Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958) Poster

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5/10
Fun and entertaining , but mediocre , Tarzan/Gordon Scott film , shot in studios and gorgeous African outdoors
ma-cortes22 December 2017
Colorful and amusing Tarzan/Scott movie , though dubiously faithful to Edgar Rice Borroughs story . Concerning about Dr. Sturdy (Carl Benton Reid) who attempts to built a hospital at the jungle to heal villagers . His efforts are extremely opposed by Futa (James Edwards) , the sorcerer doctor , and his henchman Ramo (Woody Strode) , a native warrior , when they see their influence with the natives waning in favor of the local clinic run by Dr. Sturdy . There's problem brewing however when the tribal chief has died and when his child and heir falls sick , Futa decides he is the one who has to treat him . Futa's hoodlum , Ramo , robs what he thinks is medicine but is really a venomous vaccine . If given to the boy-chief, he will surely die . In the ending , Tarzan again to rescue the unfortunate doctors and his woman , the gorgeous Jane (Eva Brent) and Tartu, (Rickie Sorensen ) , Tarzan's Adopted Son . Along the way , Tarzan is captured , mistreated and tortured . Then , Tarzan escapes , fights against time for serum and to free Jane , Tartu, Tarzan's Adopted son , and the besieged doctors .

"Tarzan fights for life " contains noisy action , sensational adventures , many angry natives , nasty sorcerers , hungry Crocs and wonderful outdoors , though mostly shot in Africa and Elstree studios . Well starred by Gordon Scott , here it's left to Tarzan to try and avert a tragedy when a poisonous serum is stolen and dealing with the struggle of modern medicine against the traditional magic . Gordon Scott brings wit , wrength and style to the classic character . Gordon starred 5 Tarzan movies : ¨Tarzan's fights for life¨ by H. Bruce Humberstone , ¨Tarzan and the trappers¨ by Sandy Howard and Charles Haas , ¨Tarzan's greatest adventure¨ produced by Sy Weintraub , directed by John Guillermin , ¨Tarzan the magnificent¨ by Robert Day and ¨Tarzan and the lost safari¨ . Although Gordon Scott also played all kinds of genres as Spaghetti : ¨Tramplers¨, Euro-spy : ¨Death ray¨ , Pirate movie : ¨Marauder¨ , and especially Peplum : ¨Hércules and the princess of Troy¨, ¨Coriolanus¨, ¨Conquest of Mycene¨, ¨Gladiator of Rome¨, ¨Hero of Rome¨, ¨Samson and the 7 miracles of the world¨. Support cast is acceptable , such as : Carl Benton Reid as a doctor who is attempting to establish a modern hospital in the jungle , Eva Brent as the beautiful Jane and her child , Rickie Sorensen , called Tartu, Tarzan's Adopted son . And the ordinary secondaries as Woody Strode , Paulene Myers and the nasty James Edwards as the local witch doctor , all of them give nice interpretations . And of course , special mention for the likable Chimpanzee Cheeta that steals the show , giving some humorous moments with his antics , frolics and mayhem . As usual , sets and production design are visually appealing , though there are the obvious uses of stock footage and shot on location in Democratic Republic Of Congo , Tanzania , Kilimanjaro , Kenia . Including a brilliant cinematography by William E Snyder , being well filmed in color . The motion picture was well produced by Sol Lesser and decently directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

First Tarzan/Johhny Weissmuller was ¨Tarzan , the ape man¨ (1932) by W.S. Van Dyke , this one being the definitive Tarzan movie , the original of the long series . Followed by ¨Tarzan and his mate¨ (1934) by Jack Conway . Richard Thorpe continued the following sequels : ¨Tarzan escapes¨(1936) , ¨Tarzan finds a son¨ (1939) with the addition of the five-year-old Johnny Sheffield as Boy , ¨Tarzan's secret Treasure¨ (1941) , and ¨Tarzan's New York adventure¨ (1942) where Boy is abducted by an evil circus owner , then Tarzan goes to rescue him and he meets N.Y. big city , being Maureen O'Sullivan's final appearance and in which Elmo Lincoln's , the screen's first Tarzan, had a cameo . These stories were lavishly produced by M.G.M. and R.K.O. Subsequently , to be appeared other Tarzans produced by independent producers as Sol Lesser ; the latter being replaced by Sy Weintraub , these movies were interpreted by Lex Barker and Gordon Scott : ¨Tarzan the Magnificent¨ and ¨The greatest adventure¨ directed by John Guillermin . Furthermore , Mike Henry starred as Tarzan in ¨Tarzan and the jungle boy ¨ , ¨ Tarzan and the great river¨ , and ¨Tarzan 66¨ directed by Robert Day . Besides , two performed by Jock Mahoney : ¨Three challenges¨ and ¨Tarzan goes to India¨ directed by John Guillermin , among others . Plus , other TV Tarzan as Ron Ely , Wolf Larsen , Joe Lara
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6/10
Colorful, Entertaining, and Despite its Critics, Worth a Watch
LeonLouisRicci26 August 2016
This is the Tarzan Movie that Stopped a Decades Long Franchise and sent the Tarzan Films in a New Direction. It sure has its Detractors, and it is Mediocre, but not Without some Entertainment Value.

