Tarzan and the Huntress
Encyclopedia
Tarzan and the Huntress (1947) is an adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
film starring Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
in his eleventh outing as Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
. Brenda Joyce
Brenda Joyce (actress)
Brenda Joyce was an American film actress. She was born as Betty Graftina Leabo in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, although family and friends referred to her as Graftina....
makes the third of five appearances as Jane
Jane Porter (Tarzan)
Jane Porter is a major character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film.- In the novels :...
and Johnny Sheffield
Johnny Sheffield
Johnny Sheffield was an American child actor.-Early life:He was born as John Matthew Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon...
marks his eighth and final appearance as Boy. Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison is an American stage and motion picture actress and mezzo-soprano singer . She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage. During her time as a screen actress she was lauded for her patrician beauty, with her blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair among...
and Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his role as Gen...
co-star. The movie was produced by Sol Lesser and Kurt Neumann, written by Jerry Gruskin and Rowland Leigh (based on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
) and directed by Kurt Neumann. It was released on April 5, 1947.
Plot summary
Due to a shortage of animals in American zooZoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Tanya Rawlins (Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison is an American stage and motion picture actress and mezzo-soprano singer . She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage. During her time as a screen actress she was lauded for her patrician beauty, with her blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair among...
), a big-game "huntress," Carl Marley (John Warburton
John Warburton (actor)
John Warburton was a British-born American actor that appeared in numerous Hollywood movies in the 1930s to 1960s, starting with RKO's Secrets of the French Police , who also guest starred in television series such as Perry Mason and the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror".Warburton was born in...
), her financial backer and Paul Weir (Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his role as Gen...
), a cruel trail boss, are given permission by King Farrod (Charles Trowbridge
Charles Trowbridge
Charles Trowbridge was an American film actor. He appeared in 233 films between 1915 and 1958.He was born in Veracruz, Mexico and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:*Tycoon...
), to capture a male and female of each species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of animal on his land.
In a subplot, Oziri (Ted Hecht), nephew to King Farrod, colludes with Weir to allow him to trap more animals than bargained for. He also has Weir's men kill King Farrod and his son, Prince Suli (Maurice Tauzin), in order for him to take over the throne. Farrod is shot in the back and killed, and Suli is thrown into a pit full of crocodiles, but, unknown to all watching, he lands on a hidden ledge and is knocked unconscious.
Boy (Johnny Sheffield
Johnny Sheffield
Johnny Sheffield was an American child actor.-Early life:He was born as John Matthew Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon...
) trades two lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
cubs to the trappers for a flashlight. When Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
) finds out, he returns the flashlight, retrieves the cubs, and calls all the animals from King Farrod's land across the river to his part of the jungle. When the hunters begin trapping on his side of the river, Tarzan and Boy sneak into their camp at night, take their guns and hide them in a cave behind a waterfall. They then begin to systematically release all the trapped animals from their cages.
Cheeta inadvertently reveals the location of the cache of weapons to Rawlins and her safari.
Prince Suli is able to make his way through the jungle, and is found by Tarzan. Tarzan, Boy and a herd of elephants defeat both the usurping nephew and the huntress, but the latter escapes onboard a plane.
Selected cast
- Johnny WeissmullerJohnny WeissmullerJohnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
as Tarzan - Brenda JoyceBrenda Joyce (actress)Brenda Joyce was an American film actress. She was born as Betty Graftina Leabo in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, although family and friends referred to her as Graftina....
as Jane - Johnny SheffieldJohnny SheffieldJohnny Sheffield was an American child actor.-Early life:He was born as John Matthew Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon...
as Boy - Patricia MorisonPatricia MorisonPatricia Morison is an American stage and motion picture actress and mezzo-soprano singer . She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage. During her time as a screen actress she was lauded for her patrician beauty, with her blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair among...
as Tanya Rawlins, unscrupulous big game huntress - Barton MacLaneBarton MacLaneBarton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his role as Gen...
as Paul Weir, villainous trail boss - John WarburtonJohn Warburton (actor)John Warburton was a British-born American actor that appeared in numerous Hollywood movies in the 1930s to 1960s, starting with RKO's Secrets of the French Police , who also guest starred in television series such as Perry Mason and the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror".Warburton was born in...
as Carl Marley, backer of Rawlins' expedition - Charles TrowbridgeCharles TrowbridgeCharles Trowbridge was an American film actor. He appeared in 233 films between 1915 and 1958.He was born in Veracruz, Mexico and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:*Tycoon...
as King Farrod - Ted Hecht as Prince Ozira
- Wallace Scott as 'Smitty' Smithers
Production notes
A character arc throughout the movie is Boy's acceptance of adult responsibilities. In one line of dialogue Tarzan says, "Boy man now." Sheffield was sixteen when the film was released and producer Sol Lesser thought he had outgrown the role of a cute boy, so the character did not appear in further films.Barton MacLane had previously portrayed a villain in Tarzan and the Amazons
Tarzan and the Amazons
Tarzan and the Amazons is an adventure film starring Johnny Weissmuller in his ninth outing as Tarzan. Brenda Joyce makes the first of five appearances as Jane and Johnny Sheffield returns as Boy. Henry Stephenson and Maria Ouspenskaya co-star. The movie was produced by Sol Lesser and Kurt...
(1945).