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Volume 2151

TARZAN IN MANHATTAN
1989 TV Movie

Photo by Jim Van Hise
Danton Burroughs and Joe Lara 1996

    Tarzan uncovers an insidious plot by a covetous scientist to enhance the natural IQ of African monkeys. To prevent his beloved Cheetah from falling into the hands of vivisectionists, the Jungle Lord heads for New York, where he meets his Jane (Kim Crosby) -- a wisecracking cabbie. Tony Curtis plays Janes father, an ex-cop private eye, barely justifying his "special guest star" credit. Tarzan in Manhattan was the pilot for a TV series.
    Nothing in the world would make Tarzan, the mighty defender of the jungle, leave his beloved forest. However, when unscrupulous, violent hunters set foot on his virgin realm, killing his adoptive ape mother, Kala, and kidnapping his simian companion, Cheetah, Tarzan has no other choice but to seek vengeance in an entirely different jungle: the urban labyrinth of bustling New York City. Before long, with the help of the beautiful cab driver, Jane Porter, and her private eye father, Archimedes, Tarzan embarks on a challenging quest to find justice, even if he comes face-to-face with villainous B. B. Brightmore and the shady operations of the above-suspicion Brightmore Foundation. Can Tarzan, the great, survive the dangers of modern Manhattan?

CREDITS
Writers: Edgar Rice Burroughs (stories) ~ Anna Sandor ~ William Gough
Directeor: Michael Schultz
Producers: Charles Hairston ~ Max A. Keller ~ Micheline H. Keller  ~ Gina Scheerer
Keller Entertainment Group

Cast
Joe Lara: Tarzan
Kim Crosby: Jane Porter
James Medina: Jimmy Medina Taggert
Jan-Michael Vincent: Brightmore
Joe Seneca: Joseph
Tony Curtis: Archimedes Porter

FILMING LOCATIONS
The Burbank Studios, Burbank, California, USA (studio editing)
Hawaii, USA
New York City, New York, USA

TRIVIA
Joe Lara would later audition as a TV Tarzan in Tarzan (1991) which he lost to Wolf Larson, but star as Tarzan in the unrelated series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures (1996).
Jan-Michael Vincent also played a Tarzan-type character named Nanu in the Disney movie The World's Greatest Athlete (1973).
Tony Curtis makes his role amusingly funny by constantly over acting. He plays Archimedes Porter, the ex-cop-father of Jane, who occasionally masquerades as a main part, and adds a touch of (intended) humour to the film.

Credits Reference: IMDB

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