Tarzan's Fight for Life | |
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Directed by | H. Bruce Humberstone |
Written by | Thomas Hal Phillips |
Based on | Characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs |
Produced by | Sol Lesser |
Starring | Gordon Scott Eve Brent Rickie Sorensen Jil Jarmyn Cheeta |
Cinematography | William E. Snyder |
Edited by | Aaron Stell |
Music by | Ernest Gold |
Distributed by | MGM |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2,045,000 [2] |
Tarzan's Fight for Life is a 1958 American Metrocolor action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan [3] [4] and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Jil Jarmyn, and Cheeta the chimpanzee. The film was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. The twenty-first film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man , the picture was the second Tarzan film released in color, and the last to portray the ape man speaking broken English until Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981). [5] The filming locations were in Africa and Hollywood, California. It was also the only film in the Scott series (and last film in the mainstream Tarzan film line) to feature the character of Jane. It was followed by Tarzan's Greatest Adventure in 1959.
Jungle medics Dr. Sturdy (Carl Benton Reid) and his daughter Anne (Jil Jarmyn) are opposed by witch doctor Futa (James Edwards) of the Nagasu tribe, who regards their work as a threat to his own livelihood. Futa incites the tribe to waylay Anne's fiance Dr. Ken Warwick (Harry Lauter), who is saved by Tarzan (Gordon Scott).
Later Tarzan and his adopted son Tartu (Rickie Sorensen) enlist the doctors' services on behalf of Jane (Eve Brent), suffering from appendicitis. Futa hypnotizes Moto (Nick Stewart), a native assistant of Sturdy, to murder Jane, but Tarzan thwarts the plot. Learning that the young Nagasu chief is sick, Tarzan attempts to persuade them to let Sturdy treat them. Seizing his chance, Futa has the ape man taken captive and condemned to death.
To restore his own credentials, the witch doctor then undertakes to cure the chief himself, hedging his bets by having his henchman Ramo (Woody Strode) steal medicine from Sturdy. Unfortunately, Ramo purloins a poison by mistake. Freeing himself, Tarzan intervenes and prevents the administration of the poison to the chief; Futa then swallows it himself to demonstrate that there is no harm in it — and dies. Dr. Sturdy is consequently called in, successfully curing the chief.
Much of the movie was filmed in Africa but some scenes were filmed in Northern California, at Hat Creek, the Pit River and at Burney Falls. [6]
According to MGM records the film made $720,000 in the US and Canada and $1,325,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $348,000. [2]
The film was released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first Tarzan movie. It was the last Tarzan film made by Sol Lesser who retired and handed over the franchise to Sy Weintraub.
Shortly after completing this film, Scott, Brent, and Sorensen would play the same roles in an attempt to launch a "Tarzan" television series. However, the extremely low-budget project failed to sell, and the three half-hour episodes were spliced into an ersatz feature, Tarzan and the Trappers , released to television in 1966.
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 adventure film directed by Hugh Hudson based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes (1912). Christopher Lambert stars as Tarzan and Andie MacDowell as Jane; the cast also includes Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox, Cheryl Campbell, and Ian Charleson.
Tarzan the Ape Man is a 1932 pre-Code American action adventure film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan and starring Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith and Maureen O'Sullivan. It was Weissmuller's first of 12 Tarzan films. O'Sullivan played Jane in six features between 1932 and 1942. The film is loosely based on Burroughs' 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, with the dialogue written by Ivor Novello. The film was directed by W.S. Van Dyke. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released two remakes of Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1959 and in 1981, but each was a different adaptation of Rice Burroughs' novel. It is also the first appearance of Tarzan's famous yell.
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure is a 1959 American Eastmancolor adventure film directed by John Guillermin, produced by Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin, and written by Les Crutchfield, based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs as the twenty-second film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man. With a strong supporting cast that included Anthony Quayle and Sean Connery, and a focus on action and suspense, the film won critical praise as a Tarzan film that appealed to adults as well as children.
Tarzan the Magnificent is a 1960 British Eastmancolor film, the follow-up to Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) and the twenty-third film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man. Its plot bears no relation to that of the 1939 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name. The film was directed by Robert Day and produced by Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin. Gordon Scott made his last appearance as Tarzan in the film, while Jock Mahoney appeared as villain Coy Banton. Mahoney would take over the Tarzan role himself beginning in the next film, Tarzan Goes to India, in 1962. The motion picture does not include Jane.
