''Tarzan and the Valley of Gold'' is a 1966

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

starring Mike Henry in his debut 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 ...

. The

Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses dur ...

film, produced by Sy Weintraub, written by

Clair Huffaker Clair Huffaker (September 26, 1926 – April 3, 1990) was an American screenwriter and author of westerns and other fiction, many of which were turned into films. Biography Born in Magna, Utah, Huffaker wrote of his childhood in ''One Time I ...

, and directed by Robert Day, is remembered for its very

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

-like portrayal of a tropical suited, globetrotting Tarzan. It was released on July 1, 1966. The

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

was the first authorised Tarzan novel by an author other than

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, ...

, and was officially the 25th book in the series.

Plot

Augustus Vinero is a wealthy international criminal known for his habit of sending explosive wristwatches or necklaces to those not in his favor. When he hears of Ramel, a small boy who may know the location of the fabled Valley of Gold in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, he sends a

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are f ...

of plainclothes mercenaries which destroys the farmhouse (and its inhabitants) where Ramel is being sheltered. Prior to his murder, the head of the farmhouse summoned his old friend Tarzan to track the kidnappers and rescue the boy. Aware of Tarzan's arrival, Vinero uses one of his assassins to impersonate a taxi driver to meet Tarzan at the airport. Tarzan is driven to an ambush in an empty stadium. After the driver is killed, Tarzan kills the sniper by crushing him with a giant Coca-Cola bottle used in the stadium for advertising. The local authorities take Tarzan to the boy's wrecked compound and offer Tarzan troops, technology and weapons for his mission. Tarzan turns them down in favor of his own equipment: a chimpanzee scout called Dinky, a lion named Major, Ramel's pet leopard, his

hunting knife A hunting knife is a knife used during hunting for preparing the game to be used as food: skinning the animal and cutting up the meat. It is different from the hunting dagger which was traditionally used to kill wild game. Some hunting knives ar ...

and his uniform of a

loincloth A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or ...

. Meanwhile, Vinero and his private army are heading for the lost city in two separate parties, one led by Vinero and the other party has Ramel. Vinero's uniformed private army is well equipped with American World War II small arms, an M5A1 Stuart light tank, an

M3 Half-track The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and mo ...

and a

Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first he ...

helicopter. Tarzan catches up with Ramel's party, the leopard is killed and Tarzan kills Vinero's thugs. Tarzan calls Vinero on a walkie-talkie and tells him what has happened and warns Vinero not to continue, Vinero sends a helicopter which Tarzan, using a captured

M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, ...

(that he fires from the hip but misses) and then a bolus of

Mk 2 grenade The Mk 2 grenade (initially known as the Mk II) is a fragmentation-type anti-personnel hand grenade introduced by the U.S. armed forces in 1918. It was the standard issue anti-personnel grenade used during World War II, and also saw limited serv ...

s, brings down. Vinero had forced Sophia Renault, his

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

, to stay with him, but now he no longer needs her and leaves her in the bush with an explosive pendant round her neck. Tarzan finds her and removes the pendant. Ramel tells Tarzan that Sophia helped him escape. Tarzan, Sophia, Ramel, Major and Dinky head for the City of Gold. Ignoring Tarzan's warning, Vinero's army have discovered the entrance to the Valley of Gold through a cave, previously described by Ramel. Tarzan's party arrives at the same cave. Tarzan sends the others on to warn the city's inhabitants, tracks Vinero's men in the cave entrance to the lost city and further demonstrates his expertise in weaponry by wiping out Vinero's

rear guard A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...

ambush party by crushing them with

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble ...

s hanging over them which he shoots down with a captured

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is a family of American automatic rifles and machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the ...

