Bullet Points: Tarzan in Manhattan

Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of the Tarzan character, probably never envisioned that his creation would eventually make the jump from the African jungle to the urban jungle but that is exactly what happened in 1942’s Tarzan’s New York Adventure and again in 1989’s Tarzan in Manhattan…

• Welcome to the Jungle: One look at Joe Lara (Hologram Man) and it is clear why he was cast in the iconic role of Tarzan. Lara is ripped and his hair could be best described as a lion’s mane. Lara also displayed the necessary athleticism for the role as we see Tarzan swinging from tree to tree and diving into the water below as the movie opens. But Tarzan’s jungle fun is interrupted twice… the first time it is a welcome interruption as his friend/shopkeeper Joseph (Joe Seneca, The Evil That Men Do) brings Tarzan some books to read. Tarzan instructs his chimp sidekick Cheetah to take the books back to their treehouse, while he continues to do Tarzan things. That’s when Tarzan gets an unwelcome interruption… he hears gun shots!

• The Hunting Party: The gun shots were courtesy of a hunting party… a hunting party that have at this point killed the ape that raised Tarzan as her own and if that wasn’t bad enough… they have also abducted Cheetah! A distraught Tarzan tracks down the jeep that the hunting party had been using, and while there were no signs of the culprits, Tarzan does find a matchbook from a swanky restaurant located in New York City. Tarzan decides he needs to travel to New York City to rescue Cheetah and he turns to his friend Joseph for help. Joseph hooks Tarzan up with a passport, a plane ticket and some pants and a shirt. And just like that, Tarzan is off to New York…
• Give My Regards to Broadway: If the premise of Tarzan in New York wasn’t enough to hook me, the fact that the movie used the song “Leave My Monkey Alone” by Warren Zevon sealed the deal. When Tarzan arrives at the airport he immediately encounters passport issues at customs and he gets locked up as a result… but not for long. Tarzan strips down to his loin cloth, tears the bars off the holding cell window and jumps into the drink. Tarzan then scales a bridge, eventually jumping on top of a bus that’s headed for the heart of New York City… a world like Tarzan had never seen before.

• Fish Out of Water: Tarzan ends up hailing a cab as only Tarzan can using his famous Tarzan yell… the cabbie that comes to pick him up is Jane Porter (Kim Crosby). Being a native New Yorker, Jane has seen a lot of crazy stuff but nothing like her scantily clad passenger…. but if his appearance wasn’t enough to hook her, the fact that Tarzan saves a couple from a runaway handsome cab incident seals the deal. Jane takes Tarzan to the address from the matchbook he found back in Africa (with a detour at a haberdashery before hand). When the swanky restaurant turns out to be a dead end, Jane tells Tarzan he can crash at her place and offers to help him continue his search for Cheetah.
• And Father Makes Three: The movie introduces another key player in the form of Jane’s father, Archimedes Porter, played by a scene stealing Tony Curtis (The Great Race). Archie is a former cop who now works as a private investigator. Archie wants Jane to become his partner in the business, but she is headstrong and wants to prove she can make it on her own, hence her job with the taxi company. Tarzan doesn’t make the best first impression on Archie, but after Archie finds out Tarzan rescued Jane from some of the less than desirable characters in her neighborhood, Archie starts to warm up to Tarzan and even uses his skills and expertise to help Tarzan and Jane track down Cheetah.

• Party Crashers: The clues lead the trio to the Brightmore Foundation… an organization known for its philanthropic activities and not an obvious suspect for a chimpanzee abduction. When they arrive there is a costume party is going on, which is perfect for Tarzan as he can wear his jungle attire and blend right in. Archie flashes some green and procures some costumes for him and Jane and the party crashing commences. Jane ends up catching the eye of the host of the party, Mr. Brightmore (Jan-Michael Vincent, The Mechanic) and the two end up dancing. This gives Tarzan and Archie a chance to snoop around eventually uncovering a lab where animal experiments are taking place. The good news, they rescue Cheetah and manage to escape the compound by the skin of their teeth. The bad news, Tarzan and The Porters were caught by the security cameras and it doesn’t take the not so philanthropic Brightmore long to find out who they are. Brightmore quickly proves he is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure Archie, Jane and Tarzan don’t reveal what is really going on at the Brightmore Foundation.

By the end of Tarzan in Manhattan, it became obvious that not only was this a made for TV movie it was also a pilot for a Tarzan in Manhattan series… a series that never got picked up and that was probably for the best. The novelty of Tarzan out of his element would have probably worn off after a few episodes, so a fun one off movie that could easily be on anyone’s guilty pleasure list was actually the better way to go for this unique spin on the classic Tarzan character.

Lara would eventually find himself back in the loin cloth for the short lived and more traditional Tarzan: The Epic Adventures series… a series with no direct connection to Tarzan in Manhattan.

These Bonus Bullet Points do have a direct connection to this Tarzan in Manhattan review…

• If You Ever: …wanted to see Cheetah drive a cop car, then Tarzan in Manhattan is the movie for you.
• Memorable Quote: “Why don’t you show him your family jewels?” – Jane
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Jan-Michael Vincent drink out of a shoe, then Tarzan in Manhattan is the movie for you.
• Familiar Face: Peter Sherayko played Brightmore’s cigar smoking right hand man in Tarzan in Manhattan. I recognized Sherayko as Nick Franco, the right hand man of Ed Zacharias, from Death Wish 4: The Crackdown.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Tarzan give Jane a pearl necklace, then Tarzan in Manhattan is the movie for you.
• Soundtraxx: Grace Jones is no stranger to the world of action entertainment with memorable appearances in Conan the Destroyer and A View to a Kill. Grace does not appear in Tarzan in Manhattan, but her song “Pull Up To The Bumper” is featured.