VividSimon Simply Perfect

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 8 March 1950 by Sol Lesser Productions, Inc. Released through RKO Radio Pictures. New York opening at the Criterion: 23 June 1950. U.S. release: 18 March 1950. U.K. release: 18 September 1950. Australian release: 25 May 1950. 6,754 feet. 75 minutes.Alternative title: TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE QUEEN.SYNOPSIS: Tarzan frees a group of kidnapped girls and brings medical aid to villagers suffering from a strange disease.NOTES: Number 26 of the 46-picture "Tarzan" series. Lex Barker's second of five outings as Tarzan. Vanessa Brown's only appearance as Jane.COMMENT: This entry has good elements and bad. For instance, it's great to see Hurd Hatfield, even though his entrance is delayed and his part pans out as not all that large. What's worse, it's sad to hear him struggling with the film's ridiculous dialogue.Oddly enough, it's way-down-in-the-cast Denise Darcel who seems to be most at home, — despite (or maybe because of) a sarong that seems about as suitable for jungle wear as a Panama hat in Alaska. Vanessa Brown emerges as a poor man's Jane in every respect. Her strident voice is especially unsuitable for fans used to the soft diction of Maureen O'Sullivan. Arthur Shields over-acts atrociously; the villain is not much chop; and Robert Warwick cuts an unintentionally risible figure as the high priest.Perhaps we shouldn't come down too hard on the actors. After all, the writers make no attempt to induce credibility in their juvenile plot which remains from go to whoa on a strictly comic-book level. Fortunately, it does introduce a fair amount of fast-moving action, though the climax itself is not as exciting as the earlier scenes with the sinister, foliage-disguised Wadi.Though obviously cramped by the demands of Lesser's tight budget, Harry Horner's sets appear mildly attractive. True, the compositions are more stylish than Lesser usual, obviously reflecting the skill of ace cameraman Russell Harlan. Lee Sholem's direction reaches its zenith in the action spots, thanks to Tarzan's jumping over the camera and at least one neat, if short, tracking shot through the undergrowth.A few stock shots from earlier Tarzan entries pop up occasionally, but not as many as you might expect.

Spikeopath Lex Barker dons the Tarzan trunks for the second time in what is a fun Tarzan adventure, even if it's just a bit too crammed with intentions for its own good. Vanessa Brown slips into Jane's short jungle skirt and Denise Darcel is also on hand to provide some extra sex pheromones; and to indulge in a girl on girl scrap with Jane! Cool!Plot is basically Tarzan out to rescue a bunch of femme natives from the clutches of some mad culty tribesmen led by Hurd Hatfield. There's a jungle disease issue to take care of as well, Cheetah's (owning the movie unsurprisingly) alcohol problem, and of course there's some baddies to be dispensed with which allows Barker to use his athleticism to great effect.Tarzan gets to be vocal, well more a case of muffled utterances really, and Lee Sholem directs it with economical assuredness. Come the end, baddies vanquished, Jane and Cheetah are smiling, and this Greystoke bloke is a hero again. Hooray! Good solid wholesome Tarzan froth. 6/10

carchero Out of all the Lex Barker Tarzan movies, I love this one the best because of Denise Darcel. She plays Lola, a feisty, buxom beauty who steals every scene she's in! Her sassy ways and sharp tongue gets her in a lot of trouble, but she doesn't care. She sets her sights on any handsome man she sees and isn't reluctant to let them know she's interested. Darcel's character is funny, too. She gets into a fight with Jane and gets tossed around the room! Too funny! It was nice to see a Jane who could handle herself, but there was no chemistry between this Jane and hunky Tarzan. The jungle trip to the secret city is also very good because it's creepy and full of suspense. In my opinion, it's one of the best!

TroyAir I've seen the begining of this film and I've seen the ending of this film but not both at the same time, due to its presentation at unusual time schedules on tv. Nonetheless, I've seen enough to know that it's a pretty fair "Tarzan" low-budget action film.Lex Barker plays Tarzan with Johnny Weismuller's pidgin English, but with a California accent. Vanessa Brown plays Jane with a lot of spirit, just the way Jane should be played. Let's face it, if a woman is going to be running around the jungle with an ape man and chasing slave hunters, she better have her wits about her, and Brown's Jane certainly does.The story opens with Barker and Brown riding their elephants through a Hollywood jungle when they hear screams. Ever-alert to danger, Tarzan swings down off of the elephant and runs to a local village, thinking that the screams came from there, with Jane and the monkey sidekick Cheetah close behind. When they get to the village (inhabited by people who look more Middle Eastern than Central African), they find the witch doctor performing a ceremony, but the chief says that they did not scream, so Tarzan darts back to the river to check on the local village girls who were there gathering water. When they get there, they find a bowl one of the girls was using and Tarzan gets hot on the trail. Tarzan catches up to a group of three slavers, who look vaguely Egyptian. He subdues one, but the other two escape after conking Tarzan on the head.The villagers take the captured slaver back to the village to make him talk, but he's infected with a disease and can't stand up, grabbing his knees and falling to the ground. Soon, other villagers are grabbing their knees and falling to the ground, so Jane tells Tarzan to go to a mission to get a doctor. Tarzan goes and brings back the doctor and his voluptuous assistant, who looks very European and speaks with a French accent but wears a sarong.At some point in the story, Jane and the voluptuous assistant Lola are captured by the slavers and taken to a lost city, along with the other village girls. Presented to the ruler of the city, the girls are informed that they are to be either sold as slave girls or will join the harem. Naturally, Jane and Lola resist and must be punished, eventually being sealed inside a pyramid to die. Tarzan learns where they are and he tries to save them. I won't go into too much detail here because I don't want to ruin the drama, but essentially Jane comes through at Tarzan's darkest hour and together they free the slave girls and escape from the city.Now, even though the title has "slave girl" in it, don't think for a second that there's going to be nudity or anything prurient like that. However, we do get to see Vanessa Brown in a two-piece leather outfit (rare for a Jane character, it seems) that reminds me of a cheerleader costume - full cut shoulder straps, V-shaped neckline, longer top gathered in the middle with a mid-thigh cut skirt. This has the effect of making Brown look very athletic (which she is) and really shows off her perky figure well. And, as I mentioned earlier, Lola comes in a sarong and has the full figure to pull it off (nowadays, she'd never make it as a B-movie actress but back in the 50s I'm sure she was a ticket). The other actresses look quite lovely in their sarongs and, later, in their harem costumes, too. Some of them look like they could've modeled for Vargas paintings or nose art on WW2 bombers.This film certainly isn't a high point of modern art, but fans of "Tarzan" and cheap weekend movies will appreciate it for what it is: a piece of 1950s nostalgia and good, clean fun.