Tarzan and the She-Devil

Tarzan and the She-Devil
Directed byKurt Neumann
Written byKarl Kamb
Carroll Young
Based onCharacters created
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Produced bySol Lesser
StarringLex Barker
Joyce MacKenzie
Raymond Burr
Monique van Vooren
Tom Conway
CinematographyKarl Struss
Edited byLeon Barsha
Music byPaul Sawtell
Production
company
Sol Lesser Productions
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • June 20, 1953 (1953-06-20) (US)[1]
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Tarzan and the She-Devil is a 1953 American film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Joyce MacKenzie as Jane.[2] The seventeenth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, it also features Raymond Burr, Tom Conway and Monique van Vooren, who plays the "She-Devil."[3]

Tarzan is held captive during much of the film, and critics derided it as lacking action.[citation needed] This was Barker's fifth and final appearance as Edgar Rice Burroughs' ape-man. Barker, who had replaced Johnny Weissmuller in the role of Tarzan, would be succeeded by Gordon Scott with Tarzan's Hidden Jungle in 1955.

Plot

Beautiful but deadly Lyra the She-Devil and her ivory-hunting friends have discovered a large herd of bull elephants and plot to capture them, forcing an East African native tribe to serve as bearers. Their ivory poaching plans meet opposition when Tarzan gives his deafening jungle cry. The tusked creatures come running, stomping all over Lyra's plans.[4][5]

Cast

Production

Hal Erickson writes in Allmovie that many scenes in the film "were lifted from the 1934 Frank Buck documentary Wild Cargo.[6]

Critical reception

The Radio Times said "despite the exotic title and a great villain in Raymond Burr, this is a standard tale of ivory-seeking elephant hunters being stymied by the king of the jungle."[7] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said "the plot has something to do with illegal elephant hunting" and that "Cheta, the performing chimp, steals what there is of the show."[8]

References

  1. ^ "Tarzan and the She-Devil: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  2. ^ Fury, David (1994). Kings of the Jungle: An Illustrated Reference to Tarzan on Screen and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 153–157. ISBN 0-89950-771-9. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Detail view of Movies Page". Afi.com. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  4. ^ "Tarzan And The She-Devil Trailer, Reviews and Schedule for Tarzan And The She-Devil | TVGuide.com". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  5. ^ William G. Hillman. "ERBzine 1952: Tarzan and the She-Devil". Erbzine.com. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  6. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953) - Kurt Neumann | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Tarzan and the She-Devil | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  8. ^ Fanning, Win (5 September 1953). "The New Films". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 20. Retrieved 31 October 2019 – via Newspapers.com.


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