GREYSTOKE SYNOPSIS Scotland, 1885. The young John Clayton of the house of Greystoke (Paul Geoffrey) plans a voyage to Africa, to one of the colonies near the coast, along with his pregnant wife, Alice (Cheryl Campbell). John bids farewell to his father, the Sixth Earl of Greystoke (Ralph Richardson).

Months later, off the coast of Equatorial West Africa, we see the remnants of a shipwreck, the very one chartered by Clayton. He and his wife have survived the wreck, but are now marooned in the jungle. They set up a house in the trees using timber and decking from the ship. Alice soon gives birth to their baby, a son named Jonathan Jr., but develops a severe fever soon after. During her sickness, Clayton writes in his journal of the difficulties in caring for his ill wife and their baby. Alice's breast milk becomes virulent and she deteriorates further. One day, Clayton checks on his wife to find her dead. As he weeps over her body, a large primate called White Eyes, leader of a nearby clan of apes, enters the home. Petrified, Clayton lunges for his gun but is quickly overtaken by the ape and killed when the ape charges him and beats him to death. Several other apes from the clan enter the house and begin to curiously inspect the house. A female named Kala, mate of the ape Silverbeard, enters the home carrying the body of her recently deceased baby. When she discovers John Jr. crying in his crib, she drops her baby's lifeless body and claims John as her own. She flees the house with the rest of the apes as one of them accidentally discharges Clayton's revolver while examining it.

John (at age five Danny Potts) grows, brought up as an ape with the assumed name of Tarzan, but falls under constant persecution from White Eyes, who considers him an outsider because of his hairless skin. Despite trying hard to fit in, Tarzan's human attributes prove beneficial to him. Sipping water from a stream with a peer, Droopy Ears, Tarzan is forced into the water when the two are attacked by a leopard. Tarzan's friend is killed but he finds that he has the ability to swim to safety, whereas the apes would have normally stayed out of the water.

Later (at age 12 Eric Langlois), Tarzan eventually discovers the home his human mother and father built. He finds his mother's locket which contains pictures of the Claytons, though Tarzan does not recognize them. He also finds his father's dagger and finds that it can be used as a weapon. He fashions a belt for himself and carries the dagger with him. While foraging for food, Kala is attacked and shot with arrows by a native hunting tribe. Tarzan rushes to her rescue and tries to fight off the attackers. One of the hunters, wielding a spear, lunges at Tarzan who dodges the point as it hits his already dying mother. The blow finishes Kala and Tarzan, in a rage, breaks the man's back over his shoulder. As he crouches over Kala's body, Tarzan begins to moan and scream, a mournful sound heard by the rest of the hunters.

Many years later another hunting party, this time English, enters the jungle near Tarzan's home. The party is led by the vicious Major Jack Downing (Nigel Davenport), a game hunter who's been charged with bringing primates back to Britain, alive or dead, to be studied or stuffed for museum displays. Among the party are Capitaine Phillippe d'Arnot (Ian Holm) and Sir Evelyn Bount (John Wells), both contemptuous of Downing's sadism. They find the Clayton home and set up camp but are later attacked by a native tribe. Downing is killed immediately along with most of the guides. D'Arnot is wounded when an arrow pierces his lower abdomen. He manages to escape the fray but is followed by a few natives. He loses them as he hides in a large tree and, shortly after pulling the arrow from his body, is found by an adult Tarzan (Christopher Lambert) and a few apes.

Tarzan brings d'Arnot to the ape camp and tends to his wounds, much to White Eyes' disapproval. Tarzan also fends off the curiosity of his fellow apes while d'Arnot recovers. During this time he discovers that Tarzan is a talented mimic who can imitate most of the animals in the jungle along with d'Arnot's mumblings. One day, Tarzan begins to hum the same tune d'Arnot does. When d'Arnot finds that Tarzan has the ability to speak, he is delighted and teaches Tarzan rudimentary English. Tarzan shows d'Arnot the locket and takes him to the Clayton home where he found it. There, d'Arnot discovers Tarzan's ancestry from John Sr.'s journal and resolves to bring Tarzan (whom d'Arnot now calls "Jean"; the French pronunciation of "John") home to his family in England.

