First and Only Weekly Online Fanzine Devoted to the Life and Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs Since 1996 ~ Over 15,000 Webpages in Archive

Volume 1950

Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950)

Lex Barker

The second of five Tarzan films featuring Lex Barker
Tarzan's Magic Fountain | Tarzan and the Slave Girl | Tarzan's Peril | Tarzan's Savage Fury | Tarzan and the She-Devil
Alternate Title: Tarzan and the Jungle Queen (USA)

"Tarzan avenges stolen jungle slave-brides!"

---

PLOT

---

The Lionians are a tribe dying of a mysterious disease that is killing off the female population -- and they have grown desperate.  They have begun capturing young women from surrounding tribes in order to solve their dilemma. Tarzan becomes involved when he tries to stop a raiding party from carrying off yet another victim. The Lionian Chief decides to kidnap Jane and Lola, in order to help repopulate his civilization. Tarzan must rescue them while fending off blowgun attacks from people called the Waddies who are disguised as bushes.

The a cure for the disease attacking the Lionians is discovered by a doctor, Arthur Shields, who accompanies Tarzan to the Lionian city. The "slave girl" of the title is played by Denise Darcel, a seductive nurse. Tarzan and Shields reach the city of the Lionians and find the imprisoned girls there, including Jane and the nurse, who have also been captured during their roundabout journey to the city. The king seals Tarzan and Jane in their temple as dangerous enemies to his rule. Tarzan climbs to the top of the structure, overturns the idol and escapes. Warwick, he High Priest, is being fed to the lions for daring to speak out against the King's unethical scheme but Tarzan's prowess rescues him and the king's evil advisor, Caruso, falls into the lions den. Shields provides a cure for the disease, the enslaved girls are returned to their homes and the king repents.

---

CREDITS

---

Producer: Sol Lesser
Director: Lee Sholem
Writers: Arnold Belgard ~ Hans Jacoby ~ Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)

Cast
Lex Barker ~ Tarzan
Vanessa Brown ~ Jane
Robert Alda ~ Neil
Hurd Hatfield ~ Prince of the Lionians
Arthur Shields ~ Dr. E.E. Campbell
Anthony Caruso ~ Sengo (as Tony Caruso)
Denise Darcel ~ Lola
Robert Warwick ~ High Priest

Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editing: Christian Nyby
Production Design: Harry Horner
Makeup: Gustaf Norin
Costume and Wardrobe: Frank Beetson Jr.

74 min ~ Black and White ~ Mono
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1 more

Filming Locations:
Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, California, USA
RKO Culver City Studio 40 Acres backlot

---

VANESSA BROWN (Smylla Brind) was born March 24, 1928, in Vienna, Austria. Her family fled to France in 1937 to escape Nazi persecution of Jews and she ended up in the U.S. a few years later. Her interest in a stage career was aided by her fluency in several languages (German, French, and Italian as well as English), by her Teutonic accent and by her IQ of 165. She also exceled at oil painting.
RKO Studios changed her name to Vanessa Brown and she played the role of Jane to Lex Barker's ape-man in 1950's "Tarzan and the Slave Girl."
    California location shooting for the film was done in Baldwin Park, the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, the Iverson Movie Ranch with most of the filming was done on the RKO Forty Acres backlot.
    The film marked actress Vanessa Brown's only outing as Jane. According to director Lee Sholem, producer Sol Lesser was looking to cast a new "Jane" to replace actress Brenda Joyce, who had portrayed Jane in the five previous films. Sholem brought Marilyn Monroe out to see Lesser eight times but Lesser didn't think she'd be right for the part as she was too much of a bombshell. In the end Lesser settled on Vanessa Brown.
    Brown had been a popular performer on the Quiz Kids radio show, and at age 21 already had a six-year acting career which included a number of prominent roles in important films. After her contract was dropped she took the role in RKO's Tarzan and the Slave Girl because she needed the money. She later recalled, "My intellectual friends said, 'My God, what you won't do for money.' I needed a job, I had to pay the rent." Lesser picked Brown because of her Quiz Kid background.
    Director Sholem found her pompous: There was a situation one day where she had about three words to say, and she asked, "What is the underlying meaning of this?" In a Tarzan picture [laughs]! "What is my feeling here? What is my attitude?" Oh, you never heard such shit!  Later that year, Vanessa became a Broadway star after Katharine Hepburn picked her to play Celia in As You Like It.

---

Edgar Rice Burroughs made  his last public appearance on the set of this movie.

Copyright ERB, Inc. - Not for download Vern Coriell ~ Mike Pierce ~ Ed Burroughs ~ Lex Barker

Copyright ERB, Inc. - Not for download Jane Ralston ~ Joan Burroughs ~ ERB ~ Lex Barker

---

TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN ERBzine 0629 (1949 ~ 73m ~ RKO) LOCATIONS: CA: RKO Culver City 40 Acres backlot CAST: Lex Barker ~ Brenda Joyce ~ Elmo Lincoln cameo LOBBY DISPLAY: Posters ~ Lobby Cards ~ Stills

TARZAN'S PERIL ERBzine 1951 (1951 ~ 79m ~ RKO) LOCATIONS: CA: Arboretum ~ Iverson Movie Ranch ~  RKO Culver City Studio 40 Acres backlot CAST: Lex Barker ~ Virginia Houston LOBBY DISPLAY 1 LOBBY DISPLAY 2

TARZAN'S SAVAGE FURY  ERBzine 0580 (1952 ~ 80m ~ RKO) LOCATIONS:  CA: Iverson Movie Ranch ~ RKO Culver City Studio 40 Acres backlot CAST: Lex Barker ~ Dorothy Hart ERBzine 0580 Tarzan's Savage Fury I: 3D & Trivia ERBzine 0581 Tarzan's Savage Fury II: Barker Bio - 3D cards ERBzine 0582 Tarzan's Savage Fury III:  Stills - 3D ERBzine 0583 Savage Fury IV - 3D - Comics - Links LOBBY DISPLAY

TARZAN AND THE SHE-DEVIL ERBzine 1952 (1953 ~ 76m ~ RKO) LOCATIONS: RKO Culver City Studio 40 Acres backlot CAST: Lex Barker ~ Joyce Mackenzie LOBBY DISPLAY

Tarzan.com	tarzana.ca	DantonBurroughs.com	Tarzan.org
BurroughsBibliophiles.com	JohnColemanBurroughs.com	Tarzan.com/tarzine	JohnCarterOfMars.ca
www.erbzine.com/edgarriceburroughs	Weekly Webzine	Weekly Webzine	Pellucidar.org