"Towering Inferno" director John Guillermin's franchise adventure "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" lives up to its title. Truly, this ranks not only as one of the top five "Tarzan" movies of all time, but it also qualifies as Gordon Scott's best ape man opus. Indeed, anybody who grew up on Johnny Weismuller "Tarzan" movies may be surprised at the savage, gritty nature of this somber-minded thriller. You get to see Tarzan looking vulnerable in one scene after a blast from explosion. Later, Guillermin stages a memorably haunting scene. Tarzan is pursuing four treacherous troublemakers up river. They are plying the river in a motorized boat, while the Lord of the Jungle follows them along the banks. At one point, two slimy unshaven thugs who have little use for each other clash over a necklace. O'Bannion (Sean Connery) steals the necklace with a locket that belongs to Dino (Al Murlock) and taunts him. The two men scramble into the jungle. The first thug rags the second. As the second thug runs after the first, a jungle cat leaps out of nowhere and mauls his face. Screaming in agony, the second thug goes staggering without thought into what turns out to quicksand. He dies with a forearm jutting out of the quicksand. The first thug is incredulous. Nobody the first thug or their boss can reach him, he has sunk in the mire. The only indication that he died in the bog is his right forearm sticking up out of the quicksand. The incredulous first thug flings the necklace and it lands on a tree limb inches above the thug's grasping fingers. This unforgettable shot rivals a similar shot in John Boorman's "Deliverance." The second most haunting shot occurs when a woman plunges to her death in a trap set for Tarzan. Guillerman sets up his camera so that all we see is her bloody hand surrounded by dozens of sharpened bamboo stakes. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that what isn't shown is the women's body impaled on a multitude of such stakes.
The action unfolds with three of the four villains masquerading as dark-skinned natives. They strike a village and steal some wooden crates of TNT and paddle off down the river. They kill a man but before he dies, he lets somebody on the radio know who is responsible to the theft and his death. Tarzan (Gordon Scott) learns that his old nemesis Slade (Anthony Quale of "Anne of the Thousand Days") is responsible. Tarzan knows Slade because they tracked down separately a rogue elephant. Slade killed the rogue elephant before Tarzan could. Nevertheless, two men who accompanied Slade died because they got in his way. Tarzan follows Slade and his henchmen, a drunken Irish troublemaker O'Bannion (Sean Connery of "Dr. No"), ex-convict who murdered his own father, Dino (Al Mulock), an obese, spectacled gem expert, Kruger (Niall MacGinnis of "The Mackintosh Man"), and Slade's girlfriend Toni (Scilla Gabel of "Son of Cleopatra") as they head for a diamond mine.
Before Tarzan embarks on his quest to catch Slade, he encounters a questionable woman. Angie (Sara Shane of "Magnificent Obsession") is a single woman who does what she wants. Indeed, there is a hint that she is a high-priced call girl. She likes what she sees in Tarzan and follows him up the river, but she does it from the sky in a plane. There is a bit of "Tarzan and the Lost Safari" in this "Tarzan" film. Angie develops engine trouble, crashes her single-engine, propeller-driven craft in the river. A crocodile swims after her until Tarzan intervenes. Angie learns that life in the jungle is no picnic and the constant marching through the jungle takes a toll on her glamorous looks. Meantime, the villains emerge as a thoroughly loathsome group. They wind up trying to kill each other. O'Bannion drives Dino crazy when he steals his necklace locket. British actor Anthony Quale is a rugged, unscrupulous, but cautious adversary who takes no chances. In other words, Tarzan does a little more sweating in this adventure than you'd expect. Tarzan traps Slade and company on the river by felling a tree behind them so they cannot go anywhere. He drives them into the cabin of their boat with arrows. Slade breaks out the dynamite and they hurl sticks of TNT at the ape man. One of the blasts knocks Tarzan out of the tree. Angie winds up helping an inert Tarzan. Slade becomes so obsessed with killing Tarzan that he fashions a noose and dreams about getting Tarzan's head in it. When Slade isn't fantasizing about strangling Tarzan with the noose, he digs a pit and lines it with bamboo stakes. Later, when Angie tries to steal some medicine from Slade's boat, Toni gets the drop on her and captures her. Kruger releases Angie and Toni flees to warn Slade. A lion pursues Toni but Slade shoots it. However, Toni stumbles into a trap laid for Tarzan and dies a horrible death.