However, Tarzan's first priority is to gain leadership of the ape tribe. Having been persecuted by White Eyes his entire life, Tarzan challenges the older ape to a showdown. The two engage in a vicious fight that continues through the jungle while d'Arnot and the other apes look on. Tarzan and White Eyes fall into a large pool and disappear under water. White Eyes appears at the surface revealing a large stab wound in his body. Tarzan emerges from the water victorious and is respectfully greeted by the other apes as their leader.

D'Arnot continues to educate Tarzan, though he is met with resistance at first. Tarzan finds it difficult to easily discard his ape upbringing. Eventually, d'Arnot decides that John is civilized enough to return to the world & takes him out to a small settlement on the edge of the jungle where they make their way, by boat, back to England.

Upon their return, John is brought to the home of his grandfather, the Sixth Earl of Greystoke, who is deteriorating a bit from age and exhibits some eccentric behavior, presumably from the loss of his son and daughter-in-law. Lord Greystoke welcomes his grandson, though sometimes forgetting that he is not his son returned. John meets Lord Greystoke's young ward, Jane Porter (Andie MacDowell), who is visiting from America and is engaged to another man. Finding it difficult to be seen as anything but a novelty in a social sense, and with his behavior seen as threatening and savage, John falls into a depression. His mood is lifted slightly when he befriends a mentally disabled worker on the Greystoke estate and, while in his company, is able to relax and act naturally.

Jane takes it upon herself to teach John more English, French, and social skills such as table manners and dancing. The two become very close and develop feelings for one another, making love one evening in secret. Eventually, Jane leaves her fiance with the intent to marry John.

During a large ball honoring John's return to the family, Lord Greystoke sneaks away from the crowd, appearing to enjoy a renewed vigor at the return of his grandson. Reminiscing of a childhood game he used to play, he uses a silver tray as a toboggan and slides down the grand staircase, only to crash into the railing at the bottom. John discovers him and holds his grandfather as he dies in his arms, apparently of a head injury. John reacts similarly as he did to Kala's death, devastated and confused by the loss and frustrated with his displacement in society.

John is later on hand to cut the ribbon for a new wing at the Natural History Museum -- his grandfather was the chief benefactor. Bothered by the exhibits of preserved animals, John sneaks away into an alley and comes across an institute for the study of primates next to the museum. When he enters the lab he discovers, to his horror, several small monkeys and a gorilla that have been dissected. Several other primates are kept alive in cages, the largest of which contains an ape who John immediately recognizes as his adoptive father, Silverbeard. John frees him and the other primates and escapes. At the museum, Jane, d'Arnot, and Blount are informed by the police that John is running through the streets with an ape. John runs to a park where he and Silverbeard climb a tree as they are surrounded by police and a crowd. When Jane, d'Arnot, and Blount arrive, Blount gives the word to a rifleman who fatally shoots Silverbeard. John becomes enraged and sad, yelling that the ape was his father from Africa.

That night, everyone discusses what is to be done with the distraught John. Jane and d'Arnot agree that he should be sent back to Africa. Because of the dual nature in his mind, he cannot adapt to life in the civilized world. Blount disagrees, stating that John is the last surviving member of the Greystoke family and that the legacy must be secured for the future. Suddenly, they hear John screaming and see him driving a team of horses around the circle outside. When he comes in, covered in mud, Blount assertively tells him that he must resume his life as a Scot Lord. John growls and forces Blount into a chair. He presses a hand to Blount's chest and tells him, "One half of me is Greystoke. The other half is wild!"

John is taken back to Africa. At the waterfall in his former territory, he quickly meets another gorilla and runs off into the rainforest, while Jane and d'Arnot watch him leave.

