The New Adventures of Tarzan [Serial] (1935)

The New Adventures of Tarzan, both the 12 chapter serial and the two 7 reel feature versions, came complete with a disclaimer begging the audience's indulgence with the sub-par sound which, the moviemakers explained, was due to arduous location filming in Guatemala. In reality, most of the Guatemalan footage had no sound at all and almost all the dialogue had to be dubbed for the feature versions. The New Adventures of Tarzan, truth be told, should have apologized for the terrible acting as well. Herman Brix, the future Bruce Bennett, makes a fine looking Tarzan as far as it goes but the rest of the performers seem to have been collected among the denizens of Hollywood's outer fringes -- including executive producer Ashton Dearholt, a former silent screen actor who took over the role of boss villain when the original choice, Don Castello, died early on in the proceedings. Why Dearholt left Castello's name in the credits instead of substituting his own remains a mystery. On a more positive note, there are several good actions sequences (actually the original cliffhangers) and a scene where ingénue Dale Walsh finds herself dangling upside down above a pit filled with angry leopards is almost frighteningly realistic. Although the original opening chapter, which had run for 42 minutes, was retained in its entirety the added footage gives the feature versions of The New Adventures of Tarzan the choppy impression well-known from other such serial compilations. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide