Tarzan Escapes (1936) Review - That Elephant Elevator is Amazing

If you have ninety minutes to spare and love old-school jungle adventures with absurdly complex treehouses, Tarzan Escapes is absolutely worth your time. Anyone who loves classic Hollywood escapism and goofy animal sidekicks will have a blast, but if you can't stomach 1930s colonial attitudes or obvious studio-backlot "jungles," you should probably skip this one. 🌴

The plot is basically about Jane's annoying cousins coming from England to drag her back to civilization so she can claim an inheritance. And of course, theres a shifty safari guide who wants to put Tarzan in a cage and sell tickets.

It’s a pretty standard setup, but what really sticks out is the legendary Tarzan treehouse. This thing is like a luxury apartment built into the branches, complete with an elevator powered by a baby elephant. 🐘

I spent half the movie just staring at the background details of their home. They have a water system made of bamboo pipes and a kitchen with leaf plates.

It’s incredibly cozy. Honestly, it makes you want to pack up and move to the jungle, minus the giant crocodiles.

Speaking of the animals, Cheetah the chimpanzee steals almost every scene. There’s a bit where she tries to mimic Jane putting on makeup, and it goes on for *way* too long but I couldn't look away.

Some people might find the animal antics annoying, but I found it charming in a very old-fashioned way. The chimps actually seem like they are having more fun than the human actors.

Johnny Weissmuller is great as Tarzan, even if his dialogue consists mostly of nouns and grunts. He has this physical presence that makes you believe he really could wrestle a lion.

Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane is the real heart of the movie though. She is so incredibly charming, and her chemistry with Weissmuller is surprisingly sweet and genuine.

There is this weirdly dark sequence in the middle where they get trapped in a swamp. The fog is super thick and it suddenly feels like a horror movie.

It actually reminded me a bit of the creepy atmosphere in Der Hund von Baskerville. The shift in tone is really jarring but I kind of loved it.

Then we get back to the goofy action. The climax involves a giant battle with a hostile tribe and a bunch of very angry elephants.

The special effects are... well, they are from 1936. You can clearly see the projection screen behind the actors during the animal chase scenes.

And the "hostile natives" are played by extras in very obvious makeup. It is definitely a product of its time, for better or worse.

But there is a sincerity to it that modern green-screen blockbusters completely lack. The filmmakers were clearly trying to give the audience a massive spectacle.

Also, there’s a funny moment where a guy gets eaten by a crocodile, and the edit is so abrupt it’s hilarious. One second he’s splashing, the next he’s just *gone*.

It’s those little rough edges that make these old movies so fun to watch. They aren't polished to death by focus groups.

The Quirky Details I Wrote Down

• The elephant-powered elevator is the greatest home improvement idea of the 1930s.
• Tarzan's yell sounds a bit different in this one, like he had a slight cold during recording. 🗣️
• The villains are so cartoonishly evil they might as well be twirling their mustaches.
• Jane's jungle outfit is incredibly fashionable and looks suspiciously clean at all times.

If you want a deep, intellectual cinematic experience, go watch something else. But if you want to see a man in a loincloth ride an elephant and fight bad guys, this is the good stuff.