Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

This is the movie that kicked off the Johnny Weissmuller series of Tarzan pictures, which ran for sixteen years, through two studios, an adopted son and two Janes. Weissmuller is the best Tarzan I've seen. He was a champion Olympic swimmer rather than a trained actor, but was blessed with a wonderfully expressive face and had about him a kind of air of primitive moral authority that made him always interesting to watch, even when the plots were mediocre or far-fetched, as increasingly became the case as the series progressed. What's more, though Weissmuller's Tarzan may have been a so-called ape man, he was himself always touchingly human. Unlike today's action heroes, there was a sensitivity to Weissmuller. I know little of the man's personal life, but on screen he was always highly responsive to others and their needs, was alert to the nuances of human behavior rather than merely a macho man, and had at times a refreshing sense of humor that was somehow never cruel or demeaning. He was, in short, shorn of his jungle instincts, a perfect gentleman.

As his long-time companion, Jane, Maureen O'Sullivan was perfect casting. Small and lovely, she contrasted perfectly with Weissmuller, maintaining her dignity and composure in even in the most dire of circumstances. She knew that Tarzan would always come to the rescue; that lions, apes and treasure hunters were no match for him, and yet she never took him for granted.

The first two films of the series were the best, thanks in large measure to the Production Code not having gone into effect, which caused the series to eventually become "domesticated" and family-centered. There was a randiness to the early entries that works even today, as Tarzan and Jane were, after all, a couple, and the movies don't shy away from this. The Tarzan pictures were not Politically Correct, but they're not imperialist, either, and if anything feel at times like environmental tracts on the issue of leaving the jungles (and Tarzan) alone.

It's probably best to watch the films in sequence, if possible. In the MGM period there was a degree of continuity, as one movie more or less picked up where the previous one left off. Weissmuller is more credible early on, though he's never less than good; and Miss O'Sullivan, who left the series when it changed studios, was always a huge asset. The Tarzan movies offer pure escapism of the most innocent kind. In the first film in the series we see the development of the Tarzan-Jane relationship, and there are plenty of thrills and chills along the way. The movie is obviously a back-lot production, but the use of stock footage lends it an air of authenticity. Also authentic is the rapport between Tarzan and Jane, who, in their heyday, rivaled Fred and Ginger and Nick and Nora Charles as one of the premiere couples of Hollywood's golden age.