. Vinero retreats to the cave entrance. Tarzan goes into the city and finds that the city people are proposing to do nothing because they are too peaceful. Vinero meantime blasts a wider path through the cave and brings their vehicles to the valley. The chief says he will give away all the gold rather than lose a single life and then locks Tarzan in a room to stop him fighting. Upon arrival in the peaceful city (Tukamay), Vinero demands all the gold in the city and provides motivation by having his tank shell the buildings which kills several of the city's inhabitants. Vinero says he will return for all the gold and to meet the chief's other guest 'from Africa'. Tarzan, now released, persuades the chief to give up all the gold and get everyone out of the city. All the gold is put in a pile in the center of the now deserted city. However, the Chief (Manco) lets slip that there is only one more piece of gold left. Vinero has his troops start to load the halftrack up with the gold and orders the chief to take him to the last piece of gold or else more lives will be lost. From a room full of junk, Vinero goes through a door, apparently made of solid gold, and starts to inspect the room which has gold dust on the floor. Meanwhile, Tarzan gets into the tank. The loaded halftrack is being driven away but Tarzan eliminates the remainder of the army (except for the main henchman, Mr. Train), by expertly using the cannon of the tank on the halftrack and the army. As Vinero eagerly attempts to pull a golden ornament off the wall, the ceiling releases enough gold dust to fill the room and smother him, at the same time as Tarzan fights and defeats Vinero's hulking Oddjob-type henchman, Mr. Train. With the threat from Vinero's army ended, Tarzan and Sophia leave the Valley of Gold and return to the outside civilization.

Selected Cast

* Mike Henry as Tarzan *

David Opatoshu David Opatoshu (born David Opatovsky; January 30, 1918 – April 30, 1996) was an American actor. He is best known for his role in the film ''Exodus'' (1960). Opatoshu began his acting career in the Yiddish theater. Following his tenure in th ...

as Augustus Vinero, international villain * Manuel Padilla Jr. as Ramel, a kidnapped boy. Padilla Jr. would also play Jai opposite

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 ...

in NBC's television series * Nancy Kovack as Sophia Renault, Tarzan's ally * Don Megowan as Mr. Train, Vinero's hulking henchman *

Enrique Lucero Enrique Lucero (October 9, 1920 – May 9, 1989) was a Mexican-American film actor. He was known for such films as '' Macario'' (1960) and ''Two Mules for Sister Sara'' (1970). He also played the role of the "Indian Chief" in '' Buck and the Prea ...

as Perez * Edwardo Noriega as Insp. Talmadge * John Kelly as Captain Voss * Francisco Riquerio as Mango * Frank Brandstetter as Ruiz * Carlos Rivas as Romulo * Jorge Beirute as Rodriguez * Oswald Olvera as Antonio

Production notes

This was filmed entirely on location in Mexico – near

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...

, at

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

's Plaza de Toros, at the

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has ...

, the

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan ( Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as ...

ruins, and in the caves at Guerrero. Nancy Kovack replaced

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...

in the role of Sophia Renault just before filming began in 1965. Tate can be seen with Henry in publicity stills that were published in newspapers when the film was announced. Early drafts of the script were entitled, ''Tarzan and the Treasure of Tucumai'' and ''Tarzan '66''.https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/tzvalley3.jpg

DVD

''Tarzan and the Valley of Gold'' was released by Warner Home Video in a DVD on 20 April 2010, as part of their Warner Archives DVD-on-demand collection.

Novel

The

estate chose

to write an authorised novel based on Huffaker's screenplay. Leiber's novel was released in paperback by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains p ...

in April 1966, and features an expanded version of the film's story with footnotes detailing connections to Tarzan's past adventures as chronicled by Burroughs. An ebook edition was issued by Gateway/Orion in August 2013, and a hardcover edition illustrated by Richard Hescox by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in August 2019.

References

Sources

External links

* * * *
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan and the Valley of Gold''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan And The Valley Of Gold 1966 films 1960s fantasy adventure films 1966 fantasy novels American sequel films American International Pictures films Films directed by Robert Day Films set in 1966 Films set in Mexico Films shot in Mexico Tarzan films American fantasy adventure films Films produced by Sy Weintraub 1960s English-language films 1960s American films