''The Adventures of Tarzan'' (1921) is a 15 chapter

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

which features the third and final appearance of

Elmo Lincoln Elmo Lincoln (born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt; February 6, 1889June 27, 1952) was an American stage and film actor whose career in motion pictures spanned the silent and sound eras. He performed in over 100 screen productions between 1913 and 1952 and ...

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 ...

. The serial was produced by Louis Weiss, written by

Robert F. Hill Robert F. Hill (April 14, 1886 – March 18, 1966) was a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Career Bob Hill began his screen career in 1915 at Universal Pictures. In those early days, members of film crews were sometimes c ...

and Lillian Valentine (partially based on the novels ''

The Return of Tarzan ''The Return of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine '' New Story Magazine'' in the issues for Ju ...

'' and ''

Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar ''Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fifth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It first appeared in the November and December issues of ''All-Story Cavalier W ...

'' by

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

), and directed by

and

Scott Sidney Scott Sidney (1872 – 20 July 1928), born Harry Wilbur Siggins, was an American film director. He directed 117 films between 1913 in film, 1913 and 1927 in film, 1927. He died in London, England, United Kingdom. Selected filmography Dir ...

. The first chapter was released on December 1, 1921.

Plot

The serial's prologue features Edgar Rice Burroughs himself. Tarzan rescues

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

from

Arab slave trade History of slavery in the Muslim world refers to various periods in which a slave trade has been carried out under the auspices of Arab peoples or Arab countries. Examples include: * Trans-Saharan slave trade * Indian Ocean slave trade * Barbary sl ...

rs after they become marooned in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. They return to the cabin where his parents lived before their deaths. Jane is captured by Queen La of Opar, taken to that hidden city, and is to be made a sacrifice. Tarzan rescues her and they escape. Nikolas Rokoff and

William Cecil Clayton 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 ...

, the usurper to Tarzan's title of Lord Greystoke, learn that Jane has a map to the city (which contains fabulous riches in exotic jewels),

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

ed onto her back. They kidnap her and attempt to loot the city. Tarzan braves many perils, finally rescues Jane, defeats the villains and escapes La's amorous clutches.

Cast

as Tarzan *

Louise Lorraine Louise Lorraine (born Louise Escovar; October 1, 1904 – February 2, 1981) was an American actress. Life and career Louise Lorraine was born Louise Escovar in San Francisco, California. One day, a photography salesman knocked on the door of t ...

as Jane Porter *

Scott Pembroke Scott Pembroke (September 13, 1889 – February 21, 1951) was an American director, actor and screenwriter. He directed more than 70 films between 1920 and 1937. He was born in San Francisco, California and died in Pasadena, California. P ...

as William Cecil Clayton, cousin of Tarzan, usurper to title of Lord Greystoke *

Frank Whitson Frank Whitson (March 22, 1877 – March 19, 1946) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1915 and 1937. He was born in New York, New York, and died in Los Angeles, California. Whitson performed in vaudeville a ...

as Nikolas Rokoff, a villain *

Lillian Worth Lillian Worth (born Lillian Burgher Murphy, June 24, 1884 – February 23, 1952) was an American actress. She appeared in 58 films between 1913 and 1937. Early life and career Lillian Burgher Murphy was born on June 24, 1884, in Brooklyn, New Y ...

as Queen La of Opar, a villainess in love with Tarzan *

Charles Inslee Charles E. Inslee (1870 – September 1922) was an American actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1908 and 1921. Biography Born in New York City, Inslee was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Inslee of Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is ...

as Professor Porter, Jane's father * Zip Monberg as Monsieur Gernot (credited as George Monberg) * Charles Gay as Sheik Ben Ali *

Maceo Bruce Sheffield Maceo Bruce Sheffield (September 8, 1897 – August 20, 1959) was a police detective and an actor in American films. He worked in Los Angeles as a policeman before acting and assisting in the production of films with African American casts. He was ...

as Chief of Wazini * Fifi R. Lachoy *

Frank Merrill Frank Dow Merrill (December 4, 1903 – December 11, 1955) was a United States Army general and is best remembered for his command of Merrill's Marauders, officially the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional), in the Burma Campaign of World War II ...

as Arab Guard *

George B. French George B. French (April 14, 1883 – June 9, 1961) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between the mid-1910s and early 1940s. Selected filmography * '' Wanted: A Leading Lady'' (1915) * ''Tarzan of the Apes'' (191 ...

Gordon Griffith Gordon S. Griffith (July 4, 1907 – October 12, 1958) was an American assistant director, film producer, and one of the first child actors in the American movie industry. Griffith worked in the film industry for five decades, acting in over ...

* Thomas Jefferson

Production

The success of the serial ''

The Son of Tarzan ''The Son of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was written between January 21 and May 11, 1915, and first published in the magazine ' ...