It's Only the Second in Color and it is Colorful, check out the Native Attire. This Good Looking Tarzan also has the Very Good Looking Gordon Scott, and Jane (Eve Brent) is Stunning.

For Tarzan Action, He Rides a Giraffe and Fights an 18 foot. Python. Both Scenes with Real Animals with the Snake Unwilling to Let Go causing some On Set Panic. Tarzan is Captured and Bound Spread Eagle with a Caged Lion, and there is some Witch Doctor Eeriness for Suspense. Jane is in Peril a Few Times and Tarzan must Fight for Her Life as well as Others.

There are some Silly Things (Cheetah in loincloth) and some Bad Dialog. The other Female Character, Jill Jarmyn, Overacts Greatly and gets on the Nerves. But...

There's just too much Fun Going On here for this Entry to be Dismissed as Worthless. It's Worth a Watch.
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5/10
Blandly entertaining Tarzan film is more racially offensive than most
a_chinn20 August 2018
Gordon Scott plays Tarzan in this bland outing for the Lord of the Apes, which was more racist than most entries in the series, where the main story points revolve around native people as being gullible and superstitious. The story has Tarzan helping a white doctor convince the easily fooled natives that an evil witch doctor is a hoax. That witch doctor is played by the great Woody Strode and one of the other natives is played by James Edwards, likely best remembered for his performances in "The Manchurian Candidate" and "The Killing." Tarzan wrestles a boa constrictor, rides a giraffe, and Cheeta the chimpanzee provides his usual comic relief. I'd normally sum up this film by saying it's blandly inoffensive, except that there is a fair amount in the film to be offended over, but I will say I was entertained.
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Campy Tarzan
samhill52152 October 2011
I must admit to being a Tarzan junkie so keep that in mind while reading my comments. There's not a whole lot to the plots, in fact they tend to be fairly similar. Some injustice takes place, usually perpetrated by evil white men, and Tarzan sets things right. That's about it and if you expect complicated character interactions and plot twists you'll surely be disappointed. One of the best things about these movies is the physiques, happily and gloriously shown with as little clothing as possible. Jane is always an eyeful so I sat down to watch this one (the second color Tarzan) because I had never seen Eve Brent, the twelfth Jane. Although not the prettiest she was perhaps the sweetest and her scenes with Gordon Scott were rather passionate. Their kisses would make the heart of any romantic flutter. Still, as good as that was, my favorite part was James Edwards' characterization of Futa, the evil witch doctor. He made 'Fight for Life' an over the top camp fest. Yes, Gordon Scott was a hunk, Eve Brent was eye candy, there was Cheeta (although the chip can be irritating), there's lots of jungle and dangerous animal shots, but Edwards elevated this one above its routine plot and production values.
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4/10
Weak Tarzan
PeterJackson26 November 2000
Tarzan is back, once again, helping a medic fight an evil witch doctor. That's about all for story. The rest isn't very good too. It's obvious that this was shot in studios, mixed with some "jungle shots" of wild animals, all very amateuristic. Gordon Scott is a pretty good Tarzan, though his vocabulary isn't as expanded as in TARZAN's GREATEST ADVENTURE(which is much better). There really isn't much more to it than this, though it isn't entirely unwatchable too. Minor Tarzan adventure, not really worth seeing. 4/10
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4/10
A good-looking snoozer
gridoon202411 February 2018
While Gordon Scott's incredible body is a sight to gawk at, Eve Brent makes a beautiful Jane, and the color photography is bright, "Tarzan's Fight For Life" is a snoozer, SEVERELY lacking in action (Scott gets involved in just one punch-up, for crying out loud), and loaded with walking scenes, stock footage, and clumsy stunt doubling. *1/2 out of 4.
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4/10
Tarzan and the Medicine Men
wes-connors28 September 2011
The cast assembled for the proposed "Tarzan" TV series is here, and in color - unlike "Tarzan's Fight for Life", which was apparently cobbled together from a few episodes. Both released in 1958, "Tarzan's Fight for Life" should be considered chronologically before "Tarzan's Fight for Life" as the cast from the feature film was considered attractive and capable enough for the television series. Benefiting from vibrant color photography are muscular jungle king Gordon Scott (as Tarzan), leggy mate Eve Brent (as Jane), and their "Boy" Rickie Sorenson (as Tartu). A hospital has opened in the area, but some African natives regard it with trepidation...

