The creators of Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller were trying to deliver something different to the audience, as the series had been taken over by RKO Pictures. The results of such efforts were mixed, at least judging by Tarzan and the Amazons, the 1945 film directed by Kurt Neumann and the ninth instalment of the series.
The plot begins when Tarzan (played by Weissmuller) and his adopted son, Boy (played by Johnny Sheffield), accompanied by the chimpanzee Cheeta, leave their jungle abode for the river trading post to greet Tarzan’s companion Jane Parker (played by Brenda Joyce), who is returning from London. On their way, Tarzan rescues Athena (played by Shirley O’Hara), a young woman who foolishly left Palmyria, the lost city of Amazon women ruled by an old and wise Queen (played by Maria Ouspenskaya). The city tries very hard to protect itself from the outside world, so any foreign intruder, apart from Tarzan, is condemned to death. Cheeta, however, steals one of the women’s gold bracelets, which would stir the imagination of members of a scientific expedition led by Sir Guy Henderson (played by Henry Stephenson), who arrived in the area together with Jane. Although Tarzan refuses to help them find the mythical Amazon city, Boy, who had found the secret route to Palmyria himself, thinks differently. The expedition reaches the city but is captured by Amazon warriors. A botched escape attempt and the greed of the expedition members would lead to violence and put Boy’s life in danger, forcing Tarzan to come to the rescue.
The film series, known for straying from its literary source in the first instalments produced in the 1930s by MGM, had, ironically, begun to use more motifs from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels, most notably exotic lost cities and civilisations, including Amazon women. Tarzan and the Amazons put this motif to good use and, despite a low budget, its matte paintings and decent studio sets provided an “otherworldly” setting which was quite impressive for 1940s Hollywood standards. However, the most noticeable change was the return of the iconic character of Jane, absent in the previous two films because Maureen O’Sullivan had put her acting career on hiatus to dedicate herself to her family. She had thought about returning for this film only to ultimately refuse, forcing producer Sol Lesser to hire former model Brenda Joyce as a replacement. While Joyce looks attractive, her blonde hair and American accent make her a poor substitute for the iconic actress, and the lack of proper chemistry with Weissmuller doesn’t help.
The rest of the cast fares much better, including British character actor Henry Stephenson, who plays a well-meaning expedition leader who would get killed by his villainous subordinate (here played by Barton MacLane), a role very similar to the one he played in Tarzan Finds a Son! six years earlier. The most impressive member of the cast is Maria Ouspenskaya, grand dame of Russian and American theatre and a pupil of Konstantin Stanislavsky, whose mere presence gives an aura of gravitas and epic dimension to what would otherwise be a standard escapist adventure story.
The main problem of the film is, however, the producers’ desire to have the film as short as possible, which makes the ending a little abrupt. The general impression is improved by a humorous epilogue in which Cheeta again proves to be good comic relief.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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