Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

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General		Extras
Category	Adventure	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1934
Running Time	99:49
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Sided	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Cedric Gibbons Jack Conway James C. McKay
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Johnny Weissmuller Maureen O'Sullivan Neil Hamilton Paul Cavanagh Forrester Harvey Nathan Curry
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	William Axt Paul Marquardt George Richelavie

    Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton) returns to Africa, partly in order to seek out the elephants' graveyard and partly to see Jane again. This time he is accompanied by his friend Arlington (Paul Cavanagh). After managing to avoid being killed by natives at the base of the Mutia Escarpment, they are rescued by Tarzan. But when they reveal their plan to steal the ivory from the graveyard, Tarzan refuses to help them. Arlington shoots an elephant so they can follow it to the graveyard, but Tarzan and a bunch of elephants foil their plan. Arlington decides that Tarzan must be removed from the equation.

    This film was released in 1934, two months before the Production Code started to be properly enforced. You can see that this is a pre-Code film in the first ten minutes, with a topless female native and Arlington stripping down for a bath, with only a carefully positioned trunk to protect his modesty. Jane wears a very skimpy jungle outfit, swims in the nude (though Maureen O'Sullivan is body-doubled by Olympian Josephine McKim in this sequence) and, well, Tarzan's reaction to her dressing in European clothes and wearing perfume is very amusing. None of this would have been allowed to pass the censor a few months later, and indeed the film was heavily cut even on initial release. The original negative was cut, and the original version of the film was thought lost until a print was found in the MGM archive a few years ago.

    The directorial credit went to the famous MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, but little of his contribution remains in the finished film. Shooting was suspended after three weeks and Gibbons was removed, as were several of the actors. Shooting resumed with Jack Conway and James McKay directing.

    There are some remarkable sequences in the film. Apart from the nude underwater swimming sequence, Tarzan fights with a giant mechanical crocodile, and there is a remarkable closing scene involving elephants and lions. The animal work in this film is extraordinary.

    In my opinion, this is not just the best of the MGM Tarzan films, it is the best Tarzan of them all. The script is carefully worked out with plenty of humour mixed in with the thrills, the performances are excellent, and it builds to an ending that is simply amazing. It comes on a three disc set of the complete MGM series.

Video

    The film is, despite the cover saying it is in the original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, presented at 1.35:1. There is a slight black border at the base of the frame. It is not 16x9 enhanced, though the menus are.

    The video quality of the film is very good, though not up to the standards of the later films. This is partly due to the material coming from several sources, and also the age of the film. While generally sharp, much of it is a little soft. The stock footage is particularly grainy.

    Contrast levels are good, though there is some variation from frame to frame causing mild flickering. Also good is the greyscale of the film, which looks just about right.

    I did not notice any film to video artefacts, apart from some telecine wobble during the opening credits. Film artefacts are prevalent, with occasional damage, scratches and flecks, and there is a lot of grain, but this film has been properly restored and looks very good.

    The film comes on one side of a single-layered, dual-sided disc, so there is no layer change. For some reason the film on the other side of this disc is the fourth in the series. I have no idea why this film would not be side B of disc 1.

    Optional English subtitles are provided. These are in a clear white font and are quite readable. The native lingo is not shown in the subtitles. The spelling of Mutia seems to have been corrected from that of the first film.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The default audio track is English Dolby Digital 1.0.

    This is a pretty good audio transfer, with a little hiss which is mainly inaudible at normal viewing levels. The higher frequencies are quite thin, and there is some congestion during passages with more complex sounds. There is a good amount of bass present. Audio sync seems perfect.

    I did not notice much in the way of music during the film, apart from the opening credits (the music score is not credited). It has a stereotypical African feel to it. There is some good use of actual African tribal chants.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    No extras are provided on this disc.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    The Region 1 release has an additional disc, which includes the following extras:

• Silver Screen: King of the Jungle, a feature length documentary about Tarzan on screen, featuring interviews with Maureen O'Sullivan and Johnny Weissmuller, Jr., as well as several noted film historians and Tarzan experts.
• Vintage vault treasure: Jimmy Durante as Schnarzan the Conqueror in a fake trailer from the 1934 film Hollywood Party
• Two shorts featuring Johnny Weissmuller: MGM on Location: Johnny Weissmuller and Rough Dough 
• Theatrical trailers of all six Weissmuller/O'Sullivan films

    Region 1 is a clear winner on the extras count.

    A superb sequel.

    The video and audio are very good though not ideal.

    It is a pity that the extras available in Region 1 are not included.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall