CAST (in order of appearance)

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Part 1
Tarzan and the Castaways (1941)
Saigon — Fritz Krause ~ German "Bring 'em back alive" badguy
Abdullah Abu Nejm former ivory poacher, slave trader
Janette Laon ~ beautiful French companion of Krause
Wilhelm Schmidt ~ 2nd mate of the Saigon
Hans de Groote ~  young Dutch 1st mate of the Saigon
 TARZAN of the Apes ~ John Clayton; Mayans' Che, Lord Forest
Chand, Jabu Singh, Chuldrup ~ Lascar sailors on the Saignon
Oubanovitch ~ Red Russian, engineer on the Saigon
Lum Kip ~ Chinese sailor on the Saigon
Larsen ~ Captain of the Saigon, ill (never appears)
Naiad — Algernon
Wright-Smith ~ fiance of Patricia Leigh-Burden
William Cecil Hugh Percival Leigh ~ Colonel, owner of the Naiad
Patricia Leigh-Burden  ~  niece of Col. Leigh
Penelope Leigh ~ whining, snobby wife of Col. Leigh
Tibbett ~ 2nd mate on the Naiad
Dr. Crouch  ~ passenger on the Naiad
Mayans — Thak Chan ~ Mayan hunter from Chichen Itza
Xatl Din ~ Mayan officer
Cit Coh Xiu ~ Mayan King of Uxmal Island
Chal Yip Xiu ~ Mayan High Priest
Itzl Cha ~ Mayan girl, victim-to-be
 

Part 2
Tarzan and the Champion (1940)
"One-Punch" Mullargan ~ Heavyweight Champion of the World
Joey Marks ~ Mullargan's manager
TARZAN of the Apes ~ John Clayton, Lord Greystoke
Nkima ~ little monkey, Tarzan's friend
Melton ~ truck driver, guide for Mullargan and Marks
Muviro ~ Chief of Tarzan's Waziri

Part 3
Tarzan and the Jungle Murders (1940)
TARZAN of the Apes ~ John Clayton, Lord Greystoke
RAF Lt. Cecil Giles-Burton ~ downed English pilot
Horace Brown ~ Chicago inventor of ignition disruptor device
Nikolai Zubanev ~ Russian exile in London
Joseph Campbell ~ aka "Joe the Pooch"
Mary Graham ~ Brown's blabby secretary
the Great Man ~ Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator
Lt. Torini ~ Campbell and Zubanev's pilot across Africa
Chemungo ~ son of Mpingu
Mpingu ~ Chief of the Buiroo cannibals
Lady Barbara Ramsgate ~ on hunting safari near Bangali
Lord John Ramsgate ~ her brother
Gerald Gault ~ Romanoff's English guide
Duncan Trent ~ on safari, in love with Lady Barbara
Mr. Romanoff ~ on photographic safari joined to Ramsgates'
Pierre Romanoff's valet, in love withViolet
Sergei Godensky ~ Romanoff's photographer, loves
Violet Tomlin ~  John Ramsgate's valet, in love with Violet
Violet Lady Barbara's maid
Smith & Peterson ~ derelicts with the Ramsgate safari
Col. Gerald Giles-Burton ~ Bangali Resident Commissioner, Cecil's father

Stranded on an uncharted Pacific island, Tarzan was forced to take command of an ill-sorted party—English aristocrats, a Dutch officer, a woman of doubtful reputation—to insure their safety from a band of mutineers led by a madman. A lost colony of Mayans, avid for potential victims for their barbarous human sacrifices, only added to the danger. But the Lord of the Jungle had unexpected allies...Cast away with his band was a shipment of African animals unknown to the island, striking terror in the hearts of Mayans and mutineers alike—but old friends and familiar antagonists to the man brought up among them...Tarzan of
the Apes.

Tarzan and The Castaways
24 untitled chapters

Tarzan and the Champion
No chapters

Tarzan and the Jungle Murders
I. The Hyena's Voice
II. The Thread of Fate
III. Broken Wings
IV. Jungle Call
V. The Safari
VI. The Coming of Tarzan
VII. Murder Will Out

TARZAN AND THE CASTAWAYS 
A Review Submitted by Doc Hermes

From 1941, this first appeared in three parts in the August and September issues of ARGOSY WEEKLY as THE QUEST OF TARZAN (not a particularly relevant title, come to think of it). In 1964, Canaveral Press published an edition from Burroughs' original manuscript, now titled TARZAN AND THE CASTAWAYS, in which form it is most easily found. (Included are two short stories from that period, "Tarzan and the Champion" and "Tarzan and the Jungle Murders".)

