Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)

Tarzan Finds a Son!
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Written by Cyril Hume based on the characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
1939/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Jane: What’s the matter?

Tarzan: People![/box]

This is tolerable but a big step down from the previous film in the series, Tarzan and His Mate.

A plane mysteriously crashes in a special corner of the African jungle.  All aboard are killed but a baby, who is miraculously uninjured.  Cheeta finds the boy and takes him home to Tarzan and Jane.  At Tarzan’s suggestion, they name him Boy.  Several years later, an expedition arrives searching for the wreckage and any trace of the passengers.  It turns out Boy stood to inherit a large fortune.  They figure out the identity of Tarzan and Jane’s child quickly but most of the party stand to profit from Boy’s demise.  The rest of the story is a good guys v. bad guys adventure.

This is not terrible but it does lack a lot of the charm of the earlier film.  There are some nice jungle conveniences a la Gilligan’s Island.  Otherwise, it is a routine action film with elephants saving the day.

Trailer