Tarzan Triumphs
Encyclopedia
Tarzan Triumphs is a 1943
adventure film
in which Tarzan
fights the Nazis
. Johnny Weismuller had portrayed the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs
character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures
. Weismuller was reteamed with two of his three co-stars from several of the earlier films, Johnny Sheffield
and Cheeta
, but Maureen O'Sullivan
was unable to reprise her role as Jane
due to pregnancy. Instead, Frances Gifford
played the princess of the lost city of Palandrya, which is conquered by Germans.
Only when Boy is kidnapped by the Germans does Tarzan shout, "Now Tarzan make war!" Tarzan infiltrates the lost city, destroying a machine gun and defeating the German invaders with his knife and an elephant blitzkrieg
. The film's final scene has Cheeta speaking into the defeated Germans' short wave radio to call Berlin; the Germans mistake Cheeta for Adolf Hitler
.
to the American public. Lesser's first RKO Tarzan film had made the Ape Man a symbol of American isolationism
. The film was the highest grossing of Lesser's Tarzan films.
Unlike the other Tarzan films, the natives are played by whites in South Sea Island costume rather than the black Africans of the MGM films.
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
in which Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
fights the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Johnny Weismuller had portrayed the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. Weismuller was reteamed with two of his three co-stars from several of the earlier films, Johnny Sheffield
Johnny Sheffield
Johnny Sheffield was an American child actor.-Early life:He was born as John Matthew Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon...
and Cheeta
Cheeta
Cheeta is a chimpanzee character appearing in numerous Hollywood Tarzan movies of the 1930s–1960s as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan...
, but Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
was unable to reprise her role as Jane
Jane Porter (Tarzan)
Jane Porter is a major character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film.- In the novels :...
due to pregnancy. Instead, Frances Gifford
Frances Gifford
Mary Frances Gifford was an American actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies.-Career:...
played the princess of the lost city of Palandrya, which is conquered by Germans.
Plot
Tarzan and Boy are living on the Great Escarpment, though Jane has returned to England. A small force of German paratroopers lands and takes over the lost city of "Palandrya" as an advance base for the conquest of Sub Saharan Africa. Tarzan continually ignores the requests for help from the helpless and enslaved Palandrians, saying, "Jungle people fight to live, civilized people live to fight".Only when Boy is kidnapped by the Germans does Tarzan shout, "Now Tarzan make war!" Tarzan infiltrates the lost city, destroying a machine gun and defeating the German invaders with his knife and an elephant blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
. The film's final scene has Cheeta speaking into the defeated Germans' short wave radio to call Berlin; the Germans mistake Cheeta for Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Cast
- Johnny WeissmullerJohnny WeissmullerJohnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
as Tarzan - Johnny SheffieldJohnny SheffieldJohnny Sheffield was an American child actor.-Early life:He was born as John Matthew Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon...
as Boy - Frances GiffordFrances GiffordMary Frances Gifford was an American actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies.-Career:...
as Zandra - Stanley RidgesStanley RidgesStanley Ridges was a British-born actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts...
as Colonel Von Reichart - Sig RumanSig RumanSig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his comic portrayals of pompous villains.-Life and career:...
as Sergeant - Philip Van ZandtPhilip Van ZandtPhilip "Phil" Van Zandt was a Dutch actor of film, stage and television. He made over 220 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958.-Career:...
as Captain Bausch - Rex Williams as Lieutenant Reinhardt Schmidt
- Pedro de CordobaPedro de CordobaPedro de Cordoba , was an American actor.Pedro de Cordoba, who appeared in his first film, a 1915 version of Carmen, was actually a classically trained theatre actor who confessed he did not enjoy appearing in silent films nearly as much as he liked working on stage...
as Oman, the Patriarch - Sven Hugo BorgSven Hugo Borg-Biography:Sven Hugo Borg was born in Vinslöv, Skåne län, Sweden. Early in his career, Borg was a secretary with the Swedish Consulate in Los Angeles. While working at the consulate he met the actress Greta Garbo who had recently arrived in Hollywood. Garbo asked Borg to be her interpreter for an...
as Heinz - Stanley Brown as Achmet
Production
The U.S. State Department informed Sol Lesser that a Tarzan film would be an ideal way to spread the message of democracy's battle against FascismFascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
to the American public. Lesser's first RKO Tarzan film had made the Ape Man a symbol of American isolationism
Isolationism
Isolationism is the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc., seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by...
. The film was the highest grossing of Lesser's Tarzan films.
Unlike the other Tarzan films, the natives are played by whites in South Sea Island costume rather than the black Africans of the MGM films.