Main Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, Linda Christian, John Laurenz, George Zucco, Fernando Wagner
Release Year: 1948
Country: US
Run Time: 68 minutes
Plot
The "mermaids" are really tribal pearl divers in this diverting Tarzan adventure. Their livelihood is threatened by an evil white trader (Fernando Wagner), who sets himself up as a "god." With the help of lovely diver Linda Christian (later Mrs. Tyrone Power), Tarzan defeats the wicked despot, but not before several underwater battles, not the least of which involves an octopus. If the jungle settings of Tarzan and the Mermaids don't look particularly African, that's because the film was shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico. Mermaids represents the final appearance of Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The film, shot in Mexico, is known for its scenery, its coastal locales and a large degree of group singing, and has often been derided by critics and Burroughs fans. It is considered the worst Tarzan film Johnny Weissmuller is in by many. One comic character in the movie, a Latin singer named Benji (John Laurenz), has often been criticized as silly and a bad singer. Like most of the Tarzan films of the 1940s, this one has no blacks in the cast, and the natives are played by people who appear to be Latin or Polynesian.
