Friday, February 10, 2012

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)


Oddly named film since the Leopard Woman of the title isn't as big a threat as her young brother and the members of her cult...no matter...

Tarzan run afoul of a cult of people who want the spread of civilization stopped, dressing as leopards in honor of their god, they raid caravans and kill the intruders. Along the way Tarzan, Jane and boy make friends with Kimba the brother of the title character. He is actually a spy and is looking for the right time to strike. Along the way more caravans are raided, there are rescues and other nonsense.

10th Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan is a good, if uneven adventure film. The action is really good but some of the plotting and a few of the performances are a bit odd. The male villain is more Nazi than jungle man. Tommy Cook who played Kimba, the young Leopard boy is rather bad and its amazing to think that he's an actor who's career has spanned six decades. I also found the pace a bit slow which made the film seem longer than its 72 minutes. I suspect that its due to some sequences with Kimba that just seem to go on and on.

I like the film, but considering that that previous three RKO Tarzans were some of the best in the series so far it's kind of a disappointment.

I feel I should mention that the ending is rather violent with large number of people dying. I know in the MGM films a couple of the films also had high death rates among the natives, but that was a battle and this is kind of... I don't know cruel. Its nothing we haven't seen before, but at the same time it just seems nasty.

Reservations, aside very much worth a look.

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