Main Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Ian Hunter, Laraine Day, Henry Stephenson
Release Year: 1939
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Tarzan Finds a Son was to have been Maureen O'Sullivan's final Tarzan film, with Jane getting killed in the final reel. But Edgar Rice Burroughs refused to allow MGM to kill his character, so MGM had to increase her salary a substantial amount to do a few more Tarzan adventures. Tarzan Finds a Son was also the first MGM Tarzan film in three years and it introduced a new character --Boy (Johnny Sheffield). Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) finds Boy as an infant in a plane-wreck deep in the heart of the African jungle. He takes the baby to his jungle home where he and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) raise him as their own son for five years. When Boy's relatives find out that he is alive, they are less than happy, since he stands to receive a large inheritance. An evil African tribe then captures Tarzan and Jane and it is left to Boy to try to rescue them. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Richard Thorpe - Director, Gene Ruggiero - Editor, Frank Sullivan - Editor, Leonard Smith - Cinematographer, Sam Zimbalist - Producer, Cyril Hume - Screenwriter
A plane flying to Cape Town carrying a young couple and their baby, crashes in the jungle. Everyone on the plane dies, except for the baby who is rescued by Cheeta, Tarzan's chimpanzee. Tarzan and Jane adopt the child and name him "Boy". Five years later, a search party comes looking for Boy, because he is the heir to a fortune worth millions. Jane tries to help the search party and Boy go back to civilization, against Tarzan's wishes.
Background
The three year gap between this and the previous Tarzan film was due to the fact that MGM had originally let the film rights elapse after Tarzan Escapes feeling there was little more mileage in the series. Independent producer Sol Lesser obtained the rights to make five Tarzan movies, but the first of these, Tarzan's Revenge proved a flop. The blame was placed on audiences unwilling to accept new boy Glen Morris in the role made famous by Johnny Weissmuller (Lesser had been unable to obtain Weissmuller's services as he remained under contract at MGM). Ironically, this opened MGM's eyes to the continuing power of Weissmuller as Tarzan and they bought out Lesser's interest in the next three films, and restarted their series.
The film was originally to be called Tarzan in Exile. As it featured the jungle couple acquiring an infant, it was changed to Tarzan FINDS a Son to appease morality groups, as Tarzan and Jane were not actually married in the films. This was intended to be Maureen O'Sullivan's last appearance as Jane in the series, with her character being killed off by a spear wound. Maureen O'Sullivan was sick and fed up with the whole Jane role, and Boy was brought in originally to be a Jane substitute. The preview reaction to her death scene proved too negative and it was changed at the last minute. Johnny Sheffield who played Boy, claims that Weissmuller handpicked him himself and taught him to swim as well.
Since Tarzan and Jane had no son in 1936 (the date of their previous film) and since the bulk of this plot occurs five years after Boy is found, the date for this film is either 1941 or 1944. Both of these dates conflict with incidents in subsequent films that occurred during World War II. Boy in this film was the heir to the Greystoke fortune. In the original Burroughs books Tarzan himself was Lord Greystoke.
Rough Ridin' (with John P. McCarthy) •Rarin' to Go •Battling Buddy •Fast and Fearless •Hard Hittin' Hamilton •Rip Roarin' Roberts •Bringin' Home the Bacon •Thundering Romance •Gold and Grit •Full Speed •Fast Fightin' •On the Go •Double Action Daniels •Quicker 'n Lightnin' •Tearin' Loose •The Desert Demon •Saddle Cyclone •Galloping On •A Streak of Luck •The Last Card •The Roaring Rider •Trumpin' Trouble •The Fighting Cheat •Coming an' Going •The Twin Triggers •Deuce High •Easy Going •Rawhide •Speedy Spurs •Double Daring •The Dangerous Dub •Twisted Triggers •The Bonanza Buckaroo •College Days •Josselyn's Wife •The Bandit Buster •The First Night •The Cyclone Cowboy •Between Dangers •The Galloping Gobs •Tearin' Into Trouble •The Ridin' Rowdy •The Meddlin' Stranger •Pals in Peril •Skedaddle Gold •White Pebbles •The Interferin' Gent •The Soda Water Cowboy •Ride 'em High •The Obligin' Buckaroo •Roarin' Broncs •The Desert of the Lost •The Ballyhoo Buster •Desperate Courage •The Cowboy Cavalier •The Valley of Hunted Men •Saddle Mates •Flyin' Buckaroo •The Bachelor Girl •Border Romance
1930s
The Dude Wrangler •Wings of Adventures •The Thoroughbred •Under Montana Skies •The Utah Kid •The Lawless Woman •The Sky Spider •The Lady from Nowhere •Wild Horse •Grief Street •Neck and Neck •Forgotten Women •The Devil Plays •Cross Examination •Murder at Dawn •Probation •Escapade •The Midnight Lady •Forbidden Company •Beauty Parlor •Thrill of Youth •The King Murder •Slightly Married •Women Won't Tell •Secrets of Wu Sin •Forgotten •Love Is Dangerous •I Have Lived •Strange People •Notorious But Nice •A Man of Sentiment •Murder on the Campus •Rainbow Over Broadway •The Quitter •Stolen Sweets •City Park •Green Eyes •Cheating Cheaters •Secret of the Chateau •Strange Wives •Last of the Pagans •The Voice of Bugle Ann •Tarzan Escapes •Dangerous Number •Night Must Fall •Double Wedding •Man-Proof •Love Is a Headache •The First Hundred Years •The Toy Wife •The Crowd Roars •Three Loves Has Nancy •The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn •Tarzan Finds a Son!