'' inspired Great Western Producing Company to approach Tarzan's creator

about making another Tarzan serial. However, the rights for another Tarzan film were still retained by the Weiss brothers' Numa Pictures Corporation, the makers of the feature film ''

The Revenge of Tarzan ''The Revenge of Tarzan'' (1920) is a silent adventure film, originally advertised as ''The Return of Tarzan'', and the third Tarzan film produced. The film was produced by the Great Western Film Producing Company, a subsidiary of the Numa ...

''. When Numa discovered that Great Western had Elmo Lincoln, the first screen Tarzan, signed to play the lead, they agreed to a deal in which Great Western would produce the film, while Numa would handle distribution. The story was based partially on two of the Tarzan novels, ''

'' and ''

'', with the addition of some new material. The desert scenes were filmed in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Casting

This serial marked Elmo Lincoln's return to the part of Tarzan, whom he was the first to play, but it was also Lincoln's last time as the character. The serial was advertised as "Censor-proof." Nevertheless, censorship forced the previously bare-chested Lincoln to cover up and wear an over-the-shoulder-styled costume for this production. Louise Lorraine celebrated her sixteenth birthday during production. As advertised, " Joe Martin, famous screen ape, plays a leading part." Production started January 1 and finished August 13, 1921.

Stunts

Frank Merrill began doubling Lincoln about halfway through the serial. Lincoln was insured for $150,000, and the insurers were not happy with him doing his own stunts. Seven years later, Merrill was cast as the apeman in ''

Tarzan the Mighty ''Tarzan the Mighty'' is a 1928 American action film serial directed by Jack Nelson and Ray Taylor. It was nominally based on the collection ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film is now considered to be lost. Cast * ...

''.

Release

For marketing purposes, The Adventures of Tarzan Serial Sales Corporation was formed in New York. The serial sold in half of all available markets without the use of a road man. Within three months of the completion date, it had sold out in most countries world wide. Despite rumours circulated that the serial was not new material, but just a rehash of footage from previous Tarzan films, ''The Adventures of Tarzan'' was a successful film and one of the top four attractions of the year. The film was reedited and released with sound effects twice—first in 1928, and a second time in 1935.

Critical reception

''The Exhibitors Herald'' wrote, "Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan is too well known to theater-goers to need further introduction. His red-blooded fights, staged in each episode, will evoke applause from the serial audience." ''Film Fun Magazine'' wrote, "There are enough wild animals introduced in each episode to keep the younger generation, which has shown a predilection for the serial form of entertainment, whooping her up."

Influence

The success of the serial inspired a Broadway show, ''Tarzan of the Apes'', but critics attacked it as fit only for film and unsuitable for the stage.

Survival status

The complete fifteen-chapter version has not survived. The version available on DVD is the 1928 ten-chapter rerelease. The ten-chapter version can also be viewed at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. The first thirteen chapters survive in 16mm film at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Archive. The

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

has restored chapter 11: "The Hidden Foe". Silent Era claims that the archive also has prints of the film and 1928 rerelease. The

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

possesses a window card for the film.

Original book chapter titles

# ''Jungle Romance'' # ''The City of Gold'' # ''The Sun Death'' # ''Stalking Death'' # ''Flames of Hate'' # ''The Ivory Tomb'' # ''The Jungle Trap'' # ''The Tornado'' # ''Fangs of the Lion'' # ''The Simoon'' # ''The Hidden Foe'' # ''Dynamite Trail'' # ''The Jungle's Fury'' # ''Flaming Arrows'' # ''The Last Adventure''

1937 film chapter titles

# ''Tarzan the Boy'' # ''Tarzan's Revenge'' # ''Tarzan to the Rescue'' # ''Tarzan the Fearless'' # ''Tarzan's Hide-Out'' # ''Tarzan's Enemies'' # ''Tarzan Vanishes'' # ''Tarzan Conquers'' # ''Tarzan Faces Death'' # ''Fighting Tarzan'' # ''Cyclone Tarzan'' # ''Fangs vs. Tarzan'' # ''Message from Tarzan''

Novel

Originally written as a 15-part serial for newspapers in 1921, it was collected and published as a released as a trade paperback () by ERBville Press in January 2006. The book became available as a hardcover via Lulu.com in 2008.

Chapters

# ''Jungle Romance'' # ''The City of Gold'' # ''The Sun Death'' # ''Stalking Death'' # ''Flames of Hate'' # ''The Ivory Tomb'' # ''The Jungle Trap'' # ''The Tornado'' # ''Fangs of the Lion'' # ''The Simoon'' # ''The Slave Market'' # ''Dynamite Trail'' # ''The Jungle's Prey'' # ''The Flaming Arrow'' # ''The Last Adventure''

References

External links

*
''The Adventures of Tarzan'' "In 10 Electrifying Chapters"
at the

Extensive material about the film
at erbzine.com, "A Resource Guide to the Movies of Edgar Rice Burroughs" {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Tarzan, The 1921 films 1920s fantasy adventure films American black-and-white films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films American silent serial films Films based on American novels Films based on multiple works of a series Films directed by Robert F. Hill Films directed by Scott Sidney Films set in Africa Tarzan films 1920s American films Silent adventure films