Johnny Weissmuller Movies

Number three in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series was the misleadingly titled Captive Girl. Johnny Weissmuller returns as Jim, who this time out comes to the rescue of a white girl named Joan (Anita Lhoest), who has been raised as a "jungle goddess," complete with revealing costume and pet tiger. The heavy of the piece is Native witch doctor Hakim (John Dehner), who killed Joan's parents years earlier and who fears exposure. The most fascinating aspect of the film is the presence of Buster Crabbe--whose own career (Olympic swimmer turned film star) closely resembled Weissmuller's--in an unsympathetic role as a mercenary explorer. Original prints of Captive Girl were released in Sepiatone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fury of the Congo was the sixth entry in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series, though in most markets it was the fifth to be released. Johnny Weissmuller returns as Alex Raymond's comic strip hero Jungle Jim. The plot this time around has Jim coming to the rescue of a native tribe which has fallen under the influence of evil dope peddlers. Benumbed by drugs, the tribesmen have been ordered to hunt the Okongo, a hybrid beast that is the source of a dangerously powerful narcotic. The film builds steadily to an exciting climax in a blinding sandstorm. The villainy is handled by William Henry, Lyle Talbot and George Eldredge, while the "femme interest" is provided by shapely native girl Sherry Moreland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A tribute to Hollywood's Tarzan as played by Johnny Weismuller, Gordon Scott and Ron Ely as well as all the of the accompanying Janes and chimps. ~ All Movie Guide

This 1952 programmer was the eighth entry in Columbia's profitable "Jungle Jim" series. Johnny Weissmuller, as ever, stars as pith-helmeted Jungle Jim, who this time must grapple with an avaricious ivory hunter. And that's not all: Jungle Jim is confronted by a legendary "giant man," actually a clever hoax cooked up by a tribe of mercenary natives to drive district commissioner Kingston (Lester Matthews) out of office. Columbia contractees Angela Greene and Jean Willes competently share the leading-lady chores. Fans of the "Jungle Jim" series were immensely satisfied by Forbidden Land, else why would Columbia turn out seven additional entries over the next three years? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Weissmuller is back as Jungle Jim in Columbia's Jungle Manhunt. In this outing, Jungle Jim leads a search for football hero Bob Miller (Bob Waterfield), who is lost somewhere in the foliage. Our Hero's mission is complicated by the presence of villains Bono (Ric Vallin) and Heller (Lyle Talbot), who are exploiting native labor in their efforts to create artificial diamonds. The film was partially designed as a test balloon for the movie potential of gridiron star Bob Waterfield, who demonstrates his athletic prowess in the finale, wherein he lobs a couple of hand grenades in the manner of a forward pass! The nominal heroine is played by Sheila Ryan, who would soon retire to private life as Mrs. Pat Buttram. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Killer Ape is one of the most violent entries in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series. In this outing, Jim (Johnny Weissmuller) finds out that members of the Wazuli tribe are selling animals to white hunters. These animals are in turn used for illegal research in a scheme to create drugs for bacterial warfare. Before Jim can foil the villains' plans, he must first clear himself of a murder charge. The film's title derives from the tribesmen's habit of wearing ape costumes to scare away outsiders. As usual, many of the film's best scenes go to Tamba the Chimp, who gets even more screen time than leading lady Carol Thurston. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pygmy Island was entry number five in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series. Johnny Weissmuller is back as Jungle Jim, who this time around leads a search for missing WAC officer Ann Kingsley (Ann Savage). He'd better hurry; enemy agents are also on the trail of the heroine, who became lost while searching for material vital to the U.S. defense program. Somewhere in the foliage is a tribe of white pygmies (!), who cast their lot with Jungle Jim against the bad guys. Highlights in Pygmy Island include a stampeding elephant herd and a couple of fierce jungle battles pitting our hero against a crocodile and a gorilla. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adventure, set upon the mighty Mississippi, features two former Tarzans. One of them is a river-boat captain who was shell shocked in the war. The other is an evil trapper. The trouble is caused by their shared affection for a pretty young woman. Their rivalry climaxes as the two wrestle it out in an alligator hole. This was the only film in which one of the Tarzans (Johnny Weismuller) did not play a man from the jungle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tarzan Finds a Son was to have been Maureen O'Sullivan's final Tarzan film, with Jane getting killed in the final reel. But Edgar Rice Burroughs refused to allow MGM to kill his character, so MGM had to increase her salary a substantial amount to do a few more Tarzan adventures. Tarzan Finds a Son was also the first MGM Tarzan film in three years and it introduced a new character --Boy (Johnny Sheffield). Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) finds Boy as an infant in a plane-wreck deep in the heart of the African jungle. He takes the baby to his jungle home where he and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) raise him as their own son for five years. When Boy's relatives find out that he is alive, they are less than happy, since he stands to receive a large inheritance. An evil African tribe then captures Tarzan and Jane and it is left to Boy to try to rescue them. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Most Tarzan enthusiasts consider 1934's Tarzan and His Mate to be the best of the Johnny Weissmuller-Maureen O'Sullivan Tarzan efforts. Certainly it is the sexiest, with Weissmuller and especially O'Sullivan wearing next to nothing for most of the film's running time. Picking up where 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man left off, the film's plot is set in motion by avaricious ivory hunter Paul Cavanaugh, who arrives in the African jungle in search of the fabled Elephant's Graveyard. Accompanying Cavanaugh is Neil Hamilton the former fiance of Jane Porter (Maureen O'Sullivan), who for the past two years has been living with jungle lord Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) without benefit of clergy (this is strictly a pre-code effort, as evidenced by Jane's bikini-like attire and the now-famous skinny-dipping sequence). Jane briefly entertains notions of returning to civilization, but opts for her blissful outdoor existence with Tarzan. The plot rears its ugly head again when Cavanaugh shoots Tarzan and leaves him for dead, the better to seek out the precious ivory unimpeded. Rescued by his simian friends, Tarzan races towards the elephant's burial site, where Cavanaugh and Hamilton have been eaten by lions and Jane is next on the menu. A convenient elephant stampede--heralded by that classic Tarzan ahh-ee-yahhhh-ee-yahhhh--saves Jane from the lion's fangs in the nick of time. Tarzan and His Mate was the last of MGM's "Tarzan" series to be targeted for a strictly adult audience: the remaining MGM Tarzans, made under stricter censorship guidelines, were geared for the whole family. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) goes on one of his occasional pro-ecological kicks in Tarzan and the Huntress. This time, the Lord of the Jungle runs afoul of an animal-trapping exposition headed by titular huntress Tanya (Patricia Morison). Not wishing to see his jungle friends packed in crates and shipped off to zoos, Tarzan does everything he can to discourage Tanya from seeking out specimens in his territory. The plot then goes off on a different tangent, as Tanya's unscrupulous partner Weir (Barton MacLane) conspires with aspiring despot Prince Ozira (Ted Hecht) to knock off the Prince's benevolent uncle, King Faroud (Charles Trowbridge). Tarzan saves the day by summoning his elephant pals to trammel the villains, but not before his mate Jane (Brenda Joyce) and his adopted son Boy (Johnny Sheffield) are placed in the usual deadly peril. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "mermaids" are really tribal pearl divers in this diverting Tarzan adventure. Their livelihood is threatened by an evil white trader (Fernando Wagner), who sets himself up as a "god." With the help of lovely diver Linda Christian (later Mrs. Tyrone Power), Tarzan defeats the wicked despot, but not before several underwater battles, not the least of which involves an octopus. If the jungle settings of Tarzan and the Mermaids don't look particularly African, that's because the film was shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico. Mermaids represents the final appearance of Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide