My Thoughts on: Tarzan and the Amazons (1945)

My ongoing journey through the classic Tarzan films took me to Tarzan and the Amazons, released in 1945. The plot, like Tarzan Triumphs before it, focuses yet again on a lost city, this time a city of ‘Amazons’ who live in total seclusion from the outside world. Tarzan’s son boy discovers where the hidden city is located after following Tarzan when he returns an injured warrior, a situation that becomes problematic when an expedition learns of the fabulously wealthy lost city’s existence.

It’s almost funny to me how many lost cities there are in these Tarzan films. First there was Palandrya in Tarzan Triumphs, now we have a lost city of female warriors that looks like something straight out of ancient Greece. In fact, with their headbands and weapons, the ‘Amazons’ in this story reminded me quite strongly of Wonder Woman and the Amazons of Themiscyra. Still, the lost city is quite beautiful, even if it is completely out of place in the middle of Africa.

I should also mention this is the first film to feature Brenda Joyce as Jane. When she first appears (in regular clothes), it’s a little hard to accept that she’s Jane. But once she changes into her regular jungle attire, it actually becomes fairly believable. It’s still not the same as having Maureen O’Sullivan in the role, but Brenda Joyce does a pretty good job.

The bulk of the plot, unfortunately, is pretty formulaic. In regular fashion, the greedy members of an expedition (excluding the honorable leader) find out about a lost city that’s full of treasure, decide to loot it, Boy becomes an unwitting (and later unwilling) accomplice, and Tarzan has to rush in at the last minute to save the day. Even worse, most of what happens is Tarzan’s fault if you think about it. Instead of plainly telling Boy that Palmyria (the city of the Amazons) has to stay a secret because of its fantastic wealth, Tarzan talks in riddles and simply tells Boy that it must be a secret without telling him why. If Tarzan had just been honest with his son then a lot of this might have been avoided. Most disappointing of all, the bad guys in the expedition are punished far too quickly. There’s barely a chase, and while their fate is gruesome, it’s over in less than a minute.

Despite these issues, Tarzan and the Amazons is enjoyable, if not completely original. You’ll like it if you’ve gotten this far into the Tarzan series of films, but it might not be the best place to start if you’ve never seen a Tarzan film before.

Let me know what you think about Tarzan and the Amazons in the comments below and have a great day!