, that will be drowned if a
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
is opened to create a man-made lake to power an electric plant. Tarzan is pitted against two engineers who ignore the catastrophic results their work will create.
Cast
Production
Gordon Scott had played Tarzan for the previous six movies in the series.
Don Bragg
Donald George Bragg (May 15, 1935 – February 16, 2019) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault and won a gold medal in that event at the 1960 Summer Olympics.[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 ...]
'', the first movie in the series produced by Sy Weintraub.
Filming took place in early 1962 in Bombay, Mysore and Madras.
Guillermin later said it was difficult dealing with a dam and elephants. "It's especially difficult when you're making a film for two cents in six weeks," he said. "It really was an absurd bit of business. Technically, we did construct a bamboo wall that was used to charge 50 elephants through. You couldn't stop them for two or three miles. But, we did manage to stop them in a river bed. It was all very exciting."
Guillermin said "I'm not sure why Gordon
cott
Primo Water Corporation (formerly Cott Corporation) is an American-Canadian water company offering multi-gallon bottled water, water dispensers, self-service refill water machines, and water filtration appliances. The company is headquartered in ...
didn't do ''Tarzan Goes to India'', but Jock did a good job. He was an ex-stuntman. Jock was an extremely tough guy."
Mahoney said that Guillermin would regularly abuse him during the shoot.
The poor man got sick, just very ill. He called me some names, things like yellow-bellied son-of-a-bitch. I explained to him that the last guy who talked to me that way got beaten to a pulp. But Guillermin was ill! I had to let many things slide. I was riding an elephant named Mahaveeta. And an elephant, after they're captured, decides whether to live or commit suicide. This one had a tough time getting accustomed to captivity. Whenever we' would do a scene where the guns, beaters and firecrackers were surrounding her, she would be frightened to death and lie down. She would start crying, literally cry. This happened one time when I was beyond a rise and out of camera range. The idea was to lead the elephant over the rise and into camera. Well, Guillermin never saw any of this happening. I came back over the rise and he gave me an improper tongue-lashing. I didn't bother to explain to him what had happened. He was so sick out of his head. The producer, Sy Weintraub, came to me later to apologize. I was ready to leave the picture. I just didn't have to eat that kind of slop.
Reception
Box Office
In August 1962 Hedda Hopper reported the film was "cleaning up" at the box office. Mahoney said ""Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had just released ''
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...
'', that three-hour remake. And then came ''Tarzan Goes to India''. Well, oP Tarzan saved Metro's bacon. Mutiny wasn't doing very good at all. They really needed to make the bucks. The picture had all the elements going for it. They even billed me as 'The World's Greatest Stuntman' but in my opinion,
Dave Sharpe was the world's greatest."
According to MGM records, however, the film recorded a loss of $178,000 for the studio.
[.]
Critical
''Filmink'' said the movie "has two interesting concepts, neither really developed – Tarzan as a stranger in a strange land, and Tarzan is played by someone over 40. However, the action is excellent, the visuals spectacular and Mahoney ideal in the lead."
Home video
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
released the film on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
on January 29, 2019 as part of their ''Archive Collection'' line.
References
External links
*
*
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan Goes to India''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan Goes To India
1962 films
1960s fantasy adventure films
American fantasy adventure films
American sequel films
British fantasy adventure films
British sequel films
Films directed by John Guillermin
Films set in India
Films shot in India
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Swiss fantasy films
Swiss sequel films
Tarzan films
Films about elephants
Films produced by Sy Weintraub
1960s English-language films
Swiss adventure films
1960s American films
1960s British films