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Tarzan's Secret Treasure
1941 ~ (01h:21m:08s)
Review of the MGM DVD Version from the Digitally Obsessed Site  by Nate Myers

Boy's struck gold! That little rascal has found plenty of gold nuggets just lying around in the pond that he has been swimming in all his life. I guess the question then is, why didn't Jane every notice any of these golden nuggets? No matter, it's not important and any thinking that occurs during Tarzan's Secret Adventure will only hurt the viewing experience.

The lure of gold is irresistible to Boy, who dreams of buying an airplane (though how he would be able to comprehend such a thing is beyond...Wait! No thinking, remember?). While Boy dreams of gold, there is a group of scientific explorers travelling through the area, under the direction of Professor Elliott (Reginald Owen). Unlike the previous explorers that have roamed into Tarzan's neck of the woods, these guys are on the level. They even save Boy from certain death when yet another savage tribe captures him. And the lovable O'Doul, played by the wonderful character actor Barry Fitzgerald (Going My Way), introduces Tarzan to whiskey. Say, where's Jane in all of this? Well, unfortunately, the emphasis of this movie does not involve Jane anywhere near enough. There was a time when Jane was the true star of these movies, now the focus is on the action sequences.

Just as the audience begins to think that this group of explores will not present a problem for Tarzan and his family, two of the men, Vandermeer (Philip Dunn) and Medford (Tom Conway), learn about the gold and become greedy. Remember, don't start thinking. Just because there is potential that the script will make a good point about the danger of money corrupting individuals doesn't mean that you should start expecting a theme to develop. Soon Vandermeer and Medford take over the expedition and threaten to kill Boy and Jane unless Tarzan shows them where all of the gold is. Thankfully, Tarzan has the help of Cheeta and O'Doul (you do know that Irishmen are great in the deep jungles of Africa, right?) and they save the day in an incredible river chase that shows off Weissmuller's Olympic stroke with some great editing and superb use of sound to create suspense.

Tarzan's Secret Treasure does present a problem for the viewer, however. Despite a great climax and Fitzgerald's hilarious performance, there's nothing new. Admittedly, the fifth installment in a series tends to be less adventurous, but does it have to follow the same formula as all of its predecessors? The director is, once again, Richard Thorpe, and his lack of originality and ideas for what to do with the character and legend of Tarzan are now beginning to strain on the entertainment factor that has made the Tarzan movies so enjoyable. Perhaps it's time that Hollywood leaves Tarzan and company alone.