~ Reference: IMDB

HOLLYWOOD AND VINE: 
THE MOVIES OF TARZAN
http://www.inthebalcony.com/page31.html
by Philip Schweier

Tarzan began as a 95,000-word story by novice author Edgar Rice Burroughs, a struggling businessman with a long string of failures behind him. In an effort to escape an unsatisfying reality, the 37-year old turned to the fantastic fiction pulps of the day for distraction. Believing he could write better, he sold his first story, A Princess of Mars, for $400.

His second story, TARZAN OF THE APES, was published for $700 in the October 1912 issue of All Story Magazine. It was an instant hit, and a sequel quickly followed. The adventure stories featured action and intrigue from the jungles of Africa to Paris, then back to the Sahara. Subsequent books were overflowing with thrills from wild animals, hostile desert tribesman, foreign spies, lost cities and prehistoric creatures.

Fortunately, Burroughs had the foresight to retain the rights to his creation, leading to a multimillion dollar empire built on his literary properties. Before his death in 1950, the author would write a total of 95 books, 24 of them Tarzan novels, and see his creation translated into dozens of languages, as well as comics and motion pictures.

The very first Tarzan film in 1918 was entitled TARZAN THE APE MAN, and starred Elmo Lincoln. He would go on to portray the Ape Man in two sequels, primarily very broad adaptations of the novels. Over the next 10 years, Tarzan was played by a handful of actors in a total of nine silent films, the most notable being James Pierce in 1927's TARZAN & THE GOLDEN LION.

Pierce would go on to marry Burroughs' daughter Joan. Together, they would star as Tarzan and Jane in 365 15-minute radio dramas. Produced by ERB, Inc. in 1931, they were pre-recorded and syndicated to radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. This introduced the concept of pre-record programs, rather than the live shows common at the time.

In the meantime, Burroughs continued to license his character to any filmmaker interested. One of those was Sol Lesser, who had come by the Tarzan rights secondhand, though they were technically expired. A legal loophole granted him permission to make his own Tarzan movie. With the advent of talking pictures, he hoped to start fresh, distancing himself from any films that had come before.

However, a clause in Jim Pierce’s contract obligated an offer, so Lesser had to convince the son-in-law of the ape man’s creator to pass on any future Tarzan roles. Toward that end, he offered Pierce $5,000 and an MGM screen test in exchange for stepping aside. Pierce accepted the deal, and in his screen test was given a Shakespearean soliloquy. Hardly a level playing field for a former football star trying to build a film career!

Meanwhile, MGM was on the verge of launching the career of one of the most famous screen Tarzans. Johnny Weissmuller had won five Olympic gold medals in 1924 and ‘28 for swimming. His lean, muscular physique suited him for MGM’s first remake of TARZAN THE APE MAN in 1932. For the first time, audiences were treated to what would become Tarzan’s signature ape call. Though often imitated, it has never been duplicated, as it is a blend of various sounds, including an Austrian yodel provided by Weissmuller himself.

Contrary to popular belief, at no time in the film does Weissmuller ever say “Me Tarzan. You Jane.” Co-starring was a young Irish actress, 20-year old Maureen O’Sullivan, whose skimpy costumes were rather racy at the time, and helped lead to the creation of the Hayes Commission to oversee decency in movies.

In 1933, Lesser cast Buster Crabbe, also a former Olympic swimmer, as Tarzan. Though initially rejected for the lead in MGM’s Tarzan, he had starred as Kaspa the Lion Man in Paramount’s King of the Jungle. TARZAN THE FEARLESS was released both as a feature and a serial. The independent production was widely panned, especially in comparison to MGM’s Tarzan version.

In 1935, Burroughs was invited to become a partner in a small film company, and was promised a greater degree of creative control over his heroic creation. This time, instead of a semi-literate ape man, the jungle lord was more faithful to his literary roots. Tarzan was an intelligent, educated English lord raised in Africa, and spent his free time roaming the jungle, often discovering lost civilizations.

