Rugged former football linebacker Mike Henry gets to do more things as the Lord of the Apes in "Tarzan and the City of Gold" than any other Tarzan before or after him. First, he gets to wear a suit and tie and tote an attaché case. Second, he gets to hurl a gigantic Coco-Cola bottle onto a sniper trying to kill him. Later, he slings a rope with two hand grenades attached to it into the rotor blades of a helicopter. Finally, he commandeers a tank and blasts away at the villains. Tarzan must rescue a little boy, Ramel, (Manuel Padilla, Jr.) from a thoroughly evil but wealthy international criminal, Augustus Vinero (David Opatoshu), who likes to surprises his adversaries by installing small explosive charges into wristwatches, rings, and necklaces and blow up people. Tarzan flies into Mexico and plunges into the jungles to find the boy. Most critics classify this "Tarzan" epic as being influenced by the James Bond adventures. "Tarzan and the Great River" helmer Robert Day never lets the pace slow down, but some of the action in the finale is slack. The death scene of the villain is fitting. Mike Henry makes a good Tarzan who speaks in complete sentences. The film was lensed on location not far from scenic Acapulco, at Plaza de Toros in Mexico City, at the Chapultepec Castle, the Teotihuacan ruins, and in the caves at Guerro. The Clair Huffaker screenplay is an above-average change of pace for the franchise.
Review of Tarzan and the Valley of Gold