**** Tarzan's Fight for Life (8/15/58) Bruce Humberstone ~ Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, James Edwards
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7/10
Tarans's Fight For Life
mhrabovsky691211 January 2010
A lot of critics have panned this movie as a poor Tarzan film ...I totally disagree...Gordon Scott is a magnificent Tarzan with a superman physique - just what the role demanded....Scott must save a tribal village from an evil witch doctor named Futa who hates Tarzan with a passion because Tarzan knows that the witch doctor's medicine is inferior to Dr. Carl Sturdy who is in the jungle trying to develop a serum to fight tropical infections....adding to the film is a romance between Dr. Sturdy's daughter (Jill Jarmyn) and her father's medical cohort. Movie was made in brilliant technicolor with very good lighting effects....Gordon Scott gives the Tarzan yell from a limb on a tree as Futa's henchmen try to attack and kill natives bringing supplies to Dr. Sturday...It should be mentioned that MGM inserted several ft of footage to this film from film from "Tarzan and the Lost Safari" also starring Scott.....Scott is by far the most athletic Tarzan of them all, the handsomest and best athlete for the role... Check out a scene where a 25 ft python is wrapped around Scott who is trying to protect Jane from attack....lots of good action scenes and lions and evil tribesman...standard fare for the day for a Tarzan movie....Scott introduces his son as "Tartu" and not "boy" for some strange reason in the film....James Edwards (the cook in "The Caine Mutiny") gives a good action job as the evil Futa.....I liked this Tarzan film a lot and one year later Scott starred in the classic "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" with Anthony Quayle and a young Sean Connery of 007 fame.
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7/10
Tarzan to the Rescue
lugonian5 August 2018
TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958), a Sol Lesser production, directed by H Bruce Humberstone, marks Gordon Scott's third go-round as the jungle warlord and the second in color (compliments of MetroColor). After two prior Tarzan adventures where the title character goes solo without his mate nor son, this edition returns to formula material commonly found in the 1940s starring Johnny Weissmuller where the plots revolved around Tarzan, Jane and their son, Boy. As with the latter Weissmuller entries, the Jane character, played then by Brenda Joyce from 1945-1949, enacted here by Eve Brent, is also blonde, this time wearing lipstick in certain scenes! The adopted son is not characterized as Boy, the name earlier used for Johnny Sheffield's carnation during his performance in eight entries (1939-1947), is now performed by Rickie Sorensen going under a new name of Tartu. There is still Cheta, however.

The story begins with Doctor Sturdy (Carl Benton-Reid) of the Medical Association, experimenting in a native hospital in Randini accompanied by his daughter, Anne (Jil Jarmyn). Hoping to fine a cure for a fever that had earlier killed a tribal chief in the distant village of Nigasso, Futa (James Edwards) does what he can to keep his tribe from accepting Sturdy's modern medical efforts of curing the sick in favor of using traditional witch doctor and black magic. Because the tribe shows no appreciation for her father's dedication in his hard work, Anne wants for them to leave before the natives turn hostile and form an attack towards them. Arriving to join Sturdy is Ken Warwick (Harry Lauter), arriving from England after two years of medical school in England. As the tribe comes to attack Anne and Ken, Tarzan (Gordon Scott) arrives in time to rescue them. Being a friend of the Nigasso tribe, Tarzan tries to learn from Futa why he and his tribe cannot be civil. Moments after their talk, one of the native girls is attacked by a crocodile. Tarzan dives into the water to bring her back to safety. Because the bite on her leg has caused a great loss of blood, Tarzan goes against Futa's orders by taking the injured native girl and placed under Sturdy's care. Though the native girl's leg is amputated, she later dies. Only because Tarzan continues to support Sturdy's medical methods does he become the enemy of Futa's tribe. During the course of the story, Tarzan's mate, Jane (Eve Brent) suffers from appendix pain, forcing Tarzan and son, Tartu (Rickie Sorensen, to immediately take Jane by down the river by canoe for emergency operation by Sturdy. Later Molo (Nick Stewart) comes to the hospital to carry on Futa's vengeful attempt to kill Jane in her hospital bed. When all fails, Futa orders to have Tarzan captured and bound so he could be sacrificed by having his heart taken from his body.

