Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959)

Gordon Scott's raw masculine power as Tarzan is always awe-inspiring; this time he seems to have practiced his vine-swinging too, because - when he finally does it - he is not doubled. And he is aided by a strong supporting cast - especially an already charismatic pre-Bond Sean Connery. This is a gritty, violent (for the era), well-paced and well-shot adventure-thriller, although the stock footage of real animals is still glaringly obvious. If there is something remarkable about this story, it's that Tarzan doesn't really have to do much; his mere presence causes the bad guys to disintegrate by themselves. **1/2 out of 4.

Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) *** (out of 4) Gordon Scott's fifth attempt at playing Tarzan is certainly a step above the previous four. In this outing he must try and track down four British diamond smugglers who are blowing up African villages trying to gather supplies for when they reach this diamond cave. Along the way Tarzan rescues a woman (Sara Shane) and she joins him for the adventure. TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE was clearly meant to try and take the series to a higher quality level and I think it's fair to say that this is the most lavished film in the long running series since the early MGM/Johnny Weissmuller films. I think there's a lot of good here and this is clearly one of the best films in the series. You can start off with Scott who by this time was perfectly comfortable in the role and you must admit that he's probably the best Tarzan since Weissmuller. The actor certainly has the physical appearance to pull the part off but he also works well when it comes to delivering the dialogue. The earlier films always had Tarzan speaking in this weird broken English but this wasn't how the character was originally written so it's nice to see a different approach and Scott does a very good job with it. The supporting cast is equally great here including Shane who makes for a terrific love interest. The actress is very strong in the part and her and Scott share some real chemistry. The bad guys are all terrific with Anthony Quayle doing a remarkable job as the main guy. Niall MacGinnis is perfect as the snake diamond expert and a young Sean Connery plays the loud-mouth tough guy. Another major plus is that the majority of this was actually filmed in a jungle and this really adds some nice atmosphere. The cinematography really picks up everything quite nicely and adds an added dimension. The story itself is another winner as it clearly tries to break away from a lot of the comedy and silliness that a lot of the series had. Instead of comedy we pretty much get one action scene after another and most of them are quite fun and a few even has some nice suspense. There's a chilling scene involving quicksand and of course you have to have Tarzan battling a crocodile. With that said, if you're looking for high art you're certainly not going to find it here but there's no question that this is an entertaining little film with some strong performances and nice action.