The finale with Slade and Tarzan atop the waterfall fighting to the death is gripping stuff. Earlier, Guillermin establish the blood feud between Tarzan and Slade. After Kruger and Slade enter an abandoned copper mine where Slade found diamonds, Slade doesn't dream about the fortune in ice that they can excavate from the mind. Instead, he drools over the prospect of killing Tarzan. Tarzan manages to recuperate from his injuries with Angie's help and tells her that he doesn't need any help to kill Slade. Momentarily, Tarzan and Angie flirt, but Tarzan wants to kill Slade more than share a bed with Angie. Yes, this is a "Tarzan" movie! A better title might have been "Tarzan's Savage Fury."
The action unfolds with three of the four villains masquerading as dark-skinned natives. They strike a village and steal some wooden crates of TNT and paddle off down the river. They kill a man but before he dies, he lets somebody on the radio know who is responsible to the theft and his death. Tarzan (Gordon Scott) learns that his old nemesis Slade (Anthony Quale of "Anne of the Thousand Days") is responsible. Tarzan knows Slade because they tracked down separately a rogue elephant. Slade killed the rogue elephant before Tarzan could. Nevertheless, two men who accompanied Slade died because they got in his way. Tarzan follows Slade and his henchmen, a drunken Irish troublemaker O'Bannion (Sean Connery of "Dr. No"), ex-convict who murdered his own father, Dino (Al Mulock), an obese, spectacled gem expert, Kruger (Niall MacGinnis of "The Mackintosh Man"), and Slade's girlfriend Toni (Scilla Gabel of "Son of Cleopatra") as they head for a diamond mine.
Before Tarzan embarks on his quest to catch Slade, he encounters a questionable woman. Angie (Sara Shane of "Magnificent Obsession") is a single woman who does what she wants. Indeed, there is a hint that she is a high-priced call girl. She likes what she sees in Tarzan and follows him up the river, but she does it from the sky in a plane. There is a bit of "Tarzan and the Lost Safari" in this "Tarzan" film. Angie develops engine trouble, crashes her single-engine, propeller-driven craft in the river. A crocodile swims after her until Tarzan intervenes. Angie learns that life in the jungle is no picnic and the constant marching through the jungle takes a toll on her glamorous looks. Meantime, the villains emerge as a thoroughly loathsome group. They wind up trying to kill each other. O'Bannion drives Dino crazy when he steals his necklace locket. British actor Anthony Quale is a rugged, unscrupulous, but cautious adversary who takes no chances. In other words, Tarzan does a little more sweating in this adventure than you'd expect. Tarzan traps Slade and company on the river by felling a tree behind them so they cannot go anywhere. He drives them into the cabin of their boat with arrows. Slade breaks out the dynamite and they hurl sticks of TNT at the ape man. One of the blasts knocks Tarzan out of the tree. Angie winds up helping an inert Tarzan. Slade becomes so obsessed with killing Tarzan that he fashions a noose and dreams about getting Tarzan's head in it. When Slade isn't fantasizing about strangling Tarzan with the noose, he digs a pit and lines it with bamboo stakes. Later, when Angie tries to steal some medicine from Slade's boat, Toni gets the drop on her and captures her. Kruger releases Angie and Toni flees to warn Slade. A lion pursues Toni but Slade shoots it. However, Toni stumbles into a trap laid for Tarzan and dies a horrible death.
The finale with Slade and Tarzan atop the waterfall fighting to the death is gripping stuff. Earlier, Guillermin establish the blood feud between Tarzan and Slade. After Kruger and Slade enter an abandoned copper mine where Slade found diamonds, Slade doesn't dream about the fortune in ice that they can excavate from the mind. Instead, he drools over the prospect of killing Tarzan. Tarzan manages to recuperate from his injuries with Angie's help and tells her that he doesn't need any help to kill Slade. Momentarily, Tarzan and Angie flirt, but Tarzan wants to kill Slade more than share a bed with Angie. Yes, this is a "Tarzan" movie! A better title might have been "Tarzan's Savage Fury."