Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Steineded How sad is this?

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

weezeralfalfa No, I didn't misspell Tarzan's Jane, who isn't in this film, except in an indirect way. Actually, Jayne is a stallion(not a mare), perhaps so named in memory of Jane? Supposedly, Jayne is wild, but he didn't act so in Tarzan's presence, allowing Boy to ride him to the next oasis, and playing a significant role in the future adventures of Tarzan's group, while they are crossing the desert, to the 'lost' jungle, where they hope to find a plant with anti-'fever'(probably malaria) activity. They hope to send some to Jane, in a London hospital, to treat soldiers suffering from malaria.(As a historical note, at the release time of this movie, the Japanese controlled Java, where nearly all the world's commercial supply of quinine was produced. Also, the Germans controlled The Netherlands, where the crude quinine was purified and packaged for use. Thus, the Allies were desperate for some other source of antimalarial. Just how Tarzan was expected to recognize this rare plant is not explained........Nancy Kelly, as Connie Bryce, more or less takes the place of Jane, after she is encountered at an oasis.( Just what she was doing, as a side show magician, in the middle of the Sahara desert is never explained!). When Tarzan gets to the oasis, he mistakenly thinks her Arab companions are trying to saw her in half. He chases them and her camels away, to the displeasure of Connie. Before Tarzan arrived, she had arranged with Sheik Amir to carry a secret message to Prince Selim, son of Sheik Abdul El Khim. The message is hidden in a bracelet that Connie wears. Prince Selim later discovers that it tells of a plot by 2 German agents: Karl Straeder, and Paul Hendrix, to stir up some tribesmen into a rebellion. The Germans want to prevent Prince Selim from receiving or acting upon the message(How do they know there is such a message and what it says??) They shoot Selim, and blame it on Connie, who had recently been with Selim. She is quickly sentenced to hang. Tarzan can't rescue her, because he's in jail for supposedly stealing Jayne, who was supposed to be a gift from the Germans to the Sheik. So, it's up to Boy and Cheetah to figure out how to get the adults out of their predicaments, which they do. After thrilling escapes, the 4 ride off toward the lost jungle on Jayne and another horse, with Hendrix and Arabs chasing them. They manage to keep ahead, heading into the jungle, where they encounter giant lizards, crocodiles, and a giant carnivorous plant, whose shoots spring from the ground, waving like so many vertical snakes. When Tarzan comes along all these 'snakes' come together to form a cage, which incapacitates Tarzan for awhile. But , the most fearsome beast in this prehistoric jungle is a monstrous mechanical spider, looking to be about the size of a rhino. Enough to give any arachnophobe a heart attack! Boy gets caught in its giant web for a while. Hendrix tracts them to this cave, and is about to shoot Connie when Tarzan swings down and knocks Hendrix into another web, right in front of the spider. Bye Bye, Hendrix! Somehow, all Tarzan's group get out of the way of the spider, and find some of the appropriate plants for Connie to somehow transport back to Jane.......Of course, Cheetah, the Chimp, is a continual clown, and occasionally helps get the others out of a mess. He even does a tightrope act for the Arabs to distract their attention. .......The screenplay is pretty silly, with many aspects not making much sense. Nonetheless, it's a pretty interesting story for some viewers, with the bonus of Cheetah.

