Why So Blu?

Tarzan is on a deadly trail, determined to find the diamond hunters who brought terror and death to a peaceful village. But as much as Tarzan is a tracker and avenger, he’s also a protector. An irresponsible gadfly from the so-called civilized world intrudes on his quest and Tarzan knows he cannot leave her to fend for herself.

Right out the gate (But yet, never again in the film) Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure has a plot device that would start up a “hasn’t aged well” or is easy bait for the an outrage thinkpiece on how gross the film is. I’m talking about the scene early on when our film’s villains (Take note, I said VILLAINS) don black face (Or full body) in order to rob a village of its dynamite stock in the middle of the night. Right or wrong (I’m going to reiterate, the film’s VILLAINS do this), this actually serves the plot as they were doing so to be mistaken for African tribesman so there would be no one on their tail when going to an old mine to find diamonds. The film doesn’t glorify it, merely uses it as a means of disguise for our…ahem VILLAIN characters. But, if that bothers you not seeing the context, then you’ve every right to look away and miss out on what is a pretty terrific adventure film.

See, in this film, Tarzan isn’t fooled by the bad guys’ bullshit. The film is about him tracking and hunting these guys one by one for what they’ve done. This isn’t Tarzan versus villagers or anything, its Tarzan against these white dudes. Its a terrific jungle adventure film with some pretty good and intense action sequences for 1959. The film also incorporates some rad blood and gore effects in what I’m sure was considered a family adventure film. There’s a lot of buildup and leads to the cavernous mountain battle between Tarzan and the ultimate baddie that does not disappoint. You get fist fights, foot chases, arrow kills, long falls, animals attacking, plane crashes and much more in this little 80 minute jaunt.

One of the key trivia aspects on the film is that one of the henchman is played by Sean Connery. He’s a pretty ruthless, unhinged kinda guy. His looks are clearly here and his performance is all right, but he doesn’t really light up the screen as much as he would just a few years following this movie. Gordon Scott is a pretty good Tarzan and is able to convincingly take on the more physically demanding aspects of the role. He shares some good chemistry with Sarah Shane who is our female lead in the film. She doesn’t play Jane, but Angie. Shane is pretty terrific and capable here of all the demands, and having her pilot characters as something different helps to make the film feel a little more fresh.

Admittedly, I’ve only seen a handful of the classic Tarzan films and seeing this one is the first I’ve seen one (Sitting down and watching through at least) in probably over 15 years or so. When the film began and the white guys dressed in black body paint thing happened I was like “Ohhhhhh no”, but letting the film play out, I realized it wasn’t bad in the context of the movie. And once the film finishes Act I, it becomes a fine adventure film and one that feels would be at least a piece of inspiration for later big budget adventure films in the coming decades.