Curly-haired Johnny Sheffield (as Boy) and chimp "Cheeta" are the main attractions in this fifth MGM "Tarzan" adventure. Beautiful jungle mate Maureen O'Sullivan (as Jane), who wanted to leave the film series after "Tarzan Finds a Son!" (1939), still tends the tree-house. The plot gets going when a swimming Sheffield finds gold in the jungle king's pool. Greedy white people and spear-chucking natives threaten young Sheffield, bringing Johnny Weissmuller (as Tarzan) into action. Whisky-soaked Barry Fitzgerald (as O'Doul) swings ahead of the guest stars. Watch "Cheeta" get drunk on Mr. Fitzgerald's Irish blend. Yes, a drunken monkey can walk a straight line on his hands. This one's nicely photographed, but obviously heavy on borrowed plots, reaction shots and stock footage.***** Tarzan's Secret Treasure (12/1/41) Richard Thorpe ~ Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Barry Fitzgerald

This formulaic fifth outing for Weissmuller and O'Sullivan proves that the series' writers were already starting to struggle for fresh ideas, the film being not much more than a messy hodge-podge of themes and footage lifted from the previous four movies.This time around, Tarzan's idyllic jungle life comes under threat from a pair of greedy scientists, Medford (Tom Conway) and Vandermeer (Philip Dorn), who discover the existence of a rich vein of gold running through the escarpment on which the ape-man lives. Realising the villains' true intentions—to mine the region for its hidden wealth—Tarzan refuses to reveal the exact location of the main seam, but when the bad guys kidnap his woman, Jane (O'Sullivan), and adopted son, Boy (Johnny Sheffield), he has no option but to comply—at least until he gets the upper hand and once again calls his elephant pals for some help.It pains me to say it, because I love Weissmuller's Tarzan movies, but this particular adventure is fairly tiresome: Medford's villainy is patently obvious from the get-go (after all, he does wear a pencil-thin moustache and a slimy smirk on his face); Irish light relief O'Doul (Barry Fitzgerald) is fun, but is easily bested by Cheetah, the real comedian of the series (the hairy beast gets drunk this time and walks on her hands—priceless!); Boy's best friend Tumbo is a lame attempt at trying to add a new character to the franchise; and we get to see Weissmuller wrestle that damn croc yet again!On a more positive note, director Richard Thorpe does achieve a fair amount of tension, especially as Boy crosses a deep ravine on a fallen tree and when Tarzan launches an underwater attack on some nasty natives' canoes, and it's almost impossible not to enjoy Cheetah being catapulted over a gorge with a vine in order to rescue our hero from a precarious ledge.Oh, and that weird bird from Tarzan Escapes makes another appearance; I can't get enough of that guy!

TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE (MGM, 1941), directed by Richard Thorpe, the fifth installment in the popular adventure series based on Edgar Rice Burroughs immortal characters as portrayed by Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan, is another good entry. In the last chapter, TARZAN FINDS A SON (1939), Tarzan and Jane acquired an orphan from an airplane crash and raise the child they call Boy (Johnny Sheffield) as their own. Unlike the movies released between 1932 and 1936, this entry plays more for the juvenile crowd, having the story revolving more around Boy than on his adoptive parents, and concentrating more on fast-pace adventure along with recycled animal fighting scenes lifted from previous films, but with limitations of violence.The story begins typically as the jungle family is seen swimming under water where Boy discovers gold on the bottom. Learning of its true value from Jane, the curious Boy later sneaks away, accompanied by Cheetah, to venture the outside world of civilization. After a few close calls involving wild animals and crossing a tree stump over a cliff that may break in half, Boy meets an African native boy named Tumbo (Cordell Hickman), who, after saving him from being chased by a rhino, is taken to his village. Because Tumbo's mother has died of the plague, the angry Ubardi tribe believe Boy responsible for her death, thus capturing and tying him to wooden poles where he is placed to be sacrificed by being burned alive. Just in the nick of time, a group of researchers scare away the tribe by driving their jeep through their village and honking the horn. Grateful for the rescue, Tarzan accepts Professor Elliott (Reginald Owen), Dennis O'Doul (Barry Fitzgerald), Medford (Tom Conway) and Vandermeer (Philip Dorn) as friends and invites them, along with native boy Tumbo, to his tree-house to show his appreciation. It is only after Boy shows off his piece of gold do Medford and Vandermeer show signs of greed, turning against Tarzan for refusing to lead them to the secret treasure, and scheming to do away with him as well as holding Jane and Boy hostage until they get what they want.Production values by MGM standards still good, and cast quite impressive, especially by the major attractions of Weissmuller, O'Sullivan and Sheffield as the jungle family, along with supporting MGM stock players, headed by Reginald Owen. By this time, the Tarzan formula was becoming fairly routine ranging from elephant stampedes, Tarzan's crocodile/ wild animal fights, the jungle warlord's battle against a native tribe uprising who hold Jane and Boy prisoners, among others. One interesting scene involving Jane and Boy as they are seated in separate canoes with their hands tied behind their backs surrounded by natives, with Boy, falling out of the canoe where he is then seen sitting at the bottom of the river struggling to loosen the ropes that bind him while Tarzan tries desperately to reach him in time before he drowns. Suspense builds as Tarzan meets with delays as he not only dodges spears thrown at him by the tribe, but fighting off crocodiles getting in his way. One can imagine the roars and cheers in the movie houses at that time. As usual, intruders enter the scene, at first in good faith, until some of them become untrustworthy when learning of priceless gold on Tarzan's domain. Of the expedition team, there is usually one trusting soul, in this instance the drunken Irishman named O'Doul, wonderfully played by Barry Fitzgerald. TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE marks a very rare instance in the series by which Boy is befriended with another boy of equal age. Although it appears that Tumbo might remain as part of Tarzan's family as well as becoming Boy's best friend, his character would never reappear in future installments. One thing that is certain, aside from the frequent Tarzan ape calls is Cheetah the chimp around for assurance in aiding one of the characters as well as providing well intentional humor.Aside from frequent revivals on commercial television prior to 1990, TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE, which runs at 81 minutes, was distributed on video cassette through MGM/UA in the early 1990s, and formerly presented on the American Movie Classics cable channel (1997-2000) before making its Turner Classic Movies debut April 30, 2010. In 2004, the Tarzan/MGM series was distributed on DVD as part of the six movie Tarzan MGM package (1932-1942). The Tarzan legend lives on. Next exciting chapter in the series: TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE (1942). (**1/2)

Nasty, great white hunters trick Boy and Jane into helping them steal Tarzan's secret cache of gold. During the getaway, they're captured by the even nastier Gaboni tribe who have some rather unpleasant activities planned for their captives. Tarzan to the rescue with the help of his elephant friends. This is one of my favorite Tarzan movies. Tom Conway is the epitome of debonair sleaziness and Barry Fitzgerald is great as a lovable Irishman who refers to the Ape Man as Mr. Tarzan.