Tarzan Swings Again in Louisiana
New film documents Louisiana’s first blockbuster production, 1918’s
“Tarzan of the Apes.”
January 18, 2012 ~ Bossier City, LA- Believe it or not, Tarzan
turns 100 years old this year.
In August of 1917 an eclectic band of filmmakers, actors and circus acrobats
fought malaria, unbearable heat and the swamp of the Louisiana Atchafalaya
River Basin to bring to the silver screen the best-selling book “Tarzan
of the Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was an instant hit with
audiences, considered one of the top six motion pictures of the silent
era, and one of the first 10 films to earn over one million dollars at
the box office. The film was shot in Morgan City, Louisiana.
The character of Tarzan turns 100 years old this year. In celebration
of that milestone, Bossier City’s Al Bohl and his daughter, filmmaker
Allison Bohl now of Lafayette have teamed up to produce a feature-length
documentary entitled, “Tarzan: Lord of the Louisiana Jungle.”
“My interest was first peaked when I was told many years ago that after
making the movie the monkeys and apes refused to get back in the cages,
so they left them,” said Bohl. “After research, I found out that
the making of the film was as amazing as the movie itself.”
Over a period of four years, Al and his daughter combed through hundreds
of photos and documents and videotaped up to seventy hours of interviews
and locations. They interviewed scholars, authors, historians, fans,
experts in merchandise, actors, an expert in primates, the curator of the
Burroughs’ collection and the family of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Their
travels in Louisiana included Morgan City, New Orleans, Patterson and Baton
Rouge. They also gathered interviews in Los Angeles and Tarzana,
California. More footage was taped in Ohio, Kentucky and Chicago,
Illinois.
Bohl said, “Besides the ape question, our documentary investigates many
things such as the claims of the killing of a lion on screen, the use of
African Americans as natives and the life of Edgar Rice Burroughs who many
feel is the father or grandfather of American science fiction.”
In addition, the Bohls re-edited the original “Tarzan of the Apes” silent
film and added an entirely new orchestral musical score written by Kermit
Poling of Shreveport.
The documentary and new version of the silent Tarzan film will be premiered
on April 13 and 14, 2012 in Morgan City during the first Tarzan Festival
in the character’s history. For more information on the festival
contact: www.cajuncoast.com.
The Louisiana State Museum in Patterson, LA opens a year-long exhibition
entitled “Tarzan: Lord of the Louisiana Jungle.” It features a wide variety
of Tarzan memorabilia from the last one hundred years. “Tarzan continues
to be famous on an international scale,” said Bohl, “I believe people will
be absolutely amazed by the very large display of Tarzan books and merchandise
in this exhibition.” One item of note is an actual painting done
by the chimpanzee that died recently who was believed to be the oldest
living “Cheetah” from the Tarzan movies. For more information about the
exhibition contact:: www.louisianatravel.com/louisiana-state-museum-patterson.
NOTE TO MEDIA: High quality, print resolution images of the original
“Tarzan of the Apes” motion picture and the making of the documentary may
be requested by contacting Al Bohl at al@albohl.com
or (318) 426-8530. Al and Allison Bohl are available for interviews.
The documentary trailer is available on YouTube.com or www.albohl.com
Much more info starting at ERBzine 3110
www.erbzine.com/mag31/3110.html
We're delighted
to have a Burroughs scholar on hand to introduce the film!