"Towering Inferno" director John Guillermin's franchise adventure "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" lives up to its title. Truly, this ranks not only as one of the top five "Tarzan" movies of all time, but it also qualifies as Gordon Scott's best ape man opus. Indeed, anybody who grew up on Johnny Weismuller "Tarzan" movies may be surprised at the savage, gritty nature of this somber-minded thriller. You get to see Tarzan looking vulnerable in one scene after a blast from explosion. Later, Guillermin stages a memorably haunting scene. Tarzan is pursuing four treacherous troublemakers up river. They are plying the river in a motorized boat, while the Lord of the Jungle follows them along the banks. At one point, two slimy unshaven thugs who have little use for each other clash over a necklace. O'Bannion (Sean Connery) steals the necklace with a locket that belongs to Dino (Al Murlock) and taunts him. The two men scramble into the jungle. The first thug rags the second. As the second thug runs after the first, a jungle cat leaps out of nowhere and mauls his face. Screaming in agony, the second thug goes staggering without thought into what turns out to quicksand. He dies with a forearm jutting out of the quicksand. The first thug is incredulous. Nobody the first thug or their boss can reach him, he has sunk in the mire. The only indication that he died in the bog is his right forearm sticking up out of the quicksand. The incredulous first thug flings the necklace and it lands on a tree limb inches above the thug's grasping fingers. This unforgettable shot rivals a similar shot in John Boorman's "Deliverance." The second most haunting shot occurs when a woman plunges to her death in a trap set for Tarzan. Guillerman sets up his camera so that all we see is her bloody hand surrounded by dozens of sharpened bamboo stakes. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that what isn't shown is the women's body impaled on a multitude of such stakes.The action unfolds with three of the four villains masquerading as dark-skinned natives. They strike a village and steal some wooden crates of TNT and paddle off down the river. They kill a man but before he dies, he lets somebody on the radio know who is responsible to the theft and his death. Tarzan (Gordon Scott) learns that his old nemesis Slade (Anthony Quale of "Anne of the Thousand Days") is responsible. Tarzan knows Slade because they tracked down separately a rogue elephant. Slade killed the rogue elephant before Tarzan could. Nevertheless, two men who accompanied Slade died because they got in his way. Tarzan follows Slade and his henchmen, a drunken Irish troublemaker O'Bannion (Sean Connery of "Dr. No"), ex-convict who murdered his own father, Dino (Al Mulock), an obese, spectacled gem expert, Kruger (Niall MacGinnis of "The Mackintosh Man"), and Slade's girlfriend Toni (Scilla Gabel of "Son of Cleopatra") as they head for a diamond mine.Before Tarzan embarks on his quest to catch Slade, he encounters a questionable woman. Angie (Sara Shane of "Magnificent Obsession") is a single woman who does what she wants. Indeed, there is a hint that she is a high-priced call girl. She likes what she sees in Tarzan and follows him up the river, but she does it from the sky in a plane. There is a bit of "Tarzan and the Lost Safari" in this "Tarzan" film. Angie develops engine trouble, crashes her single-engine, propeller-driven craft in the river. A crocodile swims after her until Tarzan intervenes. Angie learns that life in the jungle is no picnic and the constant marching through the jungle takes a toll on her glamorous looks. Meantime, the villains emerge as a thoroughly loathsome group. They wind up trying to kill each other. O'Bannion drives Dino crazy when he steals his necklace locket. British actor Anthony Quale is a rugged, unscrupulous, but cautious adversary who takes no chances. In other words, Tarzan does a little more sweating in this adventure than you'd expect. Tarzan traps Slade and company on the river by felling a tree behind them so they cannot go anywhere. He drives them into the cabin of their boat with arrows. Slade breaks out the dynamite and they hurl sticks of TNT at the ape man. One of the blasts knocks Tarzan out of the tree. Angie winds up helping an inert Tarzan. Slade becomes so obsessed with killing Tarzan that he fashions a noose and dreams about getting Tarzan's head in it. When Slade isn't fantasizing about strangling Tarzan with the noose, he digs a pit and lines it with bamboo stakes. Later, when Angie tries to steal some medicine from Slade's boat, Toni gets the drop on her and captures her. Kruger releases Angie and Toni flees to warn Slade. A lion pursues Toni but Slade shoots it. However, Toni stumbles into a trap laid for Tarzan and dies a horrible death.The finale with Slade and Tarzan atop the waterfall fighting to the death is gripping stuff. Earlier, Guillermin establish the blood feud between Tarzan and Slade. After Kruger and Slade enter an abandoned copper mine where Slade found diamonds, Slade doesn't dream about the fortune in ice that they can excavate from the mind. Instead, he drools over the prospect of killing Tarzan. Tarzan manages to recuperate from his injuries with Angie's help and tells her that he doesn't need any help to kill Slade. Momentarily, Tarzan and Angie flirt, but Tarzan wants to kill Slade more than share a bed with Angie. Yes, this is a "Tarzan" movie! A better title might have been "Tarzan's Savage Fury."

This movie is a no nonsense, realistic action film, bolstered by a capable cast, a believable story and colorful location shooting. Gordon Scott showed here that he had some acting talent as well as the good physique. The rest of the actors in general, and Anthony Quayle in particular, are quality professionals whose performances keep things interesting. Unlike earlier films in the Tarzan genre, they actually went to Africa to shoot this one and the difference really shows. These items, along with generally good production values, fairly tight direction, and beautiful color photography move this film well above the norm. Definitely a welcome departure from earlier Tarzan films. Highly recommended.