MGM still kept the quality of their Tarzan films high at this stage, and fresh blood was pumped in film no. 4 in the form of "Boy", the orphaned survivor of a plane crash who is raised by Tarzan and Jane. Some chuckle at the prospect of a boy appearing out of nowhere and think that it was to avoid the concept of the dynamic duo conceiving a child out of wedlock (though Jane says at one point she's married to him), but this device not only gives the story an exciting opening (Laraine Day registers strongly as the boy's real mother) but triggers the plot - we jump to three years later and the kid's rellies turn up looking for him (if I heard right he was a Greystoke, which is interesting).
The story does recycle several Tarzan elements: there's an expedition which is attacked by natives, the natives attack a group at the end and Tarzan has to save the day, there are swimming sequences, animals attack people for no real reason other than to liven up the plot. But it is fast paced and at least this film starts with Tarzan and Jane earlier.
If the first two films were fantasies for women (run off to the jungle, have wild sex with a hunk who you can boss around), this one is a fantasy for kids - lose your dull parents and be raised in a treehouse by two cool parents and play with wildlife - if it gets hairy Tarzan will rescue you. Johnny Sheffield is marvellous as Boy, a real charismatic feral child; he and Weismuller have great chemistry together. Maureen O'Sullivan isn't on top form here; she was pregnant and wanted out of the series (she was supposed to die at the end) and looks tired. Its a shame since there are some powerful dramatic scenes in the middle, with Tarzan and Jane arguing over what should happen to Boy (shame about the end where Jane tearfully admits that Tarzan was right).
The supporting cast is the strongest for a Tarzan film yet, with Ian Hunter, Frieda Insecort, Henry Stephenson and Henry Wilcoxon forming the key members of the safari - all turn in solid efforts (why was Inescort and Wilcoxon allowed to live? Amd why didn't they get together with Tarzan and Jane and say 'we don't want him alive you don't want to lose him let's make an arrangement'?)
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