User Reviews

Proof that the "Tarzan" character works best in an African setting, circa 1890s to 1930s, can be found in this mildly enjoyable but undeniably juvenile movie. It tries to "update" and "re-imagine" Tarzan by sending him on a jetliner to Brazil where he arrives wearing a suit and tie. This immediately raises questions. Where does he buy his suits? How does he pay for them? Does he have on a loincloth underneath or does he prefer Jockey-brand briefs?

Tarzan soon dons his customary garb and goes off on an adventure where he's involved in the usual vine-swinging, lion-wrestling, blonde-rescuing, villain-bashing, and giving out that Tarzan yell. Much of this action is padded out with wildlife footage which carelessly confuses African with South American zoology.

What limits this "Tarzan" is not the character's built-in incongruity but rather the kiddie-matinee nonsense which reverses past efforts to make this series more appealing to adults. Thus we have the cloyingly-cute kid, the chimp shenanigans, the corny dialog, the stereotyped cast members, etc.

On the plus side is tall, dark, handsome Mike Henry -- perhaps the only Tarzan with hair on his pecs. Though visually he's almost ideal, with a body by Michelangelo, he has a flat personality and only a minimum of acting ability, but these faults tend to fade away whenever he swings into action.

Mike Henry is Tarzan in Tarzan And The Great River, the great river of course being the Amazon. Tarzan is on a mission in the Amazon head waters country taking on a Jaguar jungle cult that is headed by Olympic athlete Rafer Johnson. Henry is in Brazil at the behest of an old friend Paulo Gracindo. When Gracindo is killed Henry doubles in his resolve to put an end to Johnson who is enslaving whole villages in the area.

Tarzan's traveling companions are Jan Murray who has an African Queen boat delivering medical supplies to Dr. Diana Millay. Murray does some of his borscht belt shtick in the role of the captain and he has a young kid Manuel Padilla who travels with him.

Henry and Johnson have a dandy climatic fight scene when Tarzan overcomes the many obstacles put in his path. I do so love when Tarzan provides those South American crocodiles called kamen some lunch with some of Rafer Johnson's warriors.

This is an amusing entrée in the Tarzan series, but one better suited for the juvenile trade.

In Brazil, nasty native Rafer Johnson (as Barcuna) is attacking peaceful tribes and luring survivors into slavery. A widening circle of death and destruction threatens the entire free world. Naturally, the world's secret agent of the jungles, muscular Mike Henry (as Tarzan), is called into action. Donning his action-ready loincloth, Mr. Henry picks up old friends "Cheeta" the chimp and "Baron" the lion. Henry and his pet sidekicks join Captain Jan Murray (as Sam Bishop) and orphaned native boy Manuel Padilla Jr. (as Pepe) on their small boat. Next to join is beautiful blonde doctor Diana Millay (as Ann Philips), who wants to inoculate natives against disease. The three guests offer more characterization than was usual for the "Tarzan" movies...

The trigger-happy Tarzan from the last film is gone; he remembers the name of his pet chimpanzee and notes its increased size. The cinematography is good, the dubbing and sound are not - we have a cartoon-like quality. There are some rough transitions and plot concerns - the diamond hunt is cast adrift - but "Tarzan and the Great River" is a good entry in the series. It is interesting and educational to see how the lion "Barron" leaves to hunt for food, in a small segment. The supporting cast is good enough for a series of their own - Murray, Millay and Manuel could have sailed on that boat for weekly TV adventures, without Tarzan. Their appeal was available, separately; at the time, Murray was doing some episodic television, Millay was showing some wicked versatility on "Dark Shadows", and Manuel was a regular on the "Tarzan" TV series starring Ron Ely.

***** Tarzan and the Great River (9/13/67) Robert Day ~ Mike Henry, Jan Murray, Diana Millay, Manuel Padilla Jr.

A really boring film with very little to recommend in it. Only the beautiful scenery and a funny performance by Jan Murray makes viewing this bearable. Mike Henry is OK as Tarzan but he seems much too stiff in the non-action scenes. He doesn't seem at ease in the role like earlier Tarzans Gordon Scott or Jock Mahoney. He is fine in the action sequences but looks out of place otherwise. The pacing in this film is deadly. There are long stretches where not much happens and too little action when something does. Villain Rafer Johnson as Barcuna isn't given much to do except to try to look menacing. The climactic fight between him and Tarzan is not very exciting. Jan Murray as Captain Bishop is the bright spot of the film. His goofy performance is fun to watch. Diana Millay as the good doctor is basically a two dimensional character played without much enthusiasm. Overall this film is not as good as Henry's previous Tarzan outing-Tarzan and the Valley of Gold-which had some exciting action and a much more enjoyable story. Give this one a miss. I give it 3 river-boats out of 10.

