Tarzan the Mighty (original) (raw)

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1928 film

Tarzan the Mighty
Theatrical poster to Tarzan the Mighty (1928)
Directed by	Jack Nelson Ray Taylor
Written by	Ian McClosky HeathJack Nelson
Based on	_Jungle Tales of Tarzan_by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Starring	Frank Merrill Al Ferguson Natalie Kingston
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	October 29, 1928 (1928-10-29)
Running time	15 episodes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Tarzan the Mighty is a 1928 American silent action film serial directed by Jack Nelson and Ray Taylor. It was nominally based on the collection Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film is now considered to be lost.[1]

Lobby card for Chapter Nine

Frank Merrill as Tarzan. Joe Bonomo was cast as Tarzan but, while filming Perils of the Wild, fractured his left leg and severely injured his sacroiliac joint while performing a stunt.[1][2][3] Director Jack Nelson remembered Frank Merill from working with him on an earlier production, either Perils of the Jungle (1927)[2] or The Adventures of Tarzan (1921).[3] Whichever production it was, he felt that Merrill was a natural replacement and the new lead actor started filming the next morning.[2][3]
Al Ferguson as Black John, village ruler of Pirates' descendants
Natalie Kingston as Mary Trevor. There was no Jane in this production. Kingston was cast as the castaway and love interest Mary Trevor.[2][3]
Bobby Nelson as Bobby Trevor, Mary's younger brother
Lorimer Johnston as Lord Greystoke, Tarzan's uncle

After the failure of Tarzan and the Golden Lion, starring "Big Jim" Pierce, FBO did not make a sequel. Universal Pictures paid Burroughs an undisclosed sum to make a new Tarzan serial based on Jungle Tales of Tarzan. This serial was later re-titled Tarzan the Mighty.[3]

Merrill, who was the National Gymnastics champion from 1916 to 1918, came up with the vine-swinging technique. Merrill actually swung on a "vine" (a rope) with Kingston in one arm. The footage was later studied by MGM for Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and the subsequent series of Tarzan films with Johnny Weissmuller.[2][3]

Production began on April 12 and finished on October 28, 1928.[3] The serial was originally intended to be 12 chapters long but it was so successful that it was extended to 15 chapters in length.[3] Tarzan the Mighty was successful enough for a sequel, Tarzan the Tiger (1929), to be put into production with many of the cast returning (in slightly different roles in some cases).[2][3]

The Terror of Tarzan
The Love Cry
The Call of the Jungle
The Lion's Leap
Flames of Hate
The Fiery Pit
The Leopard's Lair
The Jungle Traitor
Lost in the Jungle
Jaws of Death
A Thief in the Night
The Enemy of Tarzan
Perilous Paths
Facing Death
The Reckoning

Tarzan the Mighty

Series	Tarzan (book series)
Publisher	Arthur B. Reeve
Publication date	2005
Pages	130
ISBN	978-1-4357-4971-9
Preceded by	The Dark Heart of Time (1999)
Followed by	The Adventures of Tarzan (2006)

Originally written as a 15-part serial for newspapers in 1926, it was collected and published as a released as a trade-paperback (ISBN 978-1-4357-4971-9) by ERBville Press in 2005.

Jungle King
Queen of His Kind
Black John Plots
A Pawn of Passion
Tantor Trumpets
Giant Emotions
Flaming Hate
Mock Marriage
Black John's Revenge
The Imposter
The Stolen Heritage
Treachery Higher Up
A Thief in the Night
Momentary Triumph
The Day of Reckoning

^ a b "Progressive Silent Film List: Tarzan the Mighty". silentera.com. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
^ a b c d e f Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "6. Jungle "Look Out The Elephants Are Coming!"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
^ a b c d e f g h i Essoe, Gabe (1972). Tarzan of the Movies. Citadel Press. pp. 56–61. ISBN 978-0-8065-0295-3.

Tarzan the Mighty at IMDb
Stills and lobby cards at erbzine.com