Tarzan’s Fight For Life was a Jungle Opera film from 1958, and the twenty first film in the Tarzan franchise. It was shot both in Africa and Hollywood California. It was directed by H. Bruse Humberstone and featured Gordon Scott as the titular Ape Man. It was advertised for it’s beautiful African scenery and it’s use of Technicolor.
The film features a group of physicians in the jungle working on a cure for one of the most dangerous poisons known to man, meanwhile a local Lost Tribe has a sick child destined to be chief, who is likely going to die soon, and the local Witch Doctor is trying to prove his superiority to the medicine offered by the more modern medicine the physicians offer.
See Also: Tarzan (franchise), Jungle Opera
Tarzan’s Fight For Life provides examples of:
- Crucified Hero Shot: This was plastered all over the promotional material for the film, referencing a portion of the movie where Tarzan is capture, and his hands are bound to a wooden yoke and stretched away from his body, mirroring crucifixion. Bonus points for the fact that Tarzan was also forced to walk this way, mirroring someone carrying a cross as well.
- Earthy Barefoot Character: Most of the natives as well as Tarzan and Tartu, like any good jungle heroes, go barefoot the whole movie. Subverted with Jane, who wears sandals, despite being a Jungle Princess by this point.
- Find the Cure!: (Inverted) Tarzan has to prevent the Witch Doctor, Futa, from giving a dangerous poison to the young chief, which he believes is medicine.
- Happily Adopted: Tartu is the adopted son of Tarzan and Jane and appears pretty happy about it.
- Hollywood Natives: The movie does fall victim to some stereotypes. The film also goes out of it’s way to condemn superstitious and uncivilized beliefs rather than properly exploring cultures through Worldbuilding. The vast majority of native characters were mere Mooks. The film does deserve some credit from having a variety of good and evil characters rather than a simple Cannibal Tribe or Noble Savages. Even modern films struggle with the latter.
- Unfortunate bonus points for how it depicted the “Little people” tribe.
- Hulk Speak: Tarzan and most of the Hollywood Natives speak in broken English. Because this film was followed up by Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure, where he was a fluent Cunning Linguist, much like the original novels, it was the last film to see Tarzan use hulk speak until the early 80s’.
- Human Sacrifice: (Downplayed) With Futa changing a medicine to heal the young chief to involve a human heart instead of a lion heart.
- Hungry Jungle: The Jungle is depicted as full of dangerous diseases and wildlife.
- Jungle Opera: This film takes place in a hostile jungle with outsider characters with an exciting race against the clock. The film also goes out of it’s way to highlight a motif of science versus superstition, which is one of the reoccurring themes of Jungle Opera as a subgenre of Science Fiction.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Crocadiles are depicted as dangerous hungry monsters.
- Snakes Are Sinister: A snake tries to attack at one point.
- Tarzan Boy: Tarzan of course, but also his adopted son Tartu.
- Treehouse of Fun: Where Tarzan lives with his family.
- Tribal Carry: (Subverted) When Tarzan was captured, he was tied to a wooden frame, and shortly there after, only Tarzan’s arms and neck fastened in a wooden yoke allowing him to walk. He was then taken to the Donjon of the Golden Lion and kept there hanging in the yoke for several hours without much of a problem.
- Unwilling Suspension: Tarzan spends several hours in the Donjon of the Golden Lion, hanging from a wooden yoke on his shoulders. He suffers no issues from it.
- Vine Swing: Tarzan likes to travel this way from time to time.
- Witch Doctor: Futa is a manipulative medicine man of his tribe, who obviously cares more about his influence over the tribe than actually helping them.
