Tarzan The Ape Man #1 (From Eric Beheim)

Eighty years ago this month, MGM began production on TARZAN THE APE MAN, the first of its Johnny Weissmuller-Maureen O’Sullivan Tarzan films. A pet project of MGM’s “boy wonder” production head Irving Thalberg, TARZAN THE APE MAN was given an “A” picture budget and was written and produced primarily for adult audiences. Filming took place on the MGM back lot, at Iverson’s Ranch in Chatsworth, and at Toluca Lake in North Hollywood. In addition to some stock footage filmed in Africa during the production of TRADER HORN, new animal footage was shot, including sequences with elephants and lions. (It is generally known that Hollywood made frequent use of animals owned by the Al G. Barnes Circus, which had winter quarters in near-by Baldwin Park. This was most likely the case with TARZAN THE APE MAN.) Here are a few frame enlargements showing some of the animal sequences from TARZAN THE APE MAN. More background information is needed on how some of these scenes were filmed, so if you knew someone who worked on this picture, don’t hesitate to share your knowledge with the rest of us.