Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932)

In 1912 author Edgar Rice Burroughs would publish his first novel about a man raised in the jungles of Africa, who ran through trees, and even communicated with animals. Just a few short years later in 1918 Tarzan would swing right from the pages and onto the big screen becoming one of film's most popular characters of all time. Burroughs' character grew from the man jumped through the trees in print to the iconic hero on the silver screen, encouraging him to compose more novels, and in turn inspired even more films. Eight silent features starred the Tarzan character, but in 1932 Tarzan would take a new form, played by Olympian Johnny Weissmuller, and for the first time had a voice in a sound picture, creating the unforgettable call that most any movie watcher would recognize. Tarzan, the Ape Man would become the most popular and the most famous Tarzan movie adding new inspirations to the character and the series as much as it was inspired by the original books.

The film, loosely based the first novel Tarzan of the Apes, is shared primarily from the eyes of Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) as she tags along with her father, James (C. Aubrey Smith), and his younger companion Harry (Neil Hamilton). There quest to find the ivory rich land of the mythical elephant graveyard is sidetracked when the mysterious man swinging from the trees kidnaps Jane, named Trazan. At first filled with fear, Jane learns more about Tarzan and begins to bloom a fondness for the man not held down by civilization, an attribute Jane seeks for herself when coming to Africa. After returning Jane to her father our three adventurers find themselves at the hands of native dwarfs that threaten their lives, but with the help of Tarzan, his chimp friend Cheeta, and the rest of his animal followers, Jane and Harry would be freed, but sadly losing her father James in the mayhem. Jane decides that a life with Tarzan is what she really wants staying behind while Harry returns to civilization.

Johnny Weissmuller, the former Olympic swimming champion, was the perfect fit for the loin clothe. His athletic build, blonde hair, and legend as an American hero made him the ideal man for the job. His five gold medals, bronze medal, and then 67 world records already (think of him as the 1920s Michael Phelps) gave him many followers, but his role as Tarzan made the man a star. The role defined his life after his successful swimming career, swinging from the trees in films another 11 times, well into his forties. Tarzan would become a cultural icon and Weismuller would be the face of that icon. There have been over 80 pictures about the ape man, but Weismuller would be the most recognizable figure as Tarzan.

In this particular film the expanded the universe of Trazan from the previous books and movies, effecting all the future Tarzan productions. Here we are first introduced to the character of Cheeta, the chimpanzee friend and aide, a character not seen in any book or movie prior. Also we hear for the first time Tarzan's famous call, or "yodel" as it was refereed to at times. The call was created by sound recorder Douglas Shearer who would use a few separate recordings, including a yodel, spliced together with manipulations to the speed, pitch, and even parts played in reverse to create a unique sound. Weissmuller for years would claim to have created the call to keep face with the character that made him a star, even doing adequate impersonations for public events to thrill fans. Years later he would finally give up the idea that he was the mind behind the call.

The film would have a few other interesting facts worth sharing. One including the use of Indian elephants given fake larger ears and tusks to play African elephants. There would also be a now forgotten touchy subject of the dwarf natives in the film, played by white dwarfs in blackface. To add a touch of mystery to the land in which the film takes place we meet an interesting actor MGM would have under contract at that time in Johnny Eck. He would play a strange looking bird never seen before. Eck was under studio contract from his work on the controversial film Freaks where he played man with no legs for he in fact had no lower half.. His great ability for him to walk with his hands and dressing him in a strange bird outfit gives us a short snippet of screen time as this strange creature. Eck would continue to be a fine entertainer as a half man until his later years of life.

The film would be another success to the credit of director W.S. Van Dyke's resume of works. Obviously taking some of what he learn in producing Trader Horn, which was mostly shot in Africa, he was able to recreate a jungle setting for this adventure. Some of his best work was yet to come in The Thin Man series and San Francisco. Weissmuller would spend much of his best years playing Trazan, until he started not looking so Trazan-like as he past middle-age, trading in the loin clothe for other roles also taking place in jungle regions, mainly a character named Jungle Jim. O'Sullivan would play Jane in six features, defining the character. Her sex appeal was the main reason for her screen time, including some revealing scenes in this movie with her in her underwear and another with her in her torn clothing swimming with Tarzan. O'Sullivan would leave in fear of typecasting and with replacement Janes the character's relevance and screen time would be heavily reduced. The supporting cast of C. Aubrey Smith and Neil Hamilton would have extensive careers, Smith in supporting roles in many major motion pictures, while Hamilton would do lesser workers most notably playing Commissioner Gordon on the 1960s Batman series.

Of all the Tarzan films it was Tarzan, the Ape Man that would be the grandaddy of them all, setting up the franchise to follow. Tarzan movies would be rather commonplace all the way up to the 1970s with many re-imaginings of the story, but this particular film inspired much in all the following features and serials. Touches were even clear in Disney's 1999 animated version as Jane wears the same dress seen in this version and Tarzan still does his memorable call. Tarzan the character would leave a major impact on Hollywood, both figuratively and physically, for even the neighborhood of Tarzana in Los Angeles was once owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs and named the area after his famous character. Many times copied or imitated, Tarzan would leave a major impact on pop-culture for generations.