Actually, TARZAN AND THE CASTAWAYS is pretty good, if not spectacular. While there`s nothing wildly new about it, the story does throw the familiar ingredients together in a new kettle and stirs them up a bit more. Away from Africa for once, the Apeman finds himself on a large island in the Pacific, babysitting a handful of survivors of yet another shipwreck. That`s not enough. Okay, there are also a half dozen thugs (a cliched German and Arab and Russian) skulking about and desperately eager to cause trouble, as well as twenty vicious Lascars (any Lascars out there? How do you feel about the way you were portrayed in pulp fiction?). 

Still not enough gasoline on the fire. Okay, throw in a cargo of wild beasts from the ship that otherwise would never be found within thousands of miles of the island... some elephants, tigers and lions, even two lovable orangutans. (Tarzan frees these critters from the sinking ship because they are noble creatures whose lives are precious, but you notice he draws the line at snakes and lets those varmints die.)

No, no, no. We need a lost civilization. What hasn`t been used so far...hmmm. A Mayan outpost! Yes, this is the city of Uxmal, founded by emigrants from Yucatan hundreds of years ago. This means we can throw a weak minded king and an insincere high priest into the plot, as well as a saucy young maiden snatched right off the sacrificial altar before the knife can do some impromptu cardiac surgery on her. Now we`re ready.

The story falls neatly into two halves. First, we have a suspenseful shipboard melodrama, where a German brute named Schmidt has taken over the ship SAIGON (the genuine captain is bedridden with fever). Schmidt is terrifying some European passengers who only want to get home alive. Remember after WWI, when Burroughs started throwing in an occasional good German? Well, with a new war starting up, the heinous Hun is back,as nasty as before. Actually, there are only two or three halfway likeable people in the entire cast.... and two of them are decent only because the formula demands a young couple fall in love and go through some misunderstandings. (Burroughs reminds me of Robert E. Howard in that regard, most of the characters in both writers` stories are unlikeable scoundrels always on the edge of turning on each other. Howard would just as soon skip including the young lovers, though, as just being that mushy stuff.) 

The oppressive German has a naked wildman in a cage which he has purchased from a venial Arab who captured the guy. He plans to exhibit the growling savage in a sideshow back in Berlin, eating raw meat and drawing in the rubes. Of COURSE it`s Tarzan. Be serious. Lord Greystoke has suffered another severe concussion, which has left him temporarily unable to speak or comprehend ohers` speech. As soon as this corrects itself, he promptly gets creased across the noggin with a bullet, knocking him unconscious for a while. Considering how many traumatic head injuries Tarzan has survived, it`s amazing he doesn`t walk around in circles all the time, twitching and laughing for no reason.

The shipboard sequence does have some clever moments. At one point, Tarzan amuses himself by letting the passengers think he is actually eating the dead captain. What a card. Of course, since we never do see the captain (who is described as being deathly ill and never mentioned after the shipwreck, you have to wonder just where the villains got all that raw meat they were giving the Apeman.... waste not, want not.) The big storm that endangers the ship, the daring escape by our hero as he bends the iron bars of his cage enough to get out, and the mutiny against the tyrannical German who has usurped command, are all presented briskly and vividly.

Once our menagerie both human and beast are castaway on the uncharted island of Uxmal, things settle down into a much more typical exploit for the Apeman. There`s friction between the bad guys (who just will NOT stay in their own camp) and much badmouthing of our naked hero by a rather dim and unreasonable old dowager. Then, of course the Mayans turn up and Tarzan is on a familiar game again... saving maidens from being sacrificed, leaping over walls and racing to the rescue, even killing a lion with only a knife. (The only lion for thousand of miles in any direction, and sure enough the Apeman drops down from a tree to wrestle it and then stab it in the heart.)

Because the story is considerably shorter than the typical Tarzan book, there is none of the padding where three parties chase each other back and forth. In fact, the book moves briskly and suddenly finishes up with a startling bloodbath that drops most of the bad guys dead in the dust with little fuss. Our hero survives a rather mild trial by ordeal that any reasonably fit lifeguard could manage. The castaways are rescued so promptly after the plot has been resolved you might think a ship has been waiting just offshore, the captain watching through binoculars until he got his cue. ("Looks like Greystoke`s got the girl. Now the Mayans are praising him as a god. All right, let`s go in and pick them up.")