Herman Brix, another 1928 Olympic athlete, was cast in the lead role. He also had been considered for the role when MGM was casting their version in 1932, but director W.S. Van Dyke passed him over because Brix was still recovering from a broken shoulder received while filming his first movie, TOUCHDOWN.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN was released in 1935 in a 12-chapter serial format. Filmed on location in the rainforests of Guatemala, to describe it as uneven is being overly generous. Brix tried to disassociate himself from a lackluster career beginning. Changing his name to Bruce Bennett, he began developing his acting skills, eventually becoming a contract player at Warner Brothers, with roles in such films as DARK PASSAGE and TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.

Meanwhile, Lesser was moving ahead on his next picture. With Crabbe now starring in the successful Flash Gordon serials, TARZAN’S REVENGE (1937) starred Glenn Morris, another Olympian. The following year, TARZAN AND THE GREEN GODDESS, a re-edited feature version of NEW ADVENTURES, was released in an effort to recoup some of its losses.

By now the jungle had become somewhat crowded, and MGM’s series overshadowed all others. Weissmuller, as Tarzan, had adopted a jungle foundling in his fourth film with O’Sullivan TARZAN FINDS A SON (1939). Boy, as he was named in the film, was played by Johnny Sheffield. It was originally planned to kill Jane off at the end of the film, but the studio reconsidered at the last minute. Two more films followed before O’Sullivan decided to leave the jungle following 1942’s TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE.

Their Jane gone, it was an easy decision for MGM to drop Tarzan, as the war in Europe had eliminated their foreign market, and wartime rationing forced production cutbacks. Lesser managed to buy Weissmuller’s contract from MGM and take the series to RKO. Jane was written out, but Sheffield, as Tarzan’s adopted son, accompanied Weissmuller to their new studio home.

RKO turned out six more films, beginning with TARZAN TRIUMPHS in 1943. At the time, isolationism was a dangerous foreign policy. Allegedly, the U.S. State Department, feeling Tarzan to be a vital propaganda weapon, asked that a wartime story be filmed. In the movie, Nazi aggression spreads to Africa, but Tarzan isn’t concerned, believing the fighting in Europe to be too far away. But when Boy is taken hostage by a German army expedition, an angry Tarzan growls, “Now Tarzan make war!”

In 1945’s TARZAN AND THE AMAZONS Jane returned, played by Brenda Joyce. Four movies later, following TARZAN AND THE HUNTRESS (1947) it was obvious Boy was on the verge of becoming a man, and Sheffield left to take on the role of Bomba the Jungle Boy in Monogram’s 12-film series before hanging up his loin cloth for good in 1955.

Weissmuller’s long reign came to an end with 1948’s TARZAN AND THE MERMAIDS. However, his jungle career would continue. Under producer Sam Katzman, Weissmuller starred as Jungle Jim in 20 films between 1948 and 1956. Based on Alex Raymond’s comic strip, the series was essentially Tarzan in khakis.

Assuming the mantle of the ape man in 1949’s TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN was Lex Barker, who followed the jungle trail laid down by his predecessor, complete with an adopted son. Brenda Joyce returned as Jane, but a painful divorce and unsatisfying career drove her out of Hollywood after their first film together. Barker played the role for 5 films, until 1953’s TARZAN AND THE SHE-DEVIL.

With the release of TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE (1955), several changes were made to the film series. Most obvious was a new actor, former drill instructor and life guard Gordon Scott. However, it would prove to be the final film released through RKO due to the studio's financial difficulties. The studio was later sold to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who renamed it DesiLu.

Lesser offered MGM a distribution deal, returning the series to its former home. This allowed for new life to be breathed into the franchise, beginning with 1957's TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI. For the first time, the ape man was presented in color, and he began to speak like an educated human.

Up until this time, most films were shot on the studio backlot, though a few had gone to the swamps of Louisiana or Florida for a greater degree of authenticity. While some of the Lex Barker films boasted being the first to be shot in Africa, such footage was usually background shots and the like. LOST SAFARI was the first to send the cast and crew to British East Africa.

