| Welcome to In The Balcony. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Plus, you'll be eligible for the monthly $1 million prize. (Not really.) Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Tarzan on Film | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 24 2017, 09:18 AM (868 Views) | |
| The Batman | Jan 27 2017, 07:56 AM Post #16 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
RR, I wanted to get back to this comment, after I read the section in Ape-Man: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to 100 Years of Tarzan that dealt with the Bo Derek film. The book posits that when the Derek film was released it took the place of the Denny Miller version as worst Tarzan adaptation to hit the big or small screens. The only redeeming quality that the author could find was Miles O'Keefe as Tarzan. Though he didn't speak in the film, the author felt he was the closest physical representation to Tarzan that had yet been depicted. So, I gotta ask. What merits did you find in the Bo Derek version? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| Don Diego | Jan 27 2017, 10:00 AM Post #17 |
![]()
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I'm sure there were at least two of them |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Jan 27 2017, 10:38 AM Post #18 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Yes! I knew someone would come back with that. But, seriously RR, the question still stands. Merits? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| Bert Greene | Jan 27 2017, 11:17 AM Post #19 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
All this chatter on Tarzan compelled me to dig out "The New Adventures of Tarzan" (1935) serial and give it a new whirl on my dvd-player. Been a good dozen years since I last viewed it. I know opinions of it are divided, but I've always found it very fascinating, with the gritty realism it serves up, courtesy of its amazing location work. Bruce Bennett makes a terrific Tarzan. Been having a great time revisiting this. |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Jan 27 2017, 11:24 AM Post #20 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I agree, Bert. I've only watched my copy of TNAoT once, but I really enjoyed it. It's been a couple of years for me, too, so with this dive into Tarzan that I have taken, I plan to crack it out again soon. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| CliffClaven | Jan 27 2017, 01:12 PM Post #21 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Eons ago, read an interview with a thriller novelist who'd been a TV producer. He worked on the Ely "Tarzan" series. Two things I remember: Some executive decreed that nearly every episode had to have Tarzan getting hurt and stopping by a mission or something to be patched up by a pretty nurse. Said executive back in Hollywood would send a different starlet to the Mexican location each time to play the nurse, clearly keeping his end of a bargain. Tarzan trying to swim a river and getting his foot caught in a giant clam became their go-to footage if an episode was running short. |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Jan 27 2017, 01:23 PM Post #22 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Those are both pretty funny, Cliff. I've never seen the show, but am considering picking it up. Any recommendations from those that have seen the Ely show? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| CliffClaven | Jan 27 2017, 01:32 PM Post #23 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
One of the intriguing things about the MGM Tarzans is how they quickly evolved (devolved?) from steamy adult adventures full of sex and serious violence to Saturday matinee fare (despite the occasional shot of Tarzan carrying Jane into a fadeout). It's the roughly same trajectory followed by the Universal Monsters, Godzilla, the Dead End Kids / Bowery Boys (from serious social issues to slapstick), and to an extent by James Bond (which went from stylish pulp to Playboy magazine). I'm not that versed in westerns, but I suspect some of cheery cowboys of the 40s and 50s started out a bit grittier. |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Jan 27 2017, 01:38 PM Post #24 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
The Tarzan book agrees with you on the devolution of the MGM Tarzan series. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| Don Diego | Jan 27 2017, 02:41 PM Post #25 |
![]()
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I don't have a schedule but they show serials B westerns a variety of movies and otr shows - it was a package deal form me - not great but I can'i see it costing more than a few $ per month it may be worth it to you - sort of a low rent TCM |
![]() |
|
| riddlerider | Jan 27 2017, 03:29 PM Post #26 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Diego nailed it. As for the recently mentioned New Adventures of Tarzan, I imagine many Balconeers know that it's a particular favorite of mine, and one whose making I've chronicled rather extensively. Not having read the new book, I don't know what the author has to say about NAoT, but I doubt he's matched my 5,000-word essay, for which I got much previously unreported info directly from Brix/Bennet. |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Jan 27 2017, 04:44 PM Post #27 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
LOL - thanks, RR. I guess I have two things to look forward to when I see it. The Tarzan book is now 5 years old, it came out during Tarzan's 100th year anniversary, and though he doesn't quite match your output on the subject, he is in depth on it. And not trying to start a fight, but he had Danton Burroughs for the book, plus had access to the ERB archives. I do highly recommend the book to Tarzan fans. And do I have all your writings on NAoT, by owning your two silent serial books? If not, point me in the right direction, I want it all. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| riddlerider | Jan 27 2017, 05:25 PM Post #28 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Well, since New Adventures is a talkie, it's not covered in Distressed Damsels or Handsome Heroes. I originally wrote the essay back in 2003 for Blood 'n' Thunder #5, but it's been reprinted in The Best of Blood 'n' Thunder and Blood 'n' Thunder's Cliffhanger Classics. And it so impressed the editor of The Burroughs Bulletin — a magazine published for long-time ERB scholars and members of The Burroughs Bibliophiles — that he asked my permission to reprint it as the cover story of his March 2015 issue. |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Jan 27 2017, 06:53 PM Post #29 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Thank you sir, I'll have to check and see if I have one (or both) of those "best-of" books, if not, are they still available? The author, who I should mention is British, brings up the The Burroughs Bulletin several times and also mentions that ERB fans used to be called ERBivores. He seems like a dedicated fan of ERB. And why did I think NAoT was a silent? I'm getting too much Tarzan, it's starting to blur. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| riddlerider | Jan 28 2017, 08:21 AM Post #30 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Sure, both are still available at my web site: http://muraniapress.com/book/blood-n-thunders-cliffhanger-classics/ http://muraniapress.com/book/the-best-of-blood-n-thunder/ While we're on the subject, I'm currently preparing a second volume of Cliffhanger Classics, which has sold consistently well from the day I published it. But unlike Volume One, Volume Two won't just reprint articles from BnT: it'll contain at least a half dozen all-new essays featuring the same mix of behind-the-scenes info and quotes from my old interviews. For example, you'll read Buster Crabbe opining on Red Barry, Victor Jory on The Green Archer, Rod Cameron on Secret Service in Darkest Africa, and so on. I'll let everybody know when Volume Two is available. My plan is to debut it in early March at the Williamsburg Film Festival in Virginia. |
![]() |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Jungle Boogie! · Next Topic » |






![]](http://z2.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)





12:17 AM Jul 11