Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

wes-connors We begin with some background information about the plot, which concerns false god "Balu" and his native followers. Employing hocus-pocus, high priest George Zucco (as Palanth) wants "Balu" to become the bride of luscious Linda Christian (as Mara). She would rather have handsome Gustavo Rojo (as Tiko). "Tarzan and the Mermaids" features no mermaids, but Ms. Christian is referred to as one. Intermittent singer John Laurenz (as Benji) brings news explaining the absence of "Boy", who is studying in England. This was the last appearance of Johnny Weissmuller (as Tarzan) in the series. Clearly growing too old for the role, Mr. Weissmuller turned in his loincloth and signed on for the more appropriate "Jungle Jim" series. All of this is secondary to the lush Acapulco location and photography, which makes this a pleasant film in spite of itself.***** Tarzan and the Mermaids (3/29/48) Robert Florey ~ Johnny Weissmuller, Linda Christian, Gustavo Rojo, John Laurenz

moonspinner55 Johnny Weissmuller's swan song as Tarzan, the Ape Man. Looking winded and overweight, it's almost painful seeing Weissmuller running, diving, and climbing rocky terrain--he no longer has the grace of an athletic jungle man, and close-ups of his grizzled face reveal both an actor's rebellion and perhaps a bit of embarrassment. Down the river from Tarzan and Jane's abode on the African coast lies a taboo island ruled by a false god, whom the natives shower with treasures from the sea. Promised a maiden bride, the costumed ruler and his power-hungry potentate are furious when the beautiful girl selected escapes (how she fits into their pearl-trading scheme isn't made clear, nor is the fact she realizes the god Balu is a fake but her people do not). Filmed in Mexico City, the picture is padded with local atmospherics and asides (some of which, such as the breathtaking cliff-side high-dives, are truly marvelous). Dimitri Tiomkin's lush scoring and the shimmering black-and-white cinematography by Jack Draper and Gabriel Figueroa almost make the movie worth-seeing; however, Brenda Joyce is a lackluster Jane, a subplot regarding government officials is confusingly integrated, and there isn't enough humor. ** from ****

physyu The vine swinging here is pretty good and the background music better than even some of the so called better Tarzan films involving higher expense. Within the budget constraints that this film was produced - and I don't believe Weissmuller was paid anywhere like handsomely- this is a Tarzan film with light-hearted humor with some very unexpected but entertaining swimming and diving scenes with a dash of adventure . I particularly find the fight with the octopus refreshingly good and rather picturesque and reminds one of Hogarth's drawings of Tarzan fighting an octopus in once famous comic series. The difficult under-water scenes are done very well particularly the scene in which Tarzan battles his many youthful enemies with great swimming skill and craft: he appears agile, strong and a champion in the water that he was. He does quite a bit of rigorous cliff climbing like a mountain lion looking very fit and lion-like and diving into the water here again he appears strong and agile.The grand finale in which he hurled the impostor "Balu" from a high cliff is quite impressive. When his adversaries invaded his "estate" he defended his house and home like a true jungle lord ,throwing some over his head and punching others away as if the were toys! I appreciate Weissmuller's self confidence in asking for a "raise" for the continuation of the Tarzan contract which was terminated with the lame excuse that he was out of shape. More than a dozen or so Jungle Jim adventure films in which Weismuller now "fully clothed" did a bit of vine swinging ,a lot of swimming,diving and fought lions,leopards and tigers showed that Weissmuller could get back into shape again and was fit and strong enough to carry on for a few more years as the one and only Tarzan if only he was given a fair chance.

flix_fan The filmmakers behind Tarzan and the Mermaids seem to have been more interested in making a travel/beach movie than another traditional Tarzan picture. There just isn't as much action this time around. There's some wonderful swimming in this one though. Tarzan makes a spectacular dive off a very high cliff. Brenda Joyce and Weissmuller are very charming. George Zucco makes a great villain. The "God" that Tarzan must confront can be rather creepy. The film's soundtrack is certainly elaborate. The scenery is very nice. Cheetah delivers some fun gags. There's a giant octopus too! All of these keep things moving along, but it's still pretty mellow for a Weissmuller Tarzan movie. The movie even has several songs in it! I think they should have called this one "Tarzan Takes A Vacation". It's different, but certainly not bad. It's a good "chill out" movie to enjoy with a cold beverage after a stressful day. It works very well that way.