Though Jane is relegated to a mere nameless possession by the title, she’s actually very resourceful and independent; her main flaw is being too kindhearted to the bigoted and slimy Martin Arlington. Her civilized suitor Harry returns from the first film looking to cash-in on the ivory necropolis hoping Jane and her mate can guide them to riches...and back again.
This may be the greatest first act of any Pre-Code film! Once the story is set in motion because of a stolen map it becomes gruesomely violent as pounding percussion portends the groups demise amid savage spears and arrows. The brutality is inspired as bloody close-ups and medium-long shots with dozens of men engaged in hand-to-hand combat edited to a fatal tempo makes the heart pound like the native drums. We see men slaughtered and hung upside down, native arrows sticking from their foreheads: in one scene we see ants crawling upon the gory wound! Necks are sliced, men are speared as survivors run for the fabled and cursed escarpment. When a cannibal accidentally sets foot upon sacred ground, he gets knifed in the back while penitent before his priest. And we get a nice close-up of the bloody wound. As the group ascends the mountain, they are attacked by apes who hurl rocks at the struggling men, raining death down upon their heads. We see men knocked off the trail falling thousands of feet to their deaths, with apes wrestling and plummeting too. It’s an intense scene that ends with Tarzan’s pacifying yodel as the apes stand down and allow the group to reach the summit.
We then are privy to Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) undressing in silhouette and adorning herself with the latest fashions, purchased by Harry and carried for hundreds of back breaking miles by their native hirelings. Martin leers at the winsome Jane, his patronizing attitude deserving of a face-punching retort, but she smiles and forgives his indecent assault. As the narrative progresses towards the elephant graveyard (and her father’s final resting place), Martin’s warning begins to seem prophecy: how would Jane survive if something happened to Tarzan? After she and Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) enjoy a nude aquatic ballet (it’s really beautifully photographed, worshiping the human form, not exploiting it), Jane is threatened by every fucking animal on the Dark Continent. I may exaggerate, but Tarzan continuously swings and leaps to her rescue with stabbing panache. He stabs a Rhino to death. He stabs a Lion to death (more than once in this film, mind you). He stabs a giant Crocodile to death. He’s like the Grim Reaper loosed upon Noah's Ark killing one of every kind! But Cheetah is trampled to death saving Lady Jane’s life in one encounter and baby Cheetah cries its heart out in anguish. So, Cheetah is alive from the first film but has a baby named Cheetah. Not “Baby Cheetah” mind you, same name. They continue to call the chimp Cheetah even though original Cheetah died. I found this a bit confusing.
Anyway, when Tarzan refuses to guide them to their destination Martin callously shoots an elephant so they can follow in its dying wake. While camping at the boneyard Tarzan arrives with a plethora of pachyderms to convince them to go home empty handed. This leads to Martin’s apparent murder of the titular hero and Jane’s decision to revoke her savage status and return with her white kin, believing Martin’s story of her paramour’s failed Crocodile fisticuffs. Of course, the cannibals ambush the party and corner them upon a rocky outcropping, their only defense a few guns and limited ammunition. The native guide/leader Saidi performs a heroic act by trying to gather the ammunition but is caught and bound to a tree and mauled by lions. This final battle is as gruesome as the first act! The cannibals summon a pride of lions to devour our protagonists while Tarzan, alive and tended back to health by Cheetah and its brood, race to save them. Cannibals, lions, men in ape suits, elephants and Tarzan himself all maul, punch, stab and spear their way to death or glory (mostly death). Jane proves resourceful and fends off a cat-astrophe just long enough for her mate to deliver her from becoming a kitty’s lunch. And we get to see Cheetah ride an ostrich, which is something I never considered existing in my cinematic reality. But Harry and his chum eventually become chum for the hungry lions. Is it a happy ending? Not for Harry (sad, not a bad guy), Martin (deserved his finale) and the hundreds of native hirelings! All dead. But Jane and Tarzan ride into the jungle trumpeting their victory and love for one another.
Final Grade: (B+)