The Son of Tarzan (film)
| The Son of Tarzan | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by |
Arthur J. Flaven Harry Revier |
| Produced by | David P. Howells |
| Written by | Roy Somerville |
| Based on |
The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs |
| Starring |
Kamuela C. Searle Manilla Martan P. Dempsey Tabler Karla Schramm Eugene Burr |
| Distributed by | National Film Corporation of America |
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Release date
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Running time
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253 minutes (15 chapters) |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
| Budget | Negative cost: $106,000 |
The Son of Tarzan is a 1920 15-chapter American film serial which focuses on the coming of age of Jack Clayton, also known as Korak, the son of Tarzan and Jane. The serial was produced by David P. Howells, written by Roy Somerville (based on the 1915 novel The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs), and directed by Arthur J. Flaven and Harry Revier. The film was released starting in the summer of 1920, with the final chapter released in January 1921.
Tarzan and Jane have left Africa, married and settled in London. Their pre-teen son, Jack, dreams of jungle adventures like his father's, but is discouraged by his parents. He sneaks away to see a trained ape called Ajax (in reality, Akut, an old friend from Tarzan's youth). The ape's trainer is really Ivan Paulovich, an old enemy of Tarzan's, who is looking for a way to enact vengeance. He kidnaps Jack and takes him to Africa.
Jack escapes with Akut, and survives on his own in the wild much like his father before him. He is given the Ape name Korak, which means "Killer" in their language. Korak rescues Meriem, a young French girl held captive by Arab slave traders, and they grow to adulthood in the jungle. Paulovich hopes to receive a ransom from her wealthy parents for her return as well, and attempts to capture both of them.
Eventually Paulovich lures Jane to Africa in order to extort a ransom, but Tarzan soon follows. Tarzan and Jane, living at their African estate, find Meriem and informally adopt her. They discover her parentage and send for her father. The film climaxes with a battle pitting Korak against Paulovich, his henchmen and the slave traders. An elephant rescues Korak, who is bound to a stake, and he and Meriem are reunited with their parents, and all sail for England.
Edgar Rice Burroughs had fallen out with the President of National Film Corporation over the first two Tarzan films. However, following a change in President to Harry M. Rubey, National Film Corporation paid Burroughs $20,000 for the screen rights to his novel The Son of Tarzan. The producer, David P. Howells, decided to abandon the feature film format of the previous Tarzan production in favour of a film serial.
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