No writers are credited to the draft I read but from memory and a squizz at the internet it seems to be pretty close to what was filmed so I'm assuming this is the Towne/Austin version.
Towne famously complained about the end result and used a pseudonym. This is actually a pretty tight piece of work - it feels very real, and has a great sense of adventure. The best stuff is the first half which is Tarzan's adventures in the jungle - it jumps around in time a bit but is basically Tarzan's parents wash up on shore, they set up a house, fever kills mother and an ape kills father, Tarzan is adopted by Kala whose child has been killed by Silverback. Tarzan grows up among the apes, using some fast thinking and a knife to take out a panther, and conquer the gorilla who has knocked off Silverback from the head of the group.
There's some really moving moments -the death of Kala's child, the death of Kala, the death of John and Alice Greystoke in the jungle, Tarzan seeing Silverback in prison.
Charactertisations aren't fantastic -the Belgian dude d'Arnot is plucky, Tarzan is interesting physically but that's it, the Greystokes are stiff upper lip chaps, Jane is just... the girl. Mind you Tarzan has never been famous for characterisation.
I was expecting a bigger role to be played by Billings, the captain of the ship who abandons the Greystokes and turns up at a nearby town. Maybe the script lacked a villain - there's just a few snobs. They should have had the fake Greystone in the book - the person who took the estate. Or built up someoneon.
The biggest problem for me - and it was so easily fixable - is that the explorer who makes contact with Tarzan is a random Belgian, d'Arnot, when it so should have been Jane. Jane explored in the books - it makes her a stronger character. Now she's just a girl who hangs out at home. Jane going on the trip would have given her agency, a point. It would have strengthened the emotional impact of those scenes. Love stories beat out "respect" stories.
The story peaks in the first half. It struggles in England especially without a villain. There's no threat. The Earl of Greystoke likes his grandson. Jane is lovely. People are a bit snobby but that's it.
But some great stuff in here. A smart movie. Just not entirely dramatically satisfying.
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