utgard14 Tarzan's adventures at RKO continue in his second film there (eighth overall for Johnny Weissmuller). Having not been recast yet, Jane is once again absent. She's in England helping with the war effort. Yes, this is another WW2 Tarzan film, although much less controversial than the last one. This time, instead of slaughtering invading murderous Nazis who deserved every bit of what they got, Tarzan is sent by Jane on a mission to find plants needed to make a malaria serum. He takes Boy and Cheeta along and they journey across the Sahara desert, where they are joined by a spunky American magician (Nancy Kelly). They also encounter Nazi spies, man-eating plants, stock footage prehistoric lizards, and a deadly giant spider.This one's a little different from previous entries in the series. It seems full-on aimed at kids with more fantastic elements and comic relief. But it's all good and the change in setting is nice. A solid cast for this one backing up Weissmuller and Johnny Sheffield -- Otto Kruger, Robert Lowery, Lloyd Corrigan, and Joe Sawyer. Pretty Nancy Kelly seems to be channeling Barbara Stanwyck at times. She's a lot of fun and even gets to sing "Boola Boola." Another enjoyable entry in the series, which lost something in production values when it left MGM but kept the adventure and charm of the earlier films. As was often the case, Cheeta steals the show.

Ben Burgraff (cariart) Following the HUGE success of TARZAN TRIUMPHS, RKO released TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY, which again offered Nazi villains (Otto Kruger, who'd played a similar role in Hitchcock's SABOTEUR, a year earlier, and veteran screen baddie Joe Sawyer), an American girl magician (vivacious Nancy Kelly, who sings a mean "Boola Boola"), and a chance to combine Nazi duplicity with an 'Arabian'-themed adventure (which was popular escapism during the war years). Even a fantasy element was tossed in, as giant lizards and a mechanical spider 'passing' as 'prehistoric' appear in a 'lost jungle' climax.The plot is simple; Jane (at this point serving as a military nurse in London), sends Tarzan a letter, asking him to send his jungle fever remedy. The ingredients are in a 'lost' jungle, across a vast desert, leading Tarzan, Boy, and Cheeta into the adventure...Dated, certainly, but a very enjoyable RKO Tarzan entry!

lost-in-limbo Tarzan receives a letter from Jane who is nursing British soldiers back in England during the war, which asks Tarzan to travel to a jungle out in the Sahara desert to collect a special type of malaria serum from a plant. On there journey there Tarzan and Boy, come across a wild horse they rescue from a German and some Arabs and they also bump into a lady magician who gets stranded in the desert. When they take the lady to her destination - an Arabian city> Tarzan is arrested for supposedly stealing the horse because of some shifty Nazis. But he manages to escape and head off to the jungle to collect the very important serum, but the jungle offers up some surprises. Oh, I recall vividly when I was a kid I use to sit in front of the TV on weekends watching the black and white Tarzan movies. Well, that's when I wasn't watching a western or some anime. So, seeing that an entry of the Tarzan series was on one late night, I thought that bit of nostalgia wouldn't go astray. And what a delight it was. I wouldn't class it is one of the best, but in all it was a strange mix that throws in the unexpected. The story is quite a mystery, because there's so much going on with one incident after another occurring. What Tarzan faces on this erratic adventure includes Arabs, Nazis, gigantic prehistoric beasts, dangerous plants and a giant spider. Limbo, thinks Tarzan has he work cut out for him! While, it might have those interesting facets it does take a while to get going with it being rather talkative and Tarzan gets less screen time. This is when Boy played by Johnny Sheffield chirps in and Cheetah the chimpanzee makes for the usual comic relief. But its Nancy Kelly who dominates the film as the stubborn Connie the American Magician. There seems to be more of a comedy of capers thanks too Nancy Kelly's character who comes up with some humorous quotes and like others have already mentioned; she makes a good substitute for Jane. The film takes place mostly in a desolate backdrop (of course studio sets), but when it hits its dense jungle setting in the last half hour that's when it becomes lively with it's out-of-this-world development with everything in the jungle mostly being big. Johnny Weissmuller is more than capable as our hero Tarzan and Otto Kruger gives a perfect performance as the sneaky Nazi Heinrich. The action and comedy are worked in reasonably well by director Wilhelm Thiele; who incorporates a touch of suspense. The story is rigid and been done before, but the new surroundings and the uncanny nature of some sudden turns and changes makes it more memorable and gives it an edge. It's not a groundbreaking entry to the series, but still its a fun adventure for all.