Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

(On Cable TV, January 2021) Considering the familiarity, the rough technical qualities and the incredible racism of the 1930s Tarzan movies, it can be hard to find reasons why anyone not writing a thesis would want to watch them now. Tarzan the Ape Man as an example of the form and for Johnny Weissmuller, maybe. But surprisingly enough, Tarzan and his Mate is more interesting than its predecessor. This time around, European explorers come to Africa to find not just Tarzan, but Maureen O’Sullivan’s Jane Parker as well—and she has her own ululating scream! Not only that, but the Pre-Code nature of the film means that she wears an unusually skimpy outfit while affecting the refined manners of an English lady—all of which led to considerable controversy at a time where censorship was coming for the movies. Since the sequel has a bigger budget than the original, special effects are a little better this time around, and we still get Weissmuller (plus O’Sullivan) parading around convincingly as masters of the jungle. All in all, not a bad follow-up—and more interesting than the original, considering that the original was redone many times, but not its sequel.