By now everyone must know that the James Bond movie franchise is celebrating its 50th anniversary, but how many people know that 1912 is the centenary of another superhero:
Tarzan Of The Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs? Telegraph readers do. The footnotes to the pictures are a potted history of the Ape Man. Shown is his first story in the October 1912 edition of
The All-Story magazine, cost then 15 cents, cost now $60,000. Which actor starred in the first Tarzan film? Which Tarzan won the most Olympic gold medals? Which Tarzan movie featured Boris Karloff as a tribesman? Which Tarzan got badly bitten by a chimpanzee? Which first blond Tarzan went on to star in the TV series
Wagon Train? Which unlucky Tarzan caught both dysentery and dengue fever while filming in Thailand? You'll find the answers in
Tarzan: a century in pictures (
CLICK).
4 Comments:
Hadn't realised that Buster Crabbe was a Tarzan. Better remembered by boys from Saturday morning cinema as "Flash Gordon".
It was interesting to see a homage to the "Flash Gordon" films in the video "Flesh Gordon". All the same special effects and wooden acting - but with credible extensions of the sensual roles of the Princess and Dale. Talking of which - didn't notice a Telegraph mention of Bo Derek's Tarzan film ca 1980?
Buster Crabbe as Tarzan was news for me too. As a lad I was hooked on Flash Gordon at Saturday morning pictures. Talk about cliff-hangers! I couldn't wait for the next episode.
Bo Derek in Tarzan? I checked up on that in IMDb and yes! Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981) with Miles O'Keeffe & Bo Derek. Bo got a raspberry from the critics, despite being gorgeous, but Miles O'Keeffe was rated one of the best Tarzans ever.
I think the Telegraph missed out on quite a few. Tarzan And The Jungle Boy was one I came across while searching for Bo Derek.
Ahh - the cliff hangers. In the "Rocket man" serial there was a memorable episode's ending of a tanker going over a clif with the hero still in the cab. The following week the replay of the apparently identical scene shows the hero jumping from the cab at the last minute.
Bo Derek wasn't that bad in the Tarzan film. Terry Wogan had her on his chat show - and she neatly upbraided him for persistently trying to portray her as a stereotypical dumb blonde.
Those cliff-hangers got more and more farcical. Flash Gordon's rocketship smashes into a cliff and explodes. Next week he hops out just in time.
The Bo Derek Tarzan was a vehicle for her to show off her talents! Sexiest Tarzan ever. She got star billing on posters with her name above the title of the film. Maybe that's why Telegraph missed it.
Have a trawl through IMDb. Another movie I found was Bomba The Jungle Boy, a junior version of Tarzan, seen at Saturday morning pictures. I'd forgotten all about it.
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