Some time ago I was very excited to finally get my hands on the first six Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller. Having never seen any of these films before (but having heard about them since I was little), I decided to start with Tarzan and His Mate, the second Tarzan film starring Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan as Tarzan and Jane respectively. This is a direct sequel to Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), as it sees the return not only of Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) as Jane’s would-be suitor, but also the return of the elephant graveyard that was being sought in the previous film. Like most, if not all of the Tarzan films I’ve seen to date, the plot is familiar: someone wants to plunder the treasures of Tarzan’s jungle and Tarzan does everything in his power to stop it while complications inevitably ensue.

As I’ve quickly discovered with these films, Tarzan and His Mate is pure adventure of the best kind. Even at its darkest point, it never feels like Tarzan or Jane are in serious danger, because even when they are you just can’t believe that anything bad is going to happen to them (mostly because Tarzan is bound to swing in to the rescue).

One thing that delighted me about Tarzan and His Mate was learning that Jane had her own unique “Tarzan yell.” Of course I knew about Weissmuller’s yell, it’s been the template for all Tarzan yells for over 50 years (with The Legend of Tarzan admittedly being an exception), but I had no idea that Jane (and later Boy) had their own unique yells.

Johnny Weissmuller is, for obvious reasons, one of my favorite parts of this movie. While he’s nothing like his animated counterpart, and definitely not much like his literary predecessor (in terms of vocabulary), I have no trouble believing that Weissmuller is Tarzan. He just fits the role so well.

It was also really cool seeing Neil Hamilton star in something other than Batman. For years all I knew the actor for was his work as Commissioner Gordon in the Batman television series and I really liked his work in this film and the previous installment.

Also, you can really tell that Tarzan and His Mate is a pre-Code film. Not only is Jane’s costume extremely revealing (there’s little left to the imagination), there’s also an underwater sequence where Jane (played by a body double) is completely naked! My eyes popped out when I saw that scene for the first time. I mean, I knew pre-Code films took risks like that, but I didn’t know they did that! I’m really glad the copy I have restored that scene, because I read that it was cut out of the film for the longest time.

If you want to start watching the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films, I highly recommend starting with Tarzan and His Mate. Let me know what you think about this film in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

My Thoughts on: Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

My Thoughts on: Tarzan Escapes (1936)

My Thoughts on: Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

My Thoughts on: Tarzan and the Amazons (1945)

Film Reviews

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