''Tarzan's Desert Mystery'' is a 1943 American

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a 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 adventurer. Creat ...

film directed by

Wilhelm Thiele Wilhelm Thiele, also William Thiele (1890–1975) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He directed over 40 films between 1921 and 1960. Life and career Thiele started his show career as a stage actor. He got his start in Austrian and ...

and starring

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

and

Nancy Kelly Nancy Kelly (March 25, 1921 – January 2, 1995) was an American actress in film, theater, and television. A child actress and model, she was a repertory cast member of CBS Radio's ''The March of Time'', and appeared in several films in the lat ...

. Like its immediate predecessor, '' Tarzan Triumphs'', the film mentions Tarzan's mate, Jane, but does not show her on screen. The explanation for her absence, as in the earlier film, is that she is still in the United Kingdom contributing to the war effort. (Maureen O'Sullivan had played Jane in the first six of Weissmuller's Tarzan films, but when the character of Jane returned after a two-picture absence, she was played by Brenda Joyce, not O'Sullivan.) The picture's supporting players include

Johnny Sheffield Johnny Sheffield (born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan, April 11, 1931 – October 15, 2010) was an American child actor who, between 1939 and 1947, portrayed Boy in the Tarzan film series and, between 1949 and 1955, played Bomba, the Jungle Boy. ...

as "Boy",

Otto Kruger Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor. Originally a Broadway matinée idol, he established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Saboteur (film), Saboteur'' (1942) and Dougla ...

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers; August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

, Robert Lowery and

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner; born John Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992), also credited Dehner Forkum, was an American stage, radio, film, and television character actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list o ...

in an unbilled role as Prince Ameer.

Plot

Tarzan receives a request from Jane, who is helping out on the British home front in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, to locate a rare plant-derived serum that can save the lives of many service members. He sets off into the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

, which is the shortest route to the place where the plants can be found. Boy and Cheetah tag along, and soon they are joined by a rambunctious horse and traveling magician Connie Bryce (

), who has been entertaining Allied soldiers in the region. The group travels to Connie's next destination, a small Arab kingdom in the desert. Tarzan intends to drop her off and continue his journey, not knowing that she is on a secret mission from Washington to thwart Nazi spies who have infiltrated the kingdom. Tarzan and Connie quickly run afoul of these devious agents, who manage to frame the two for crimes against the royal family. The apeman leads a daring escape with the help of Cheetah. Then, with the Nazis hot on their heels, the travelers head for the strange prehistoric

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

where the serum plants grow.

Cast

1943 - Colonial Theater Ad - 24 Dec MC - Allentown PA

as Connie Bryce *

as Boy *

as Paul Hendrix *

as Karl Straeder *

Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan (October 16, 1900 – November 5, 1969) was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually ...

as Sheik Abdul El Khim * Robert Lowery as Prince Selim *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. Biography Born ...

as Magistrate *

Philip Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958. Life and career ...

as Kushmet *

Bobby Barber Bobby Barber (December 18, 1894 – May 24, 1976) was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films. Barber is notable for his work as a foil for Abbott and Costello on and off screen. Biography Barber was born Robert S. Barbera in New York. ...

as Turban Vendor (uncredited) * John Berkes as Charlie (uncredited) *

as Prince Ameer (uncredited) *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf; December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

as Achmed (uncredited) *

George J. Lewis George J. Lewis (December 10, 1903December 8, 1995) was a Mexican-born actor who appeared in many films and eventually TV series from the 1920s through the 1960s, usually specializing in westerns. He is probably best known for playing Don Aleja ...

as Ali Baba Hassan (uncredited) *

Nestor Paiva Nestor Caetano Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor of Portuguese descent. He performed in over 400 motion pictures either as an extra, a bit player, or as a significant supporting ...

as Prison Guard (uncredited) * Syd Saylor as Bewildered Camel Herdsman (uncredited)

Critical reception

A review of the film in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that it "doesn’t miss a thing with its quota of Nazi agents and gruesome animals, plus the usual Tarzan jungle scenes" and "is nicely paced and (the) photography highly effective." In the film's review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', it was noted that "perhaps the small fry at least will be amused by people that behave like monkeys, and monkeys that behave like people," that the "sequence in which the luckless Nazi is crunched by the big spider should have the children screaming in their sleep for months to come," and "the desert and the swampy jungle—the latter infested by prehistoric monsters—are as close as adjoining rooms in this fabulous adventure."

References

External links

* * *
ERBzine Silver Screen: ''Tarzan's Desert Mystery''
1943 films 1940s fantasy adventure films American black-and-white films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films American World War II propaganda films 1940s English-language films Films set in deserts Tarzan films Films produced by Sol Lesser Films scored by Paul Sawtell English-language fantasy adventure films English-language war films {{1940s-adventure-film-stub