Tarzan’s New York Adventure (1942)

“Tarzan ventures out of the jungle into the man-made canyons of Manhattan!” When their adopted son, “Boy” (Johnny Sheffield) is kidnapped by ruthless circus worker in the jungles of Africa and taken to New York City, “Tarzan” (Johnny Weissmuller), “Jane” (Maureen O’Sullivan) and Cheetah venture to the Big Apple to rescue him. Of course, the comic potential is endless with Tarzan displaying no interest in adapting to the ways of the “concrete jungle” of New York City and Cheetah destroying everything in sight. Highlights include Tarzan heaving a sleazy lawyer into a jury box, scaling a skyscraper and taking a dive off the Brooklyn Bridge. Directed by Richard Thorpe (Night Must Fall), the film (originally titled Tarzan Against the World) also stars Charles Lane, Virginia Grey, Charles Bickford, Paul Kelly, Cy Kendall, Russell Hicks and Chill Wills. In addition, look for Elmo Lincoln (the first actor to star as Tarzan in the 1918 silent film Tarzan of the Apes) in a cameo as a “Circus Routabout.” Tarzan’s New York Adventure was the sixth and final film in MGM’s “Tarzan” series, which started with 1932’s Tarzan the Ape Man. Weissmuller would go on to star as Tarzan six more times for RKO, while O’Sullivan never returned to her role as Jane. An Olympic swimming champion who won five gold medals, Weissmuller appears on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.

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