Weissmüller, the son of ethnic-German immigrants from Romania, was already well known as a five-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming.
The most popular series of Tarzan films began with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), starring Johnny Weissmüller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Tarzan emphasizes the couple’s mutual affection by pointing and saying “Tarzan…Jane…Jane…Tarzan.” Understand? Jane, Jane.Īnother dialogue moment that comes close is in Tarzan’s New York Adventure (1943). Jane Parker: I said, thank you for protecting me. Jane Parker: Thank you for protecting me. The “Me Tarzan, You Jane” cliché probably originates from telescoping the dialogue of Tarzan and Jane’s first meeting in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932): It was Merrill’s second Tarzan movie, and it cost him the role, as his voice was deemed unsuitable for the part. The first Tarzan sound film was Tarzan the Tiger (1929), featuring Frank Merrill as the Ape Man, shot as a silent but partially dubbed for release.
Dempsey Tabler and James Pierce (who married the daughter of Edgar Rice Burroughs). Other actors who portrayed the character in 1920s films were P. One of the silents, Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927), featured the then-unknown Boris Karloff as a villainous native chieftain.
Additional silents were produced in the 1920s with other actors (three of these films – The Romance of Tarzan (1918, Elmo Lincoln), The Revenge of Tarzan (1920, Gene Pollar), and Tarzan the Mighty (1928, Frank Merrill) – have been lost). (Early in the film, Tarzan is also shown as a baby played by at least two different uncredited children.) Elmo Lincoln returned for two sequels.
The first portion of the film featured Gordon Griffith as the young Tarzan, so Griffith could technically be considered the first screen Tarzan. Elmo Lincoln starred in the first Tarzan feature, Tarzan of the Apes (1918), a faithful cinematic rendering of Burroughs' first Tarzan novel. The earlier Tarzan films were eight silent features and serials released between 19, most based on novels in the original series. Frank Merrill as Tarzan in Tarzan the Tiger ( 1929)