Tarzan Escapes! (1936) must have seemed a very apt title when this movie made it to theaters. MGM's third Tarzan adventure with Johnny Weissmuller was shot twice, cost a fortune and took over a year to make before the King of the Apes was allowed to swing back onto movie screens.

The previous adventures, Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and Tarzan and His Mate (1934) had both been huge successes so there was pressure to provide another strong story that would keep the franchise alive. However, one of the elements that made these two films so successful would have to be cut back. Both the earlier movies were released before mid-1934 when tougher enforcement of the Production Code began. A large part of the box-office draw for the two earlier films was not action in a steaming jungle, but the steaming action between Tarzan and Jane. Their jungle romps were some of the most provocative of that period and even included a short nude swimming scene for Jane in the latter movie.

Realizing that sex was out of the question, MGM decided to go for violence instead. The plot for the movie had two of Jane's cousins seeking her out in Africa to tell her of a fortune she has inherited. Their guide is the sinister Captain Fry who wants to capture Tarzan and take him back to civilization in a cage to hawk as a sideshow freak. Murder, slow death in bogs and attacks by vampire bats follow, leaving corpses strewn about the jungle.

Filming began in July 1935 under the title Tarzan Returns (Tarzan and the Vampires and Capture of Tarzan were also considered as titles) with James McKay directing. McKay had been second unit director on Tarzan and His Mate and this was the first feature he had directed in the sound era. Karl Brown, former camera operator for director D.W. Griffith, now turned screenwriter, provided the treatment that was fleshed out by Louis Mosher, John Farrow, Wyndham Gittens and Otis Garrett.

The finished film was previewed that October and got poor audience response. Elements like the vampire bat attacks were considered too graphic and the villain considered too weak. Usually this meant a few touch-ups and a few scenes reshot. However, the Tarzan franchise was thought too important to risk, so in early 1936, MGM decided to scrap the early version and rewrite and reshoot from scratch. MGM contract director Richard Thorpe was now behind the camera directing from a revamped script by Cyril Hume, who had written the script for the first film in the series. A new character, a comical sidekick named Rawlins, was added along with a romantic subplot in which Tarzan and Jane face a potentially long separation from each other.

Shooting began in July 1936 and ended in September. The total cost of both movies ended up topping $1 million but MGM more than made the cost back at the box office as Tarzan Escapes! became another worldwide success. Tarzan and Jane managed not only to survive their foes, but the Production Code and expensive reshoots as well.

Producer: Sam Zimbalist
Director: Richard Thorpe
Screenplay: Cyril Hume
Cinematography: Leonard Smith
Film Editing: W. Donn Hayes
Art Direction: Elmer Sheeley
Music: William Axt, Sol Levy
Cast: Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan), Maureen O'Sullivan (Jane Parker), John Buckler (Capt. Fry), Benita Hume (Rita Parker), William Henry (Eric Parker), Herbert Mundin (Herbert Henry Rawlins), E.E. Clive (Masters).
BW-90m.

by Brian Cady