As successful as LOST SAFARI may have been, its follow-up, TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE (1958) was a disappointment. Suspecting that the jungle lord may have worn out his welcome on the big screen, Lesser set his sights a bit lower, but efforts to bring the ape man to TV were stillborn. A second radio program had been running, and its producers held the television rights. The three pilots that were intended to launch the series were then cobbled together to form TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS (1958).

Following his failed attempts at a Tarzan TV series, Lesser had grown weary and his health had begun to suffer. Under the belief that Tarzan had exhausted the market, he sold out to Sy Weintraub's Banner Productions. With fresh blood at the helm, TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE in 1959 was very well received. Perhaps its success coupled with Weintraub's inexperience with MGM contributed to the studio's efforts to hijack the series.

A common clause in MGM's contracts granted them the right to re-make any film originally produced by the studio. This included TARZAN THE APE MAN, even though the Burroughs estate had placed the character rights in Weintraub's hands. MGM moved forward with their movie, but the costly legal battle that ensued prompted the studio to cut the film's budget wherever possible. Starring the unknown and barely remembered Denny Miller, the remake is a mish-mash of stock footage, mostly from KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1950) and tinted footage from the 1932 version starring Johnny Weissmuller.

Meanwhile, Scott would return to the role for a sixth and final time in 1960's TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT. His nemesis in the film was played by Jock Mahoney, who would star in TARZAN GOES TO INDIA (1962). Feeling Africa had become too modern, scriptwriters borrowed a page from the fledgling James Bond series, hoping exotic locations would help keep the series fresh. TARZAN'S THREE CHALLENGES (1963), also starring Mahoney, took the ape man to the jungles of Thailand. Mahoney left the role, though he would return as the villainous Colonel in the TV series, and as stunt coordinator for the 1982 remake of TARZAN THE APE MAN.

Continuing the “out of Africa” trend, Mike Henry's first outing, TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD (1966) was set in Mexico. Though he would leave the role six months before his first film was ever released, Henry, a former football star, has been praised as one of the best screen Tarzans, closely resembling the comic book Tarzan published by Gold Key at the time.

What a monkey bite looks likeTwo more pictures were rushed into production, but heavy rains on location in Brazil delayed filming, and the floods that followed destroyed sets, causing further setbacks and extending the company’s time spent out of the States. The interminable shoot in South America left Henry homesick and miserable. After being bitten by Dinky the chimpanzee, he suffered a bout of “monkey fever” for two weeks.

Exhausted, the chronic injuries and illness on the set prompted him to return to California. There he chose to abandon the role and file two separate lawsuits against Banner Productions claiming “abuse and working conditions detrimental” to his safety and well-being.

Meanwhile, in 1966, producer Sy Weintraub's plans for a Tarzan TV series were realized in the form of Ron Ely, who would become identified with the role much as Johnny Weissmuller had. But like Henry before him, he also suffered numerous injuries while filming, 17 of them before the first episode aired. Manuel Padilla Jr., who had roles in two of Henry's films, co-starred as Jai, Tarzan's Boy-ish ward.

VALLEY OF GOLD was released in 1966, followed by TARZAN AND THE GREAT RIVER in 1967, and TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE BOY in 1968. That same year, after 57 episodes, the television series ended, but a couple of two-part episodes were re-edited as feature films in 1970. By this time, Tarzan had run out of steam, and Hollywood’s longest-running film franchise came to a halt.

In 1976, Tarzan returned to the small screen in the form of a Saturday morning program from Filmation. Featuring rather lifelike animation, 36 episodes of TARZAN, LORD OF THE JUNGLE were produced, airing until 1979. Though Bob Ridgley lent his voice to the jungle lord, the famous ape call was provided by Danton Burroughs, the author’s grandson.

About this time. Robert Towne, who won an Academy Award® for writing CHINATOWN (1974), signed with Warner Brothers. One of his ambitions was to make the definitive Tarzan movie. In a letter from to Marion Burroughs in 1977, Warner Brothers Vice Chairman describes Towne’s efforts as, “a superb screenplay... the basis for a film of which we all will be immensely proud.”

Meanwhile, MGM once again exercised its option to remake TARZAN THE APE MAN. Shot over eight weeks in Sri Lanka, the film was released in 1982, and was little more than a vehicle for Bo Derek. Directed by her husband John, the story is told from Jane’s perspective. Although Bo is a remarkable beauty, it is to her benefit that Miles O’Keefe as Tarzan had no lines, otherwise his acting might have upstaged hers.

While her performance may not have attracted much attention, her nude scenes did, and the movie received an R rating, much to the dismay of the Burroughs estate. However, the $6 million movie grossed over $36 million, making it the most financially successful Tarzan movie at the time.

Robert Towne left Warner Brothers over a dispute while writing and directing PERSONAL BEST (1981). His script ended up in  the hands of Hugh Hudson, who had won an Oscar in 1982 for CHARIOTS OF FIRE. Hudson felt the script to be unfinished, and a second screenwriter  introduced a great deal of romantic Victorian atmosphere in an effort to polish it. Though its screenplay would be nominated for an Oscar, Towne removed his name from the film, and is credited as P.H. Vazak, a name he borrowed from his dog.

GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES (1984) is a beautiful piece of filmmaking, but the movie still deviates from the jungle action from which the character was born. Tarzan, played by Christopher Lambert, is discovered in the wilds of Africa by D’Arnot (Ian Holm). He is then taken to England where he meets his grandfather, The Earl of Greystoke, played by Sir Ralph Richardson in his final role. It is here that Tarzan also encounters Jane Porter, portrayed by Andie McDowell (but dubbed by Glenn Close post-production, much to Miss McDowall's embarrassment).

Tarzan continued to be a viable property, though many subsequent interpretations leave a great deal to be desired. Joe Lara starred in modern day tale entitled TARZAN IN MANHATTAN (1989). With Jane a cab driver and her a father a private detective (played by an aging Tony Curtis, who should have known better), the less said about the movie the better. After a more successful syndicated series starring Wolf Larson ran from 1991-1994, Lara returned to the role. TARZAN: THE EPIC ADVENTURES lasted 26 episodes in 1996. The series borrowed heavily from much of Burroughs’ original works, but low budgets kept the series from ever taking full advantage of the author’s broad imagination.

In 1999, TARZAN AND THE LOST CITY starring Caspar Van Dien was released. It may be more in tone with the original books, with a little bit of Indiana Jones thrown in. Nevertheless, the low budget (a mere $20 million) prevents it from being an altogether satisfying interpretation. Some of the violence of the film was toned down to make it more family friendly.

However, Disney had been working on a spectacular big screen adaptation that was a blend of groundbreaking animation, innovative film technique, and the successful formula of music and talking animals. To say Tarzan was perfectly suited for it is an understatement. Pop star Phil Collins, the former drummer for the band Genesis, provided songs heavy on jungle drums. Tony Goldwyn and Minnie Driver lent their voices as Tarzan and Jane. The highly successful 1999 film (simply called TARZAN) spawned a half-hour syndicated TV series, this time starring Michael T. Weiss and Olivia d'Abo. They would reprise their roles for the direct-to-video sequel, 2002's TARZAN AND JANE. In 2006, a stage version of the film debuted on Broadway.

In 2003, The WB had a hit series in the form of the Superman-based SMALLVILLE. In an effort to duplicate that success, the network aired a 21st century version of Tarzan, in which his uncle,  a corporate mogul,  has transplanted the young heir to Greystoke Industries from the jungle in which he was found to New York. There, he attempts to civilize Tarzan despite the budding romance between the ape man and NYPD detective Jane Porter. Starring model Travis Fimmel, it was cancelled after only eight episodes.

To learn about Tarzan’s appearances in comics, visit: comicbookbin.com/bubble070.html.

Philip Schweier is a lifetime fan of old movies, comic books, and cheap thrills in general, all in color for a dime. A graphic designer by day, this mild-mannered newspaperman has taken to writing at the suggestion of his wife, who has become increasingly bored with his lectures about film, TV and comics. Send praise and adulation or scorn and ridicule to him at pschweier@hotmail.com.