Tarzan and the Leopard Woman

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Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman movie poster
Directed by	Kurt Neumann
Produced by	Sol Lesser
Written by	Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters) Carroll Young
Starring	Johnny Weissmuller Brenda Joyce Johnny Sheffield Acquanetta
Music by	Paul Sawtell
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Release date(s)	January 1946 (U.S. release)
Running time	72 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman was a 1946 action film based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Directed by Kurt Neumann, the premise of the movie is Tarzan encounters a tribe of leopard-worshippers.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Travellers near Zambezi were being killed, apparently by leopards. The commissioner (played by Dennis Hoey) asked Tarzan to look into the matter. Tarzan immediately doubted that leopards were the problem. At the same time, Tarzan, Jane, and Boy had taken in Kimba, a boy who claimed to have become lost in the jungle. Kimba (played by Tommy Cook) was the brother of Queen Lea, leader of a leopard cult. She had dispatched him to spy on Tarzan. Queen Lea was also conspiring with Ameer Lazar (played by Edgar Barrier), a Western-educated doctor who resented the West's domination of the area.

Kimba had a goal of his own: to take the heart of Jane (played by Brenda Joyce) a deed that would make him a warrior in the eyes of the cult. The Leopard Men wore leopard skins that formed a cowl and cape, with iron claws attached to the back of each hand. Queen Lea (played by Acquanetta) wore a headband, wrist bands, ankle bands, halter top and miniskirt made of leopard skin. As "Variety" put it: "She displays plenty of what it takes to stir male interest and handles her acting chores adequately." She worked her followers into a frenzy in an underground chamber, "These skins are your disguise. These claws are your weapons. Go not as men, but as leopards. Go swiftly, silently."

They attacked a caravan bringing four teachers (played by Iris Flores, Lillian Molieri (Miss Central America of 1945), Helen Gerald and Kay Solinas) and brought the maidens back for sacrifice. They also captured Tarzan, Jane, and Boy. Tarzan brought down the roof of the cavern, destroying the cult and rescuing his friends.

The plot is summed up by these lines spoken by Tarzan (about Cheta):

"If an animal can act like a man, why not a man like an animal?"