Tarzan and His Mate

(Cedric Gibbons, US 1934, 104 min., 35mm)

Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O’Sullivan’s second turn as Tarzan and Jane turned out to be the most controversial due to a nude swimming scene. Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton), Jane’s jilted admirer, invites Martin Arlington (Paul Cavanagh) to Africa to help him rescue Jane and plunder the ivory-rich elephant graveyard he had been searching for. When they finally meet, Jane is impressed by the fine clothes Harry has brought from England but undeterred in her commitment to Tarzan, who unwittingly leads them through the jungle, battling a lion, a rhinoceros, a leopard, and a crocodile on the way. When Tarzan learns the true nature of the explorers’ business, he refuses to help them any further, but it might be too late.