An acceptable production being a bit longer than usual (86 minutes), TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE offers enough material reminiscent to the older "Tarzan" formula of the Weissmuller days, including Tarzan and Jane kissing and having their leisurely play swim in the lake. Tarzan even shows he has his fight for life when combating realistically with a giant python. Here's one added bonus: Tarzan riding through the jungle on a giraffe. Some actual African jungle photography mixed with indoor sets along with color add greatly to its background and scenery. Then there's the chimpanzee, Cheta, this time sporting a loincloth around its waist like her master, Tarzan, allowing time for comedy relief with his junior Tarzan companion. Rickie Sorensen, around age nine here, does what's expected for little Tarzan. His character is never fully explained who he is or where he came from except that he's adopted by Tarzan and Jane. There must have been an orphanage nearby as opposed to Tarzan finding an orphan boy somewhere in the jungle and taking him home to Jane as was done in TARZAN FINDS A SON (1939) and TARZAN'S SAVAGE FURY (1952). James Edwards, who did a masterful job in his debut film of HOME OF THE BRAVE (1949), is nearly unrecognizable playing the evil warrior chief, supported by Woody Strode (Ramo); Roy Glenn (The High Counselor); and Milton Woody (The Temple Native). Gordon Scott shows himself to be better muscular and agreeable to the latest Tarzan of the 1950s, a role he would continue to play belting out his Tarzan call until 1960.

Aside from frequent broadcasts on commercial television in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, this and other Tarzan adventures have played on cable television as well, especially American Movie Classics (1997-2000) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: August 5, 2010). Though this was to be the final theatrical Tarzan adventure to include the nostalgic feel revolving around the Tarzan family trio, Scott, Brent and Sorensen united together once more in 1958 for a proposed television series that never sold, in which three episodes were edited together to form another feature-length venture titled TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS. Of the two, TARZAN'S FIGHT FOR LIFE is much better. (***)
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7/10
Tarzan's fight for life with a big snake???
elo-equipamentos14 July 2019
Even it wasn't enough good as the upcoming Gordon Scott's Tarzan, this movie is extremely underrated by some reviewers, shot almost entirely on sound studio, just using some external previous takes, some are clearly perceived did by Scott's stunt, meanwhile the large, luxurious and colorful sets, wildly and carefully well done, the plot is quite acceptable, now the old formula returns with Tarzan's adopted son Tartu, Jane has a sexy aesthetic provides by Eve Brent, somehow the most interesting character certainly was Woody Strode as Ramo a strong native who has a great influence in the shaky witch doctor Futa, also the famous sequence with the Tarzan's snake fight, when Gordon supposedly almost was strangled spawned hearsays that it was true, anyway another great performance of the Gordon Scott as the best Tarzan of all times!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1994 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.25
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Not that bad of a Tarzan movie
XweAponX24 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Although this movie is paced like a Television Episode, there is actually some good Jungle footage used, and I don't know if they flew Gordon Scott all the way out to Africa, if not they found a body double that was fairly close. The only giveaway is in the Africa shots, Tarzan's hair is slightly longer.

I understand these Scott Tarzan flicks were actually made for a Tarzan Television show that failed to sell. I agree with other reviewers, that Eve Brent was a great "Jane" - It took me about 10 minutes to recognise Eve Brent as "Elaine Connelly" from "The Green Mile", she still had an impish and infectious smile in that 1999 film, some 41 years later.

I think what has been overlooked here, was Woody Strode's excellent role as "Ramo" - the Witch Doctor "Futa's" (James Edwards) "Secret Agent" - Woody's stature is always excellent, and a good antagonist for Gordon Scott. and his "death" scene - Well, that would be a spoiler.

