Mysterious air currents and mechanical failures cause a private plane to crash in Africa, with only a baby boy surviving. Tarzan's chimp "Cheeta" swings by and tosses the blanketed lad to jungle king Johnny Weissmuller (as Tarzan), who has arrived to investigate. Mr. Weissmuller brings the baby home to pretty Maureen O'Sullivan (as Jane). They adopt the baby by declaration and decide to call him "Boy" (an unimaginative name, but it fits). The baby quickly grows into cute preteen Johnny Sheffield. As young Sheffield learns the ropes from Weissmuller, an expedition of his surviving family members is investigating. Naturally, they will want to take the Lancing baby away from Tarzan and Jane...Much has been made of the fact that "Tarzan Finds a Son!" has the jungle couple's son arriving by plane crash, instead of vaginally. This is due to moral guidelines set by the Hays production code being more rigorously enforced in 1934. This raises some questions, however. It has been generally accepted that Weissmuller's "Tarzan" and O'Sullivan's "Jane" never marry, and that they adopt "Boy" in this film. However, the script of this film suggests a legal marriage has taken place off-screen. Their on-screen "adoption ceremony" appears to be on much shakier ground. More obviously, plot potential favored Sheffield's arrival by plane. This entry's highlight is sparkling underwater photography.****** Tarzan Finds a Son! (6/16/39) Richard Thorpe ~ Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Ian Hunter

This is the fourth MGM Tarzan film starring Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film begins with a plane crashing in Africa. All but a boy die in the crash and the child is rescued--much like Tarzan was saved years ago. The boy is taken to Tarzan and Jane's jungle condo and they adopt the child.Five years have passed and the family is deliriously happy. However, their idyllic family life is disrupted when a search party arrives. They are relatives of the boy and indicate he is the heir to the Greystoke fortune*--and want to take him back to England to claim his inheritance. But what this jungle family does not know is that all but nice Henry Stephenson from this rescue party are jerks and they plan on using the child to claim the fortune and then dispose of him! Tarzan isn't sure of their plan--he just wants to keep Boy, as he loves him like his very own son. But Jane is tricked into believing that sending the boy with these people is in his best interest, so she tricks Tarzan and helps the group escape with Boy. Only then does she learn that they are a bunch of wicked jerks--and by then it appears too late. Can Tarzan somehow escape and rescue his family or are they fated to be killed? Tune in and see.This is another well-made Tarzan film from MGM--and not to be confused with the many, many badly made Tarzan films made by lesser production companies. While it's not nearly as good as the earlier Tarzan films, it still is quite entertaining and well-acted.By the way, unlike the early films in this series, the studio appeared to real African elephants in some scenes. Training this variety of pachyderm was much tougher than the Asian elephants used previously but it did make the film look more accurate. So how did they manage to do it? Well, they were Asian ones fitted with prosthetic ears! While they did this also in "Tarzan and His Mate", it looked really bad. Here, however, it's harder to recognize the clever deception. Too bad they still used a few guys in ape costumes here and there! Otherwise, a very good production. And, if it seems a bit familiar, the plot for this film was awfully similar to the earlier Weissmuller film "Tarzan Escapes".By the way, was it just me or did Boy seem a bit stupid?! It seemed like every five minutes the kid was nearly getting himself killed! In one scene he messes with a rhino and with another he nearly gets swept down a waterfall. But, like Kenny, the kid seems to somehow survive.*This is a weird plot element, as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs story, it was Tarzan himself that was the heir to this Greystoke fortune. Why this was changed in this film is odd. Perhaps this would make Boy one of Tarzan's close biological relatives.

This was another interesting, fast-moving Tarzan film with plenty of action and even a little more humor than normal.The action scenes are hokey (shots of wild animals on a screen in back of the live actors) and even the background scenery is obviously painted but, hey, it's an old film. That I can put up with, but not the vast amount of "darlings" uttered by "Jane" (Maureen O'Sullivan). That gets really annoyingHowever, the rest of the film is very entertaining, very good and even very clever at times. The story is about Tarzan and Jane acquired "boy" (Johnny Sheffield) when the latter was five years old.Overall: entertaining and one of the better Johnny Weissmuller-Tarzan entries.