By this time, Burroughs' writing style is streamlined and breezy, very modern. He obviously did some research on the Maya but doesn`t clog the narrative with too much detail. The story shows some signs it wasn`t polished much; a tribe of cannibals on the island are mentioned but never appear, and the ending just rears up abruptly. 

There are some interesting little bits of business. When asked if he is an Englishman, the Apeman replies, "My father and mother were English"... not quite the same thing. When a cute little Mayan heartbreaker throws herself brazenly at Tarzan, he turns her down with no explanation. It`s a writing dilemma. Tarzan is after all still married to Jane, who cannot be killed betwen books because the fans won`t allow it. But if Burroughs dislikes Lady Greystoke and doesn`t want to mention her, then he has a problem explaining why our hero rejects the several stunning wenches who fling themselves at his brawny bod. 

 

TARZAN AND THE CHAMPION
Review contributed by Doc Hermes ERB Reviews

From April 1940, where it appeared in BLUE BOOK magazine, this is a minor story in the Tarzan saga. It has some good points, but it also misses some great possibilities.

What we`re dealing with here is an American heavyweight boxing champion who has taken it into his head to travel through Africa and shoot hundreds of wild animals for trophies. Not only does he come up against Tarzan, who takes a dim view of the whole proceedings, but there are also some particularly unpleasant cannibals in the area, so things don`t go well for the boxer and his manager.

Part of the problem with this story is that "One Punch" Mullargan is such a cardboard character, an incredibly ignorant brute who never really comes to life. His limited intelligence and careless habits with his fists are quickly tedious, and his stereotyped New York slang is supposed to be amusing but is only tiresome. Also, I know Tarzan is strong and quick bordering on the superhuman, but it might have been more interesting if Mullargan had put up a good fight in their inevitable duel. Warch old newreels of Joe Louis in action and you can see how someone like that could give even the Apeman a hard time.

Mullargan does show signs of being redeemable. After Tarzan chastises him for shooting dozens of zebra (with a machine gun, no less), the boxer struggles with the idea and eventually apologizes, saying that he never thought about animals having feelings. To his credit, Tarzan takes this belated apology into account. Also, when Mullargan`s manager is captured, the champ doesn`t escape but turns back in a hopeless attempt to rescue him. This impresses the Apeman. ("...self-sacrificing heroism is not a common characteristic of wild beasts. It belongs almost exclusively to man, marking the more courageous among them. It was an attribute that Tarzan could understand and admire.") This is one of the rare times when Burroughs has something nice to say about people, and it`s worth noting.

The best part of the story is actually the menace of the Babanos, a tribe of canibals who relish their diet. ("They eat human flesh because they like it, because they prefer it to any other food...they hunt man as other men hunt game animals, and they are hated and feared throughout the territory they raid.") The Babanos are genuinely scary, and they provide Tarzan with a worthwhile challenge that every hero needs to show his mettle. The Babango prepare their victims by first breaking the prisoners` arms and legs in several places and then letting them soak in the river for a few days to make them tender. (I`m pretty sure I saw Rachael Ray doing this on 30 MINUTE MEALS on the Food Channel, or maybe it was the Two Fat Ladies. Anyway...)

Contrasting with the Babangos are the Waziri, who are their usual stalwart, noble selves. The porters in the safari recognize the Waziri as great warriors, whom they do not have to fear. I always thought the Tarzan movies would have benefitted from having the impressive Muviro and his tribe in the action more. Finally, as brief as this story is, Tarzan manages to find an opportunity to drop down on a lion, then wrestle with it and stab it to death. Was there ANY Tarzan book where he didn`t kill at least one lion? (Even on Sumatra, in TARZAN AND "THE FOREIGN LEGION" he sent a tiger or two to their afterlife.)

