Screen Junkies: From John Carter to Tarzan; 5 Edgar Rice Burroughs Movies
From ScreenJunkies.com: Edgar Rice Burroghs stood out as one of the more popular authors in his day. From his adventure novels featuring Tarzan to his science fiction series centering on “John Carter of Mars”, Burroughs had something that appealed to all types of readers. His books continue to be a popular source of material for movies and television into the 21st Century.These five movies drew their inspiration from the mind of Burroughs with varying degrees of success:
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932):
Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller moved onto an acting career by offering up the first portrayal of Tarzan following the silent film era.Weissmuller portrayed Tarzan in 12 movies starting with this one. His debut film deals with the first meeting of Tarzan and Jane. This movie introduced his primate pal Cheeta and the famous Tarzan jungle call.
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981):
Bo Derek was flat-out gorgeous in her prime. Her looks never translated into a successful movie career and this remake of the original “Tarzan, the Ape Man” offers plenty of evidence for why things played out that way. The actors were more wooden than the trees they climbed. It lacked humor and charm and tried to survive on Derek’s sex appeal alone.
Greystoke: Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984):
Before he gained fame for chopping off the heads of other immortals in “Highlander,” Christopher Lambert broke out the loincloth to play Tarzan. This film chronicles his return to England after being raised by chimpanzees and his struggles to fit in with human society in England. One crazy aspect of the movie is that Andie MacDowell plays Jane, but her voice is dubbed out and replaced with the voice of Glenn Close. I guess the director figured Jane would not work as a British lady with a southern accent.