*** Welcome to piglix ***

Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981 film)

Tarzan, the Ape Man
Tarzan, the Ape Man.jpg
Directed by John Derek
Produced by Bo Derek
Written by Tom Rowe
Gary Goddard
Based on Tarzan of the Apes
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Starring Bo Derek
Miles O'Keeffe
Richard Harris
John Phillip Law
Music by Perry Botkin Jr.
Cinematography John Derek
Wolfgang Dickmann
Edited by Jimmy Ling
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • August 7, 1981 (1981-08-07)
Running time
107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $6.5 million
Box office $36,565,280

Tarzan, the Ape Man is a 1981 adventure film directed by John Derek and starring his wife Bo Derek, Miles O'Keeffe, Richard Harris, and John Phillip Law. The screenplay by Tom Rowe and Gary Goddard is loosely based on the novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but from the point of view of Jane Parker. It is the final of three filmed versions of the story released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

The original music score is composed by Perry Botkin Jr. Former Tarzan actor Jock Mahoney, billed as Jack O'Mahoney, was the film's stunt coordinator. The film is marketed with the tagline Unlike any other "Tarzan" you've ever seen! The original actor cast in the "Tarzan" role was fired [or quit] early in production, resulting in the sudden casting of his stunt double, Miles O'Keeffe, in the title role. This film received extremely negative reviews, and in some circles has been considered to be one of the worst films ever made, even though it was a box-office success.

James Parker is a hunter in Africa, searching for a mythical "white ape". He is joined by his estranged daughter, Jane, after her mother's death. They discover the "white ape" is actually Tarzan, an uncivilized white man raised by apes living in the jungle. James continues to pursue Tarzan with the purpose of capturing him, dead or alive, and bringing him back to England.

Realizing that James is on his trail, Tarzan kidnaps Jane. Jane and Tarzan become fascinated by each other. Jane is then kidnapped by natives who intend to make her a wife of the tribe leader, forcing Tarzan into action.

In a 2012 interview with the film history magazine Filmfax, co-writer Gary Goddard revealed that he had originally been commissioned to write a screenplay for Bo Derek based upon the Marvel Comics superheroine, Dazzler; a 30-page treatment was completed before the project was cancelled and work instead proceeded on Tarzan, The Ape Man which initially carried the working title Me, Jane reflecting its focus on Jane Porter as a showcase for Derek.


...
Wikipedia

...