Doc Hermes

 
TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE MURDERS
Review contributed by Doc Hermes ERB Reviews

Phew. This is awful. "Tarzan and the Jungle Murders" appeared in the June 1940 issue of THRILLING ADVENTURES and was later collected with two other stories into the book TARZAN AND THE CASTAWAYS. It's really unrewarding material. According to Irwin Porges' book EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS: THE MAN WHO CREATED TARZAN, the original manuscript had the Apeman show up late in the story and was only identified as the Stranger (as if this nearly-naked bronzed giant in Africa in an Edgar Rice Burroughs yarn would be tough for readers to identify). Leo Margulies had one of his editors rewrite the story so that Tarzan appears from the start, and evidently this revision was extensive, uninspired and clumsy. (I would like to see what the Burroughs version was like, if it still exists somewhere.)

Here's an attempt to show the Apeman as an amateur detective. Well, why not? Burroughs normally showed Tarzan as shrewd, well-read and very observant. He should be as good at sleuthing as any other amateur, if not better. The Apeman also possesses an ability matched only by Doc Savage among his pulp peers, an enhanced sense of smell. Tarzan can not only tell by a lion's body odor whether the animal is hungry or full, he can recognize scents too faint for the average person to detect even when pointed out to him. All just dandy, but this story doesn't use the super-nose power fairly.

There's something here that's impossible for me to forgive in a mystery. I don't mind if the all-important clue is casually dropped in the middle of a distracting action scene or dismissed by one of the characters as unlikely, as long as it is presented to the readers early enough to give us a chance to use it. When, at the literal tail-end of the story, Tarzan explains who the murderer is by describing physical characteristics which were never mentioned before....! That's when the book goes sailing across the room to knock over a lamp and I have to retrieve it, grumbling under my breath.

Also, Tarzan sniffs a glove left at the first murder scene. Okay, we realize that he can therefore recognize the owner if he should meet him. But to give the reader a sporting chance, Tarzan should mutter something like "sulphur", so that we can keep an eye out for a suspect lighting matches with his thumbnail. Give us something to work with, Burroughs! (Since the glove's scent lets Tarzan identify the killer immediately at first meeting, the other deductions our boy works out must be for the benefit of the other characters.)

Aside from the fact that the mystery angle is lame, the story falls flat as jungle action as well. Tarzan finds two crashed planes, and he reconstructs what happened. This part isn't too badly done, as the Apeman realizes the dead pilot in the first plane has a bullet hole in the throat, left of the larynx, at a downward angle. Therefore, he could only have been shot from another plane. Tarzan finds two men had survived the crash and sets out to track them down.

It turns out two nearby safaris have merged for expediency, and they are made up of a typical Burroughs steamy mixture of a noble British lady, an arrogant and abusive guide, two men in love with the same maiden, a spy or two involved in the theft of some plans for a weapon vitally important to the upcoming war, all that lurid tangle of lust and greed we've seen in many Tarzan stories before. This unhappy group has just been joined by two dishevelled and half-starved men who wandered out of the jungle (gee, could they possibly be the two men from the downed airplane?! Hmmm....)

The Apeman turns up only to be blamed for a stabbing murder which has just happened in the camp, and then there's a second death which is also attempted to be laid on him (but he has an alibi). Finally, the motley crew assemble in the Resident Commissioner's bungalow for the big revelations. This is Colonel Gerald Giles-Burton of the Bangali government, by a remarkable coincidence the father of one of the murder victims. (Bangali? Say, you don't think this Colonel is part of the Jungle Patrol and he knows a man with a mask and a skull ring, do you?)

Tarzan doesn't quite recap all the events and then point his finger and say, "You - are - murderer!" with a Chinese accent, but he does explain who is really hiding under what name, and who did the killings. But, as noted above, he basically is pulling clues out of his loincloth that weren't available before. That's not how the game is played, old boy.

In case the crime-solving part of the story isn't enough to satisfy Tarzan fans, there's an interruption in the storyline as the Apeman is captured by unapologetic cannibals and has to summon a herd of elephants to rescue him. This is told in such a drab and uninspired style that it reads more like an outline than the finished story. So many other details seem odd or out of synch with the established Tarzan canon that I would guess there's as much of that anonymous editor's wordage in this story as Burroughs', maybe more.

At this point, all I have left to re-read in the series is TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD MEN (a lukewarm potboiler), JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN (some interesting and offbeat short stories of our hero's youth) and the first book itself, TARZAN OF THE APES (I'll be using the HIGH ADVENTURE reprint of the original 1912 magazine edition). And I have to say, "Tarzan and the Jungle Murders" looks like it will rank as the absolute lowest point of the entire saga. 

Doc Hermes