Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Director: WS Van Dyke
Starring: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C Aubrey Smith
Synopsis:
Hunters looking to plunder the elephant graveyard encounter a feral man who reigns in the jungle.
Impressions:
I don't know what I was expecting from this movie, but dang. I'm not a particularly sensitive sort, but the rampant bloody swath cut through the jungle can be hard to watch and the use of pygmies as the savage tribals seems particularly exploitative (though you wonder how they can pose much of a threat with those little legs of theirs). Jane is rather shrill an unlikable for most of the film and while Johnny Weissmuller brings impressive physicality to the title role, the characterization is rather shallow. Personally, I didn't like the movie that much, but apparently as far as Tarzan movies goes, this is seen as one of the better ones. Make of that what you will. Take it or leave it.
50/50