''Tarzan's Fight for Life'' is a 1958 American

Metrocolor Metrocolor is the trade name used by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for films processed at their laboratory. Virtually all of these films were shot on Kodak's Eastmancolor film. Although MGM used Kodak film products, MGM did not use all of Kodak's pro ...

action

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

featuring

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

' famous jungle hero

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 ...

and starring

Gordon Scott Gordon Scott (born Gordon Merrill Werschkul; August 3, 1926 – April 30, 2007) was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as- ...

, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Jil Jarmyn, and

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, Ta ...

the chimpanzee. The film was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. The twenty-first film of the ''Tarzan'' film series that began with 1932's '' Tarzan the Ape Man'', the picture was the second Tarzan film released in color, and the last to portray the ape man speaking broken English until '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1981). The filming locations were in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

. It was also the only film in the Scott series (and last film in the mainstream ''Tarzan'' film line) to feature the character of Jane. It was followed by '' Tarzan's Greatest Adventure'' in 1959.

Plot

Jungle medics Dr. Sturdy ( Carl Benton Reid) and his daughter Anne (Jil Jarmyn) are opposed by

witch doctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor), or witchcraft doctor, is a kind of magical healer who treats ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is often misunderstood, and they could more accurately be called "anti-witch doctors ...

Futa ( James Edwards) of the Nagasu tribe, who regards their work as a threat to his own livelihood. Futa incites the tribe to waylay Anne's fiance Dr. Ken Warwick ( Harry Lauter), who is saved by Tarzan (Gordon Scott). Later Tarzan and his adopted son Tartu (Rickie Sorensen) enlist the doctors' services on behalf of Jane (Eve Brent), suffering from

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

. Futa hypnotizes Moto (

Nick Stewart Horace Winfred "Nick" Stewart (March 15, 1910 – December 18, 2000), also billed as Nick O'Demus, was an American television and film actor. He was best known for his role as Lightnin' (Willie Jefferson) on TV's '' The Amos 'n' Andy Show'' (1951 ...

), a native assistant of Sturdy, to murder Jane, but Tarzan thwarts the plot. Learning that the young Nagasu chief is sick, Tarzan attempts to persuade them to let Sturdy treat them. Seizing his chance, Futa has the ape man taken captive and condemned to death. To restore his own credentials, the witch doctor then undertakes to cure the chief himself, hedging his bets by having his henchman Ramo (

Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 – December 31, 1994) was an American athlete, actor, and author. He was a decathlon, decathlete and American football, football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National ...

) steal medicine from Sturdy. Unfortunately, Ramo purloins a poison by mistake. Freeing himself, Tarzan intervenes and prevents the administration of the poison to the chief; Futa then swallows it himself to demonstrate that there is no harm in it — and dies. Dr. Sturdy is consequently called in, successfully curing the chief.

Cast

as Tarzan * Eve Brent as Jane * Rickie Sorensen as Tartu, Tarzan's Adopted Son * Jil Jarmyn as Ann Sturdy * James Edwards as Futa * Carl Benton Reid as Dr. Sturdy * Harry Lauter as Dr. Ken Warwick *

as Ramo

Filming locations

Much of the movie was filmed in Africa but some scenes were filmed in Northern California, at Hat Creek, the Pit River and at Burney Falls.

Box office

According to MGM records the film made $720,000 in the US and Canada and $1,325,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $348,000.

Legacy

The film was released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first ''Tarzan'' movie. It was the last Tarzan film made by

Sol Lesser Sol Lesser (February 17, 1890 – September 19, 1980) was an American film producer. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1961. Biography In 1913, while living in San ...

who retired and handed over the franchise to Sy Weintraub. Shortly after completing this film, Scott, Brent, and Sorensen would play the same roles in an attempt to launch a "Tarzan" television series. However, the extremely low-budget project failed to sell, and the three half-hour episodes were spliced into an ersatz feature, '' Tarzan and the Trappers'', released to television in 1966.

Notes

External links

* * *
''Tarzan's Fight for Life'' entry on "Down Memory Lane with Tarzan (Gordon Scott)"

''Tarzan's Fight for Life'' entry on At-A-Glance Film Reviews

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan's Fight For Life 1958 films 1950s action adventure films 1950s fantasy adventure films American action adventure films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films Films scored by Ernest Gold Films directed by H. Bruce Humberstone Films shot in Africa Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in North Carolina Medical-themed films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Tarzan films Films produced by Sol Lesser 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films about witch doctors English-language action adventure films English-language fantasy adventure films