I remember reading a few years ago that a copy of "Tarzan and the Golden Lion" had been found in the closet of an asylum in France and that all the dialogue was in French. Joseph P. Kennedy, patriarch of the Massachusetts Kennedys and father of John F Kennedy, was the head of FBO Studios in 1926 when the movie was made. James Pierce spent many years trying to find a print of his only appearance as Tarzan but was unsuccessful. "Golden Lion" was thought to be a lost film until this French version was found. 

I read a review from Matt's Tarzan Movie Guide website so I knew that a few copies had to be in circulation.  There has even been speculation that ERB Inc. may have it officially released on either VHS or DVD.  So far this has not happened.

Earlier this year I saw a copy up for bid on ebay but lost out at the last minute.  (Note: from time to time, a copy of the video is still offered on ebay.  However, I don't know how good the quality is.  My print is fairly good as you can see from the photos.) Then I remembered the dealer I had bought a copy of the SON OF TARZAN serial from a few years ago and called him and was delighted to find that yes, he did have copies of this rare Tarzan feature and at a very affordable price.  So I bought a copy and would like to share these video captures with other Tarzan fans. I had help from a couple of friends, one who lives in France, on the translation.

Personally, I didn't think James Pierce was that bad as Tarzan, but one wonders what ERB was drinking when he said Pierce looked the closest to how he had envisioned Tarzan.  Silent movie audiences preferred Elmo Lincoln who seems to be the Weissmuller of the pre-sound era, not in appearance but in the fact he played the ape man three times, more than the others BW (before Weissmuller).  P. Dempsey Tabler has to be the worst Tarzan of all time, at least in appearance.  My personal favorite of that era is Frank Merrill. 

It's amazing how dangerous it must have been to act with wild animals back then because they didn't take a lot of precautions.  I think the animal trainers did the actual battles with the beasts on screen. Pierce, in his autobiography, mentioned some of the hazards he faced when playing the ape man. And one thing I always liked best about the silent films is that they more or less put Burroughs version of Tarzan on the screen.  Tarzan was called Greystoke, had a plantation in Africa, not a treehouse, etc.  Pierce would go on to be the voice of Tarzan on the radio shows in the 1930's with his wife, Joan Burroughs, as Jane.  Now if someone could only find a copy of Gene Pollar's REVENGE OF TARZAN somewhere! 

William