OMG, this movie has PRE-CODE written all over...I loved it!
I'm gonna start with a side note. According to this movie, a woman living in the jungle for a whole year without any element besides her loincloth, should look like this:
Anyway...I'm gonna be very concise about this one, because I explained my general sentiment toward Tarzan with Johnny and Maureen in their first movie together. If you haven't seen this one, I know you're wondering, why especially Pre-code? Besides the obvious elements you can see in the pictures (Jane's outfit was changed to a less revealing dress in the next films) let me tell you this movie has one of the most romantic scenes ever. Jane is sleeping covered with what seems to be a lion fur. Tarzan starts blowing her face in close-up. When she wakes up, he says in his primitive accent: "Good morning, I love you". Awww.
Then he says he wants to go swimming. She puts on a dress that was given the previous night by visitor explorer Harry Holt and when she's about to jump into the lake, Tarzan rips off her dress. And then they go skinny dipping in a very controversial but beautifully shot scene:
An Olympic medal winner swimmer replaced Maureen in this scene. This was a quite shocking for its time, so they shot three versions and each theater chose which to show.
What else happens? As I said, Harry Holt accompanied by a really cruel hunter/explorer and his crew visits Jane in the jungle. Harry hasn't lost hopes and still loves Jane. He wants to take her back to England plus finally take all the precious ivory from the elephants graveyard, something that upsets Tarzan. Jane has to choose between her two worlds.
Besides these opposite forces, there are a LOT of fight scenes with random, ferocious animals (really, like every two minutes Jane is in mortal danger) and combats with cannibals. At the end, all the different forces are involved in a pitched battle: like 20 lions and cannibals versus Jane thinking she's a widow and the two English men that are attracted to her. A great but entertaining mess. The only thing that I didn't like from this one, is Jane call, like Tarzan's but ridiculous.
In conclusion, you totally should see this one. Here's the trailer:
So, there is actual nudity in the film? Hmm. I guess I won't be able to watch this one. (I'm getting a Tarzan collection from my library.)
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind if I mention a tiny spelling error that I noticed. In English, a man who loses his wife is a widower and a lady whose husband has died is a widow. But trust me, your English skills are far better than that of some AMERICANS. ;D
Thanks for your help Emm, I really appreciate the fact that you guys actually spend some of your time helping me to improve my English :) I check my posts like 10 times before publishing them and sometimes I don't notice huge errors like that one.
ReplyDeleteAbout the film. Yes, it contains nudity, but just in that scene (it was surprising and shocking to see anyway, because you don't expect to see people naked in old films,lol). But maybe there's a censored version that you can get from your library. It's a very romantic film :) Thanks again Emm!
This is an awesome assessment, Clara! I LOVE Pre-Code films, but I didn't know about the studio giving the theaters a choice of which one of three to show. I love knowing tidbits like that.
ReplyDelete:-)
I have Maureen O'Sullivan's autograph but not that gorgeous Johnny Weissmuller's. I had the chance to buy his signature a few years ago but I decided not to buy it! Big mistake. Great post on a great movie series. Keep up the great work Clara my darling girl. : )
ReplyDeleteI have Maureen O'Sullivan's autograph but not that gorgeous Johnny Weissmuller's. I had the chance to buy his signature a few years ago but I decided not to buy it! Big mistake. Great post on a great movie series. Keep up the great work Clara my darling girl. : )
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help Emm, I really appreciate the fact that you guys actually spend some of your time helping me to improve my English :) I check my posts like 10 times before publishing them and sometimes I don't notice huge errors like that one.
ReplyDeleteAbout the film. Yes, it contains nudity, but just in that scene (it was surprising and shocking to see anyway, because you don't expect to see people naked in old films,lol). But maybe there's a censored version that you can get from your library. It's a very romantic film :) Thanks again Emm!
So, there is actual nudity in the film? Hmm. I guess I won't be able to watch this one. (I'm getting a Tarzan collection from my library.)
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind if I mention a tiny spelling error that I noticed. In English, a man who loses his wife is a widower and a lady whose husband has died is a widow. But trust me, your English skills are far better than that of some AMERICANS. ;D