The person I liked best in the vintage Tarzan pictures, was not Tarzan -- or even Cheeta -- but Jane -- and most especially when she was played by Maureen O'Sullivan or Brenda Joyce. Even when impersonated by Johnny Weissmuller, the phlegmatic Tarzan did not interest me greatly, so I'm afraid I'm not an ardent fan of Mike Henry either. This is the last and best of Henry's three Tarzan entries. (The others, "Tarzan and the Valley of Gold" and "Tarzan and the Great River" were both directed by Robert Day). Obviously inspired by Weissmuller's "Tarzan Finds a Son", this entry benefits from its action-packed story and its exotic Brazilian locations. The actors are competent and it's exciting to see both Mike Henry and young Steve Bond actually do most of their own stuntwork, The one thing I didn't like was that the director was over-inclined to use TV-style close-ups, although oddly countering this approach, he often thrillingly uses the anamorphic dimensions of the Panavision screen most effectively.

Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968) ** (out of 4) A geologist and his newborn son go into the jungle and come up missing. Years later evidence turns up that the boy, now age 6, survived and is living in a dangerous territory so Tarzan (Mike Henry) is asked to go in and get him. While this is going on a couple brothers (Rafer and Edward Johnson) are battling to take over their tribe but one of them has a crooked heart. Many people consider this film to be the final entry in the long-running series that started back at MGM with TARZAN, THE APE MAN. This final entry certainly isn't very memorable but there are a couple interesting aspects that will make fans of the series wan to check out. What we've basically got is a remake of TARZAN FINDS A SON, which was one of the better MGM entries. This version here has Tarzan and the boy becoming friends while a wide range of events are going on around them. I can't say I bought into their relationship as it was pretty hard to care about either of them. Tarzan, as in the previous two entries, isn't all that entertaining and the boy himself is someone we never really get to know. It also doesn't help that Henry and the boy (Steve Bond) have zero chemistry together. Of course, Henry was so bland in the part of Tarzan perhaps they did have something going but it just didn't come across on the screen. Once again Henry just doesn't work as Tarzan as he doesn't bring any life, passion or energy to the role. Apparently he was somewhat sick at the time this film shot so perhaps this has something to do with it. His three stints as Tarzan were all filmed together so he might have just really given up before anything started. Bond doesn't get too much to do as the boy either. The Johnson clan are the most interesting aspects in the film as Rafer was a Decathalon champion and it should come as no shock that the producers tried to exploit this by throwing in a rather long sequence where the two brothers do battle to see which one is the strongest and will get to lead their clan. The Brazil footage (filling in for Africa) looks very good and the cinematography is another major plus. Overall this is a decent entry in the series but there's still not enough here to make it worth viewing unless, like me, you want to see all of the original movies.

TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE BOY (Paramount, 1968), directed by Robert Gordon, may not be the best nor the worst in this long running series based on the Edgar Rice Burrough's created character, but no doubt one of the weakest. Though the premise is basically a good one, using two subplots for the price of one, this Tarzan adventure stands apart for having more plot elements than unrelated segments leading to high adventure.Starting off traditionally in 1960s style where prologue precedes opening credits, the initial three minutes sets upon a famed geologist named Carl Brunik, who, after stumbling upon mineral deposits, packs up his supplies into his canoe where his seven-year-old son, Erik, and pet baby leopard are seen sleeping under a blanket. While heading down the rapids, Brunik loses control of the canoe that flips over. Father drowns while boy and leopard mysteriously disappear from view. After the slow motion title credits superimposing over the image of Tarzan running about or swinging on the vine and other scenes to take place for the upcoming 99 minutes, the plot resumes, moving forward six years. Myrna Claudel (Aliza Gur), a photographic journalist, and Ken Matson (Ron Gans), her associate, parachute from a private airplane through the trees of the African jungle. They are soon met by Tarzan (Mike Henry), and his pet chimpanzee, Cheta. Myrna asks for the Lord of the Jungle to guide them through Zanuga territory in hope of finding a missing boy. Based on a photo they've acquired taken by a oil company stationed there, they've come to the conclusion the son of the late geologist is very much alive, having miraculously survived the jungle with a leopard as his only companion. Naturally, Tarzan takes to the assignment. Second portion of the story involves brother against brother competing for leadership of the Zagunda tribe. Buhara (Edward Johnson), friend of Tarzan, is kept from tribal leadership by being abducted, left to die by his evil brother Nagambi (Rafer Johnson), while tied to the ground onto four extended pillars in the view of hungry lions at a distance. After Tarzan finds jungle boy (Steven Bond), known to many as Jukaro, "boy of the trees," Myrna and Ken are captured and become hostages to be sacrificed under Nagambi's rule.While the basic element is on the search of a missing boy, the second premise lifted from the Bible's "Cain and Abel" is actually better. Steve Bond, makes an agreeable jungle boy. Appearing 27 minutes from the start of the movie, he has limited scenes to himself, one worthy of mention is his method of hunting and survival. Boy doesn't meet Tarzan until the film is nearly over. Almost instantly, Tarzan and Erik form a certain bonding in the father and son mode, even taking time out for fun and games by having boy dive into the river from Tarzan's shoulders. Leisurely paced to a degree, TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE BOY greatly benefits from rich color photography from Panavision, as well as fine scenery and authentic jungle locales of Brazil in place rather than its true setting of Africa.While previous Tarzan actors were far from great actors, Henry, the latest and most muscular ape man since Gordon Scott a decade earlier, enacts his role in calm, low-key style, often speaking with little expression. Categorized as bad acting, Henry, in his third and final attempt in the role for which he is most identified, gives some impression of being bored in some spots. With the writers bringing Tarzan more down to earth and being more relevant towards the sixties, this latest Tarzan is definitely not the same character as presented in decades past. Tarzan's background very much parallels that to the jungle boy. A prime example of this is found during one of their one-on-one talks. Tarzan briefly mentions as being an orphan of the jungle himself, taken to civilization, and making his decision of returning to the Africa after reaching manhood. Though there's not a mention of he being Lord Greystoke as depicted in the Tarzan stories, there's a clue of he being educated in city schools before resuming his lifestyle of a jungle man.Having come a long way since the titled character's introduction in TARZAN OF THE APES (1918) featuring Elmo Lincoln, and dozens more Tarzan's since then, TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE BOY marks the end of the trail. Frequently shown in many commercial TV stations on "Tarzan Theater" since the 1970s, TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE BOY did play part of the cable TV generation on American Movie Classics (1997-2000) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: November 12, 2011). Though this closed the annual or biannual theatrical release of Tarzan adventures since the 1940s, Tarzan was then on call for a TV series (1966-1969) starring Ron Ely for NBC that certainly kept the legend alive regardless of which actor plays him. (** loin-cloths)

This is the movie with Steve Bond's (soap opera actor of "General Hospital" and "Santa Barbara") first performance. He plays Erik, a boy who was forced by circumstances to survive in the jungle on his own. He is a kind of smaller version of the hero, Tarzan.Mike Henry's Tarzan is averaged (a softened version of the classic Tarzan), as is the movie. This must be a movie in a line of other Tarzan-films. All the stereotyped elements are there: Cheetah the monkey (in this movie kind of addicted to alcohol to amuse the viewer), Tarzan's screaming (but only once...) ...Charming story full of adventures, many animals, so-called clever slogans from our hero, a very sexy reporter (Alizia Gur) and some tension is created when the villain seeks revenge of Tarzan.6 out of 10