Jane Porter is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film. Jane, an American from Baltimore, Maryland, is the daughter of professor Archimedes Q. Porter. She becomes the love interest, later the wife of Tarzan and subsequently the mother of their son, Korak. She develops over the course of the series from a conventional damsel in distress, who must be rescued from various perils, to an educated, competent and capable adventuress in her own right, fully capable of defending herself and surviving on her own in the jungles of Africa.
Tarzan of the Apes is a 1918 American action/adventure silent film directed by Scott Sidney starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, George B. French and Gordon Griffith.
Jean Ann Ewers, known professionally as Eve Brent and Jean Lewis, was an American actress who portrayed Jane in Tarzan's Fight for Life.
Tarzan, the Ape Man is a 1959 American action adventure film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Denny Miller as Tarzan, Joanna Barnes as Jane, Cesare Danova, and Robert Douglas. The film is loosely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes, and is a remake of the classic 1932 film of the same name. The film was directed by Joseph M. Newman, and the score was composed by jazz musician Shorty Rogers. MGM would release another remake of the film in 1981.
Tarzan the Tiger (1929) is a Universal movie serial based on the novel Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It stars Frank Merrill as Tarzan, Natalie Kingston as Jane, and Al Ferguson. It was directed by Henry MacRae.
Tarzan's Three Challenges is a 1963 British-American adventure film filmed in Metrocolor. The twenty-fifth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, it is a follow-up to 1962's Tarzan Goes to India. The film was Jock Mahoney's second and final turn as the apeman, was produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Robert Day and Berne Giler, and directed by Robert Day. The film was released in June 1963, and was followed by Tarzan and the Valley of Gold in July 1966.
Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in twenty-four sequels by Burroughs and numerous more by other authors. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, first and most notably to comics and film.
The Romance of Tarzan is a 1918 American silent action adventure film directed by Wilfred Lucas starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, Thomas Jefferson, and Cleo Madison. The movie was the second Tarzan movie ever made, and is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' original 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes. It adapts only the second part of the novel, the earlier portion having been the basis for the preceding film Tarzan of the Apes (1918). Less popular than its predecessor due to much of the action taking place in the wild west rather than Africa, the film has not been preserved, and no prints of it are known to survive today.
Tarzan and the She-Devil is a 1953 American film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Joyce MacKenzie as Jane. The seventeenth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, it also features Raymond Burr, Tom Conway and Monique van Vooren, who plays the "She-Devil."
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle is a 1955 black-and-white film from RKO Pictures directed by Harold D. Schuster and starring Gordon Scott in his first film as Tarzan, taking over the role from Lex Barker, who had in turn followed Johnny Weissmuller in the series. The film about Edgar Rice Burroughs' ape-man also features Vera Miles and Jack Elam. The last of twelve Tarzan pictures released by RKO before the rights returned to MGM and the eighteenth overall film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, it was followed by Tarzan and the Lost Safari in 1957.
The Son of Tarzan is a 1920 15-chapter American film serial which focuses on the coming of age of Jack Clayton, also known as Korak, the son of Tarzan and Jane. The serial was produced by David P. Howells, written by Roy Somerville, and directed by Arthur J. Flaven and Harry Revier. The film was released starting in the summer of 1920, with the final chapter released in January 1921.
The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) is a 15 chapter movie serial which features the third and final appearance of Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan. The serial was produced by Louis Weiss, written by Robert F. Hill and Lillian Valentine, and directed by Robert F. Hill and Scott Sidney. The first chapter was released on December 1, 1921.
Tarzan and the Lost Safari is a 1957 action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Robert Beatty, Yolande Donlan and Betta St. John. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, it was the first Tarzan film released in color, Eastman Color. The nineteenth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man and the first produced by MGM since 1942, it was filmed in Nairobi, British East Africa. The character of Jane does not appear in this motion picture. Released April 12, 1957, it was followed by Tarzan and the Trappers in 1958.
Tarzan and the Trappers is a 1960 action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen and Lesley Bradley. The twentieth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, it was filmed in 1958 as three pilot episodes for a television series which were edited into a feature film when the project was abandoned. As a television project, it was shot in black-and-white rather than color, like other contemporary Tarzan films, including Tarzan's Fight for Life, released later the same year. The film did finally appear on television, but only in 1966. It was shot in Chatsworth, California.
Tarzan's Deadly Silence is a 1970 adventure film composed of an edited two-part television episode of Tarzan released as a feature. It stars Ron Ely as Tarzan. Former Tarzan actor Jock Mahoney and Woody Strode co-star. The film was produced by Sy Weintraub and Leon Benson, written by Lee Erwin, Jack H. Robinson, John Considine, and Tim Considine and directed by Robert L. Friend.
Tarzan is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.