Tarzan and the Great River (1967)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Really Surprised!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It happens: stuntmen die performing stunts they've meticulously prepared for (BEN-HUR); actors fall victim to inept direction (TWILIGHT ZONE- THE MOVIE); animals lash out at their human co-stars and are murdered (TARZAN AND THE GREAT RIVER). Granted, Mike Henry had every reason to be upset: chiseled good looks can come in handy when you're auditioning for a role as a leading man; extensive plastic surgery to replace chunks of missing tissue, on the other hand, can complicate matters. Had Jane Goodall (who probably knew more than she ever let on about the feeding habits of chimpanzees) been a bit more forthcoming, maybe the incident that resulted in the "destruction" of Senor Dinky on the set of TARZAN AND THE GREAT RIVER could've been avoided. Now that we've seen documentaries like THE DARK SIDE OF CHIMPS (which show the cute, cuddly little things mugging, murdering and masticating smaller monkeys), we know that shoving your face too close to a chimp's could have disastrous consequences. The "monkey fever" that Henry is said to have experienced sounds suspiciously like AIDS (which, as we now know, can come from eating "tainted monkey meat"). All of which makes one long for the good ol' days, when Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter (and Jane Goodall) had us all convinced that all apes were vegetarians...

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.

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.