Tarzan and the Mermaids
Encyclopedia
Tarzan and the Mermaids is a 1948 action film
based on the Tarzan
character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
. Directed by Robert Florey
, it was the last of the Tarzan
movies to star Johnny Weissmuller
in the title role.
plays Jane and George Zucco
portrays Palanth, a high priest attempting to force a young girl (Linda Christian
) to marry a con man impersonating the god Balu.
by RKO during its collaboration with Churubusco Studios at Acapulco
, Teotihuacan
and Mexico City
. It was the first official Tarzan film to be filmed outside the United States since Herman Brix's The New Adventures of Tarzan
.
The film is noted for its Gabriel Figueroa
cinematography, exotic Mexican scenery and coastal locales, a Dimitri Tiomkin
score and much group singing.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
based on the 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...
character 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:...
. Directed by Robert Florey
Robert Florey
Robert Florey was a French screenwriter, director of short films, and actor who moved to Hollywood in 1921. In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French Légion d'honneur....
, it was the last of the 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...
movies to star 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 the title role.
Plot summary
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....
plays Jane and George Zucco
George Zucco
George Desylla Zucco was an English character actor who appeared, almost always in supporting roles, in 96 films during a career spanning two decades, from 1931 to 1951. He is fondly remembered for his roles in classic horror films.-Early life:Zucco was born in Manchester, England...
portrays Palanth, a high priest attempting to force a young girl (Linda Christian
Linda Christian
Linda Christian was a Mexican movie actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and The Mermaids...
) to marry a con man impersonating the god Balu.
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 - George ZuccoGeorge ZuccoGeorge Desylla Zucco was an English character actor who appeared, almost always in supporting roles, in 96 films during a career spanning two decades, from 1931 to 1951. He is fondly remembered for his roles in classic horror films.-Early life:Zucco was born in Manchester, England...
as Palanth, the High Priest - Andrea PalmaAndrea Palma (Actress)Andrea Palma was a Mexican film actress. She was considered The First Diva of Mexican and Latin American Cinema after her role in the Mexican film La Mujer del Puerto.-Early life:...
as Luana, Mara's Mother - Fernando WagnerFernando WagnerFernando Wagner was a Mexican actor and film director. One of his most memorable roles was in the film La perla.-External links:* * * *...
as Varga, Pearl Trader - Edward AshleyEdward AshleyEdward Ashley was an Australian actor.-Selected filmography:* Underneath the Arches * The Villiers Diamond * Pride and Prejudice * Spies of the Air * Waxwork -External links:...
as Commissioner - John Laurenz as Benji
- Gustavo RojoGustavo RojoGustavo Rojo is a Uruguayan film actor and producer. He has appeared in over 100 films since 1944.-Selected filmography:* El Gran Calavera * The Evil Forest * The Island Princess...
as Tiko, Mara's Fiancé - Matthew BoultonMatthew BoultonMatthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
as British Inspector-General - Linda ChristianLinda ChristianLinda Christian was a Mexican movie actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and The Mermaids...
as Mara
Production
The film was shot in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
by RKO during its collaboration with Churubusco Studios at Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
, Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. It was the first official Tarzan film to be filmed outside the United States since Herman Brix's The New Adventures of Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters. It is a more authentic version of the character than most other adaptations, with Tarzan as a cultured and well educated gentleman as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. It was filmed during the same period as the...
.
The film is noted for its Gabriel Figueroa
Gabriel Figueroa
Gabriel Figueroa Mateos was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood....
cinematography, exotic Mexican scenery and coastal locales, a Dimitri Tiomkin
Dimitri Tiomkin
Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie music." Musically trained in Russia, he is best known for his westerns, "where his expansive, muscular style had its greatest impact." Tiomkin...
score and much group singing.