I just finished watching this classic silent movie serial from 1929. It features Frank Merrill as Tarzan and Natalie Kingston as Jane. Both are visually very on target, though Merrill's flexing gets a bit odd after a time. Kingston is a beauty and her bathing scene is a definite highlight buried in the middle of this tale of Tarzan seeking the Jewels of Opar. La was played by an exotic-looking actress named Kithnou and she sells the role with a real flair.
This is a serial that keeps it moving, with some surprising deaths along the way and an interesting twist in the main villain category late in the story. There's a bunch of running around and Tarzan plagued with amnesia (an ERB standby gag of course) roams around a bit randomly at times but ends up in the right place when needed. Like all of these movies, the sense seems to be that Opar is just around the corner, and it seems strange that no one can find it especially. The Oparians though seem to have lost track of their jewels, though the giant trunk holding them is pretty much in plain sight in an unlocked room not far from the main temple. It's hard to fathom someone hasn't come across them in ages and ages. But then I'm pretty forgiving on these kinds of offbeat notes in a story of this kind.
There's a nice use of the animals in this one, they aren't overdone becoming the threat in every sequence, but are used frequently enough and with variety to keep it interesting. The version I watched had a limited soundtrack with a somewhat ridiculous Tarzan yell in it, that sounded for all the world to me like something Tazan might bark if he banged his big toe or something. Ah well, the imagination can often do so much better than reality in these instances. I liked this movie, it had a good pacing, a nice assembly of actors, and a nice ERB feel to it.
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