The Son of Tarzan (film)

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The Son of Tarzan (1920) is a 15 chapter movie serial which focuses on the coming of age of Jack Clayton, also known as Korak, the son of Tarzan and Jane. The serial was produced by David P. Howells, written by Roy Somerville (based on the 1915 novel of the same name by Edgar Rice Burroughs), and directed by Arthur J. Flaven and Harry Revier. The film was released starting in the summer of 1920, with the final chapter released in January 1921. [1]

[edit] Plot

Tarzan and Jane have left Africa, married and settled in London. Their pre-teen son, Jack, dreams of jungle adventures like his father's, but is discouraged by his parents. He sneaks away to see a trained ape called Ajax (in reality, Akut, an old friend from Tarzan's youth). The ape's trainer is really Ivan Paulovich, an old enemy of Tarzan's, who is looking for a way to enact vengeance. He kidnaps Jack and takes him to Africa.

Jack escapes with Akut, and survives on his own in the wild much like his father before him. He is given the Ape name Korak, which means "Killer" in their language. Korak rescues Meriem, a young French girl held captive by Arab slave traders, and they grow to adulthood in the jungle. Paulovich hopes to receive a ransom from her wealthy parents for her return as well, and attempts to capture both of them.

Eventually Paulovich lures Jane to Africa in order to extort a ransom, but Tarzan soon follows. Tarzan and Jane, living at their African estate, find Meriem and informally adopt her. They discover her parentage and send for her father. The film climaxes with a battle pitting Korak against Paulovich, his henchmen and the slave traders. An elephant rescues Korak, who is bound to a stake, and he and Meriem are reunited with their parents, and all sail for England. [2]

[edit] Cast

• Kamuela C. Searle as Korak/Jack Clayton, the son of Tarzan (adult)
• Manilla Martan as Meriem, Korak's companion and eventual wife (adult)
• P. Dempsey Tabler as Tarzan
• Karla Schramm as Jane
• Gordon Griffith as Korak/Jack Clayton (youth)
• Mae Giraci as Meriem (girl)
• Eugene Burr as Ivan Paulovich, a villain seeking revenge on Tarzan

[edit] Chapters

• 1. The Call of the Jungle
• 2. Out of the Lion's Jaws
• 3. Girl of the Jungle
• 4. The Sheik's Revenge
• 5. The Pirate's Prey
• 6. The Killer's Mate
• 7. The Quest of the Killer
• 8. The Coming of Tarzan
• 9. The Kiss of the Beast
• 10. Tarzan Takes the Trail
• 11. Ashes of Love
• 12. Meriem's Ride in the Night
• 13. Double Crossed
• 14. Blazing Hearts
• 15. An Amazing Denouement

[edit] Production Notes

Cowboy actor Jack Hoxie was originally cast as Korak, but was dismissed a month before filming began. The Hawaiian-born Searle, upon landing the role, spent a month in the desert "hardening" himself.

The film starred two Tarzan film veterans. Gordon Griffith had earlier portrayed Tarzan as a youth in 1918's Tarzan of the Apes, and Karla Schramm had just finished portraying Jane in The Revenge of Tarzan (opposite Gene Pollar).

The serial was filmed in the San Bernardino Mountains, the river bottom at Pico Riviera (in what is now the Woodland Park area), along the coasts of Los Angeles (Corona del Mar) and San Francisco.

As a pre Hays Code production, the film shows Manilla Martan bathing nude, and several shots show her breasts pop out of her skimpy costume during fight and chase scenes.

One long-held urban legend states that Searle died of injuries sustained when the elephant, carrying him bound to a large wooden stake, slammed him to the ground, and that the scene was left in the film, attracting morbidly curious film-goers. A review of the film actually reveals that he was dropped rather abruptly, but not "slammed." Searle's own brother later stated that though Searle was hurt enough that a double did stand in for him in a few final long shots, he survived the mishap, only to die of cancer in 1924. [3] [4]

[edit] References

Essoe, Gabe. Tarzan of The Movies, 1968, published by The Citadel Press.