Yeah, we're still doing Tarzan. But hey - we're having a blast! And tonight's Tarzan movie even had some moral clout : "Tarzan And The Huntress" (1947) was the most serious-minded of the three films we've seen so far. Patricia Morison co-stars as a zoologist who flies into the jungle, accompanied by a wealthy investor, to scout the area for animals. She has been extended a contract offer to supply zoos across America with as many exotic creatures as she can bring back. The investor is footing the bill for her safari. He knows a big-game hunter in the region who can be an intermediary with the natives and their King. They land their plane and begin making preparations to do business and extract as many wild beasts as possible.
But not so fast. There is an obstacle. The big-game hunter informs Morison that the King has imposed a limit on how many animals of a given species may be killed or trapped. Two of each, just as on Noah's Ark. She tries to explain that she and her team are not there to kill, but to take the animals to zoos in the United States, where children of another land will be able to see them. The King politely declines her request to exceed the trapping limit. He explains that if he makes an exception for her, he will have to grant the same to other hunters, which will lead to extinction of the species.
This is an early cinematic example of an awareness of, and concern for, the survival of wild animals. I had never seen such a topic ever addressed in a film, not that I can recall anyway.
Tarzan gets wind of Miss Morison and her plans, and takes things a step further :
"Animals belong in jungle, not in cages", he says.
Wow. An anti-Zoo statement, all the way back in 1947. When I was a schoolkid, we were taken to the Los Angeles Zoo in the third grade. Our Zoo was brand new then, and the concept of caring for zoo animals had changed for the better. In the movie, Jane - who has experience outside the jungle and has been to other countries - explains to Tarzan that the zoos are not all bad, that they care for the animals and help to promote breeding and welfare. Tarzan is having none of it.
"Hunters greedy", he says. This sends the script in an anti-hunting direction, astonishing for 1947.
Early in the movie, before the hunters have even arrived, Tarzan catches Boy pointing his bow and arrow at a macaw who is pecking away at a piece of fruit in a tree. Tarzan erupts.
"Boy!.......Never hunt for fun! Only for food"!
I know that in these vegan times, Tarzan's admonishment might seem half-baked. "Never hunt at all", you might hear them say, but meat eating vs. vegetarianism or veganism is a tricky topic and I'll not go there. I am not vegetarian nor vegan, though I might be some day (and Johnny Weissmuller was vegetarian), but what impressed me was Tarzan's emphatic statement against trophy hunting, which is a major topic these days. Here, he is saying it in a popular movie in 1947. "Never hunt for fun"!
There are many other lines of dialogue, too, against hunting. Late in the movie, Tarzan organizes a plan to take away all of the hunters' guns. "Hunters without guns like a bee without sting", he says.
Wow! Gun control in a Tarzan movie. For what is supposed to be a matinee popcorn flick, "Tarzan And The Huntress" is very socially conscious, and way ahead of it's time. I am liking these movies so much because besides being entertaining and well made, the scripts also promote good values, and with Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce ("Jane") and Johnny Sheffield ("Boy"), you have a perfectly wholesome cast. Tarzan movies make you feel good, and I can see why they earned a lot of money at the box office and made Weissmuller a screen icon.
The plot of the 72 minute "Huntress" has it's twists and turns. The kindly King has a sociopathic nephew eager to overthrow him, so he can exploit the African land and it's animal kingdom for his own gain. This nephew is in league with the greedy hunters. Patricia Morison, as the zooligist, is portrayed somewhere in the middle. She wants no trouble, and no killing of either man nor animal, but she won't back down from her stated mission of obtaining as many zoo animals as she can procure.
It's pretty incredible how they put together these films, with so much animal footage that looks like it is taking place in an actual jungle. The scenes with Cheeta the trained chimp are amazing enough. I know that monkeys are very intelligent, but to get one to do exactly what you want, and put it on film, in scenes of intricate action, is very impressive and I would love to know how they did this.
Some scenes - of giraffe herds running across plains, or elephants stampeding - are stock footage, but there are also numerous scenes with lions and other cats that must have taken a lot of effort. How to you get these animals to hit their marks?
At any rate, if you are an animal lover, this is your best Tarzan movie yet. And, you get your anti-hunting stance too, stated strongly by Tarzan himself.
"Tarzan And The Huntress" gets Two Very Big Thumbs Up, and you get all the usual antics from Cheeta throughout the movie, as she fixates on the comely Miss Morison's use of lipstick and makeup, and then steals her purse to try the cosmetics on herself. Cheeta can't keep her hands off of other people's belongings, no matter which movie you are watching, haha. I Googled her and discovered that there has been a campaign to get her a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. So far it's been denied, but Go Cheeta! Watch these movies and see for yourself how great she is. :) /////
Today was another day off, and I had a nice hike out at Santa Susana. Reading "November Road" by Lou Berney, a recommendation from Stephen King on FB.
Tomorrow morning is church. I will see you there. Constant love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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