It is some years since I saw this film but I still remember it vividly.I rate it much higher than all the other Tarzan films from the late forties to the present day.Mike Henry is adequate as Tarzan and Manuel Padilla Jr. is very natural in his role(he was later to play a similar role as Jai in the "Tarzan" television series of the sixties.)The supporting cast are fine too and the scenery is magnificent.Best of all however is the casting of Diana Millay as Ann.Combining beauty and brains this talented actress makes the lovely doctor she plays one of the most memorable heroines in any "Tarzan" film.

The Amazon basin, home to crocs, hippos, lions, cheetahs, and secretary birds. LOL

If anyone complained about using the factually WRONG stock footage, the producer must have replied, "They don't know, and they won't care".

Well, the original Tarzan books had tigers in Africa, so at least they were as ignorant as he started out.

Plenty of eye-candy in the awesomely athletic form of Mike Henry, but too much monkey business (literally), too much "precocious orphan boy" stuff, and not nearly enough action until the climactic mano-a-mano fight between Tarzan and the evil tribal chief. The story is plodding and tiresome, and the direction is sometimes inept - strange, because it was done by the same man (Robert Day) who also made the solid "Tarzan The Magnificent" in 1960. ** out of 4.

Infamous Tarzan movie because of accident suffered by Mike Henry: he was bitten on the chin by Dinky, the chimpanzee playing Cheetah, which was "destroyed" for its action. But it is not as bad as I had been told. It is a welcome and nice, wide-screen change of setting in the Amazonian jungle, where the Ape Man goes after diamond-greedy Rafer Johnson and his bunch of painted mercenaries, all belonging to the ancient Jaguar cult. But as Henry's hair and make-up are in place most of the running time, the plot that could have been resolved in 70 minutes was "spiced" with footage and more footage (quite often scratched) of wild animals, vast views of the jungle, monkey's humor, the Amazon river, more animals, and a never-ending duel between ex-linebacker Henry and decathlon champ Johnson. But in the end the movie is colorful and bearable nonetheless.

What's with Jan Murray as a faux-Bogart from The African Queen? I can't even begin to describe how insane this movie is.

And what about Olympic decathelete Rafer Johnson as the evil Barcuna? -- Incidentally, how did all of these folks end up in Brazil? Jan Murray's interplay with little Pepe is like nothing I've ever seen.

Tarzan and the Great River (1967)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

After the horrendous TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD, I really wasn't expecting too much out of Mike Henry's second Tarzan film. This time out he heads to Rio de Janeiro where his friend is murdered by an evil jaguar cult lead by a native known as Barcuma. Tarzan jumps aboard a small cargo lead by the captain (Jan Murray) and his orphan mate (Manuel Padilla, Jr.) to try and warn other native tribes while also trying to reach a doctor trying to spread medicine to them. Again, going into this film I really wasn't expecting too much after the previous film that tried to make Tarzan and James Bond like agent. I got worried early on as we got the silly opening credits sequence and once again the first time we see the ape man he is in a tuxedo that he apparently got in New York City. However, once the action starts the film turned out to be a worthy entry in the series. It's certainly not going to make people forget Johnny Weissmuller or Gordon Scott but it's worth watching for the action. Another major benefit here is that there's some terrific wildlife footage including a rather stellar fight between a couple large lions. I know some might be worried about watching two animals fight but it did look like the real thing and not something just staged for the camera. Another intense sequence has Tarzan tipping over a couple of the enemies boats so that they are in a river trying to get away from some crocodiles. The underwater footage is really terrific and includes some beautiful moments of the crocs just swimming around. It's clear that this was filmed separate from the "action" going on but it still looks great. Another major plus is that the cult members look quite effective in their uniforms and the jacked up violence also puts you on edge. Murray actually delivers a pretty fun performance as the captain who never wants to get further into trouble but constantly finds himself going along for the ride. I was also impressed with Padilla who was fun in his part. However, Henry just isn't working for me as Tarzan. While he's certainly better here than he was in the first film, there's still no question that his personality just isn't right for the ape man.