TARZAN FINDS A SON (MGM, 1939), directed by Richard Thorpe, the fourth installment to the popular movie series based on the characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, marks a new beginning for Tarzan and Jane as they become parents and accepting the responsibility in raising a child. No, Jane did not have a blessed event in the traditional sense, nor did Tarzan start passing out bananas in place of cigars in the waiting room to other expectant African native fathers in the waiting room of a jungle cottage hospital, nor did Cheetah act as the midwife. Three years have passed since the last installment of TARZAN ESCAPES (1936), which provided enough time for the writers to come up with something original. While the plots and situations were starting to repeat themselves by this time, something new has been added, a son for Tarzan and Jane, with delivery not by way of stalk but by air delivery. Because no marriage ceremony was ever indicated since their union, the rulers of the production code couldn't permit Jane to become pregnant and bear forth a child of her own since Tarzan and Jane were obviously living together. So the writers have thought up a the solution to the problem: A young British couple (Morton Lowery and Laraine Day), aboard a private airplane with their infant baby, learn that they are in danger when the plain acquires engine trouble. After the pilot (Gavin Muir) makes a crash landing, everyone perishes except for the child. He is later picked up by chimpanzee's before Cheetah takes the infant, offers it to Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), who in turn vine swings himself back to the tree house where he presents the child to Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan). At first Tarzan becomes jealous of Jane's full attention towards the child, but in time becomes fond of him also, and being the "father," names him Boy. Five years pass. The introduction of Boy (John Sheffield in his movie debut) is shown in full swing as he hangs on to the vine, doing everything Tarzan does. He even learns the ape call like Tarzan, and uses it whenever in distress, such as one instance as he is caught and being covered by a big web and nearly getting attacked by a flock of large-size spiders. But outside of that, all seems to go well for the jungle family until a searching party, (Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescort, Henry Wilcoxson and Henry Stephenson), enters the scene. Revealed as relatives of Boy's deceased parents, they learn the truth of the boy and try to persuade Jane into deciding to giving up the youngster so they can take him back to England where he belongs (especially since he happens to be the heir to several million dollars). While Tarzan has already made up his mind in keeping Boy with them, the scheming relatives, with the exception of Sir Thomas (Stephenson), now being held captive, have other plans.TARZAN FINDS A SON is a grand scale production and the only one in the series set in a time frame of more than the standard months or weeks, in this instance, five years, although the movie itself gives the impression of taking place solely in 1939 instead of from 1934 to the present, especially since Maureen O'Sullivan's 1940s hairstyle is evident throughout, but otherwise, makes little difference to the plot since it's the story and action the viewers come to see. As credited in the opening titles, underwater swimming scenes were filmed in Silver Springs, Florida. What a pity it wasn't done in Technicolor to take advantage of the fine location scenery. But with its usual dose of elephant stampedes, Cheetah's comedy relief and Tarzan's race to the rescue and a one man fight against hundreds of African natives, is enough adventure and excitement during its 81 minute time frame not to be a disappointment.TARZAN FINDS A SON, along with the other MGM entries, have become available on either the VHS or DVD format, and formerly shown on the American Movie Classics cable channel from 1997 to 2000. It later shifted over to Turner Classic Movies where its premiered June 4, 2004, Bob Dorian, former AMC host, once profiled this chapter as being the one in which Maureen O'Sullivan, who wanted out of the series, to have her Jane character killed off, but preview audiences objected and a new ending was substituted. It's also been mentioned that is was Weissmuller who personally selected little John Sheffield, out of hundreds of candidates, for the role of Boy. He must have made a great impression since he would reprise his role seven more times until he outgrew the part by 1947. Next chapter: TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE (1941). (***1/2)