''Tarzan's Revenge'' is a 1938 American

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 ...

starring

Glenn Morris Glenn Edgar Morris (June 18, 1912 – January 31, 1974) was a United States of America, U.S. track and field Athletics (sport), athlete. He won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon in Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon, ...

in his only outing as

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 ...

Eleanor Holm Eleanor Grace Theresa Holm (December 6, 1912Social Security Death Index: HOLM, ELEANOR H. was born 6 December 1912, received Social Security number 559-12-4524 (indicating California) and, Death Master File says, died 31 January 2004 Source: Dea ...

, a popular swimming star, co-starred as Eleanor Reed. The film was produced 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 ...

, written by Robert Lee Johnson and Jay Vann (based on the character created by

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 ...

) and directed by D. Ross Lederman. Sol Lesser cast two Olympic athletes in ''Tarzan's Revenge'': 1936 decathlon champion Glenn Morris as Tarzan and aquatic medal-winner Eleanor Holm as "Eleanor".

Plot

Eleanor Reed accompanies her parents, Roger and Penny, and Nevin Potter, her

fiance An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, on an expedition to

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 ...

to capture wild animals to sell to a zoo. Ben Alleu Bey spots Eleanor and wishes her to become the one hundredth wife in his

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

. When she refuses, he follows their

safari A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...

. Both groups are followed closely by Tarzan, who releases the animals and woos Eleanor away from both Nevin and Bey. When Nevin discovers that Eleanor plans to remain behind with Tarzan, he attempts to kill him but only grazes his shoulder with a round fired at close range. Tarzan attacks Nevin but releases him at Eleanor's behest. As the Reeds' ship sails down the river, Tarzan and Eleanor go for a swim.

Cast

as Tarzan *

as Eleanor Reed *

George Meeker George Meeker (March 5, 1904 – August 19, 1984 ) was an American Character actor, character film and Broadway theatre, Broadway actor. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Meeker made several films such as ''Crime, Inc.'' (1 ...

as Nevin Potter, Eleanor's fiance *

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

as Penny Reed, Eleanor's mother * George Barbier as Roger Reed, Eleanor's father *

C. Henry Gordon C. Henry Gordon (born Henry Racke; June 17, 1883 – December 3, 1940) was an American stage and film actor. Gordon was born in New York City, New York. He was educated both in New York and abroad in Switzerland and Germany. For some year ...

as Ben Alleu Bey *

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 ...

as Olaf Punch (as Joseph Sawyer) * Corbet Morris as Jigger - Nevin's Servant *

John Lester Johnson John Lester Johnson (born John Leslie Johnson; August 13, 1893 – March 27, 1968) was an American professional boxer and actor. He is perhaps best known for his 1916 boxing match against Jack Dempsey, and his 1933 performance as Bumbo, the titul ...

as Koki - Chief Bearer * Frederick Clarke as Ben Alleu's Servant

Critical response

''Tarzan's Revenge'' has received negative critical responses, with the film described as " eposterous from beginning to end" and "absurd." Lead actor Morris was described as "an irredeemably awful actor" whose jungle yell is "so ludicrous as to be laughable."

Production notes

Producer Sol Lesser originally considered casting

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

great

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

as Tarzan, but was unimpressed with Gehrig's legs, calling them "more functional than decorative." Lesser refused to call the lead female character Jane—according to him, Eleanor Holm was so famous for her swimming exploits that audiences would not accept her portraying anyone other than someone named Eleanor.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Essoe, Gabe. ''Tarzan of The Movies'', 1968, published by The Citadel Press.

External links

* * * * {{D. Ross Lederman 1938 films 1930s fantasy adventure films 1930s English-language films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films Films directed by D. Ross Lederman Tarzan films Films produced by Sol Lesser American fantasy adventure films 1930s American films Films scored by Hugo Riesenfeld English-language fantasy adventure films pt:A Vingança de Tarzan