After two films without Jane the producers of Tarzan figured it was safe enough to trial a new actor in the part, and introduced Brenda Joyce, who is a cheerful blonde thing, little like a slightly older bobbysoxer, very chirpy and American but she lacks Maureen O'Sullivan's class, and sensuality. It was clear why O'Sullivan was with Tarzan (sex and affection) - she had real chemistry with Weismuller. Joyce just feels like his girlfriend.
Joyce isn't helped by the fact that the plot is such a retread of the O'Sullivan films: she arrives in Africa with an expedition (a la Tarzan the Ape Man), on which there is one good person (Henry Stephenson who played the same role as C Aubrey Smith in Tarzan Finds a Son) and the rest evil, boy is involved in betraying Tarzan (like in Tarzan's New York Adventure). Couldn't they have thought up something more original?
The best bit about the film are the Amazons, a women-only society led by Maria Ouspensaka. They are a bunch of hard-core men haters, although they don't mind Tarzan because he keeps their existence secret. Although they are a tough albeit mostly sexy bunch of cookies, they are not really the villains - they aren't punished at the end for killing most of the expedition they are just considered vicious and to be kept at a distance. Is this feminist? I'm sure someone's done a paper on it. (They are certainly interesting enough characters to make you wish that the film had a more interesting Jane than Joyce.)
Tarzan and Boy have a big argument in this one, a bit of sulky teen drama. Tarzan also stands there while two villains die in quicksand without offering to help.
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