THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN (1935)
Article #597 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-2-2002
Posting date: 3-28-2003

Tarzan goes to Guatamala to rescue an old friend and ends up fighting criminals trying to steal an idol containing an explosive secret.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was one of the producers of this serial, so this is probably one of the more accurate portrayals of Tarzan as envisioned in the original books. Herman Brix plays Tarzan, and his yell is something else; my wife thought it sounded like Lou Costello screaming in fright while turning inexplicably into Minnie Pearl. Actually, the serial is pretty good; it takes itself somewhat more seriously than some of the others I’ve seen, and there’s a definite savage touch to the violence that makes it a bit more engrossing. Cheating cliffhangers abound, but actually, the action sequences are done well enough that they don’t bother me at all this time around. However, if you get to the last episode, you might be excused for wondering if the story is over in the first five minutes of it. In which case, you’d be right; the last three-quarters of this episode is mostly recycled footage from the first episode. The acting is not particularly good, but you only notice that when the actors are just standing around talking, which isn’t very often; the emphasis is definitely on action.