Scott himself, is the Tarzan of Tarzan's, I'm sure this guy would be used as a Terminator Body Double in today's age of movies. His Tarzan is a little more fluent in English than the grunts and single syllables of Johnny Weissmuller. Tarzan and Jane are, in this film, pure Beef and Cheesecake, but the fact that they gave Tarzan a sharper wit, more words, makes him a better Tarzan I think.

Although the original Tarzan movies were classic, I think these Scott Tarzan films are important, they built on the character that already existed. The idea of a non-African guy swinging around in a loincloth through the Jungle with Jane, Boy and Cheetah in tow, is somehow silly, but also entertaining, it is of course Edgar Rice Burroughs who came up with the idea.

I'll admit I was not too enthused about watching this as it came up on TCM just now, but that lack of enthusiasm faded, and although the action takes too long to build up and occur, it is simply 1950's Television Pacing, you just have to "wait for it", it does happen.
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6/10
in color
SnoopyStyle29 August 2023
Dr. Sturdy (Carl Benton Reid) and his daughter Anne (Jil Jarmyn) are studying jungle illness. Tarzan (Gordon Scott) saves Anne and her fiance Dr. Ken Warwick (Harry Lauter) from Nagasu tribal warriors. Warrior Ramo (Woody Strode) under the influence of witch doctor Futa (James Edwards) is fighting the encroachment of modern medicine. Tarzan tries to reason with Futa to no avail.

I'm sure that Tarzan was declining by this time. It's the second Tarzan movie in color. It's old fashion with interior sound stage filming while trying to modernize with color. It was probably dated even during its initial run. I can see this character moving into kids TV territories until his revival in the 80's. The whole white savior to the savage Africans premise must be getting old. Nevertheless, it is done pretty well. Without dissecting its deeper meanings, the movie works. The production isn't any worst than the other Tarzan movies. The franchise is transitioning into a slow spot in the popular culture.
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Not Enough Action
Michael_Elliott8 August 2010
Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958)

** (out of 4)

In the deep jungles Dr. Sturdy (Carl Benton Reid) is trying to introduce medicines to the local natives but a witch doctor (James Edwards) feels that they are trying to steal his power. Soon the tribes are ready to attack the new hospital but Tarzan (Gordon Scott) and Jane (Eve Brent) know the good that could come from the medicines. This was the third film to feature Scott as Tarzan but this is actually the first I've seen. I think Scott fits the role perfectly as God knows he has the perfect body for the part but I also found him to be quite charming in some of the more comic moments and he also handles the action very well. According to a few posts I've read, Scott was nearly killed by a 18-foot python that he fights in the film. I'm not sure how true this is but the scene here is full of excitement and it's easy to see how that creature, when wrapped around Scott's neck, could cause some major issues. Brent, as Jane, doesn't give an Oscar-worthy performance but she has the right look for the part as that blonde hair and curvy legs look just fine in color. Reid and Jil Jarmyn playing his daughter aren't too bad and Edwards is clearly having fun as the witch doctor. We've also got Woody Strode playing one of the bad guys. While the cast is certainly up for anything the screenplay on the other hand is pretty flat and boring. The first portion of the film has the doctors talking to one another about why this medicine is needed while on the other side of the jungle we get countless scenes with the witch doctor throwing a fit. We then go away from this and visit Tarzan's home where Jane is suffering from an illness that might need the attention of a real doctor. There's way too many dialogue scenes and it's a shame that the filmmakers didn't try to capture more action and scenes in the wildlife. There's no question that this is being filmed on sets but they're well decorated and at least look somewhat real. The countless stock footage is of course cheap but you've got to expect this. Coming in at 88-minutes this thing is just way too long and there's not enough going on to make it one of the better entries in MGM's long-running series.
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A letdown
dpoppyman124 September 2011
If you grew up watching Johnny Weismuller in those action packed programmers, this is just painful to watch. There are a few scenes of waterfalls, etc. that are nice but in the older films they used stock footage of wilderness along with wild African animals stampeding and attacking which in itself evoked a sense of danger utterly missing here. The pacing in the earlier films was quick and exciting while here, everyone sleepwalks through the entire movie with wooden acting by all involved. Action scenes are bland and suspense is nil. Gordon Scott is great eye candy but stinks up every scene he is in. Granted, it is not as noticeable as it could have been since all the other actors are doing the same thing. I hated seeing a dynamic character actor like Woody Strode stuck in this awful flick. He looked like he hated it too. I guess we all have to make a living.
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