''Tarzan's Savage Fury'' is a 1952 film directed by

Cy Endfield Cyril Raker Endfield (November 10, 1914 – April 16, 1995) was an American film director, who at times also worked as a writer, theatre director, and inventor. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he worked in the New York theatre in the late 1930s ...

and starring

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953 and portraying leading characters from Karl May' ...

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 ...

Dorothy Hart Dorothy Hart (April 4, 1922 – July 11, 2004) was an American actress, mostly in supporting roles. She portrayed Howard Duff's fiancée in the film '' The Naked City'' (1948). Early life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Hart was the daughter of insur ...

as Jane, and

Patric Knowles Patric Knowles (born Reginald Lawrence Knowles; 11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995) was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he later changed his name to reflect his Irish heritage. He made his film debut ...

, serving as the sixteenth film of the ''Tarzan'' film series that began with 1932's '' Tarzan the Ape Man''. While most ''Tarzan'' films of this series in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s presented Tarzan as a very different character from the one in

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 ...

' novels, this movie does make some allusions to the novels. It was shot in

Chatsworth, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area around the town was home to Native Americans, who left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish beginn ...

Iverson Movie Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. Movi ...

. The film was the last to be directed by Cyril "Cy" Endfield in the US. Finding himself one of Hollywood's film-makers blacklisted by the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

he moved to Britain. The film was co-written by

Cyril Hume Cyril Hume (March 16, 1900 – March 26, 1966) was an American novelist and screenwriter. Hume was a graduate of Yale University, where he edited campus humor magazine '' The Yale Record''. He was an editor of the collection ''The Yale Recor ...

, who'd contributed substantially to the "Tarzan" series back in its bigger budget

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

days. At 81 minutes, this is the longest ''Tarzan'' film since '' Tarzan's Secret Treasure'' in 1941. The film was followed by '' Tarzan and the She-Devil'' in 1953.

Plot

Tarzan agrees, against his better judgement, to guide supposed British government agents Edwards and Rokov into the land of the Wazuri Tribe, to harvest uncut diamonds for national-defense purposes. It transpires the "agents" are secretly criminals who intend to use the gems for their own sinister purposes.

Cast

as Jane *

as Edwards, a British traitor * Charles Korvin as Rokov, a Russian agent * Tommy Carlton as Joseph 'Joey' Martin * Wesley Bly as Native Captive (uncredited) *

Darby Jones Darby Jones (February 10, 1910 – November 30, 1986) was an American actor known for his role as the zombie-like Carrefour in the 1943 horror film ''I Walked with a Zombie''. He appeared in a similar role in the 1945 film '' Zombies on Broadway' ...

as Witch Doctor (uncredited) *

Peter Mamakos Peter Mamakos (December 14, 1918 – April 27, 2008) was an American film and television actor. Early life Mamakos was of Greek descent. Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, he attended Somerville High School where he was a member of the Natio ...

as Pilot (uncredited) *

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Walke ...

as Native Chief (uncredited)

Production

The film was originally known as ''Tarzan, the Hunted''.

Critical reception

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), ...

'' wrote that the film was, "A series of unexciting jungle heroics are offered..."''Variety'', Review: ‘Tarzan's Savage Fury’, December 31, 1951
/ref> Recent TV guides for re-run viewers say little more. ''

The Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' wrote that "plenty of action helps the story along", and ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' wrote that the film was "uninteresting and slowly paced."

References

External links

* * * 1952 films 1950s fantasy adventure films American fantasy adventure films American sequel films Films shot in California Tarzan films Films directed by Cy Endfield Films produced by Sol Lesser Films scored by Paul Sawtell American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language fantasy adventure films {{1950s-adventure-film-stub