My wonderful wife surprised me today with an early birthday present of the
Lex Barker Tarzan Collection from Warner Archive. Barker was
Johnny Weismuller's direct successor at RKO for producer
Sol Lesser, and the films themselves are very much in the mold of the producer's earlier RKO entries. Still, the classically handsome, intelligent-looking Barker makes a very fine ape-man, and the movies continue to be great, old-fashioned, Saturday matinee material.
My
favorite Tarzan films still tend to be the ones produced by
Sy Weintraub in the late 50s/60s (specifically
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure, Tarzan the Magnificent, Tarzan And The Valley Of Gold), but these are a lot of fun, too, and I'm thrilled to finally have them in my library.
Outstanding!
ReplyDeleteI've been watching Tarzan movies this summer and just got into the RKO run with Johnny Weissmuller. I ordered these Lex Barker movies a month or so ago and look forward to viewing them when the time comes.
I've got the great Gordon Scott ones in the wings too. I haven't been able to afford the later ones yet, and I've never seen the Jock Mahoney or Mike Henry movies since I was a kid. Maybe some day.
For the record I think Herman Brix was the best looking Tarzan, but sadly he didn't get a chance more than once to play him.
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