Really Surprised!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Gordon Scott's debut film and his first time playing Tarzan, is not as bad as I had read. The story is quite simple (and repeated in his next two movies, with tension between an African witch doctor and a white physician), the pacing is OK, the running time is thankfully short, and the budget as low as in most of Tarzan's films of all colors and casts. Vera Miles is an attractive leading lady, although her attention mostly goes to her doctor boss, dully played by German Peter van Eyck. I believe that the best asset of this Tarzan motion picture is Scott's freshness and spontaneity. In the following entry (the first Tarzan film in color, "Tarzan and the Lost Safari") the budget made the hair gel and the pancake make-up too evident.

Tarzan's Hidden Jungle marked the debut of Gordon Scott as Edgar Rice Burroughs legendary ape man of the African jungle. It was also the last Tarzan film done at RKO studios which was slowly going out of business and would in the next two years. It was the reason they did not invest this film with too many production values. It was nice that they actually used black people to portray natives in the film as producers did not on too many occasions for Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker Tarzan movies.Gordon Scott was one of those Hollywood discovery stories you read about. A professional bodybuilder he was discovered pool side and brought to Hollywood and beat out a whole lot of other candidates for the Tarzan roles. He wasn't exactly Brando or Olivier with the dialog, but for someone who was making his screen debut with no other acting experience, Scott handled the dialog better than you would expect.And he married the leading lady Vera Miles while still shooting the film. Miles plays the assistant to UN doctor Peter Van Eyck who gets tricked by some unscrupulous hunters, Jack Elam and Charles Fredericks, to take them along on his humanitarian mission.Van Eyck's mission was to a native tribe who apparently were vegetarians because they did not believe in the killing of animals. As a result game flourished in their territory. As Tarzan is a friend of the animals as well, his mission was to stop the bad guys from harming his jungle friends.Tarzan's Hidden Jungle is not a bad debut for Gordon Scott in the new role. In fact Scott was my particular favorite among the actors who played Tarzan.

6 ft. 4 inch Gordon Scott made this film for RKO on a very meager budget as the story goes....not much to get worked up about in this tale of rogue and con artist hunters who lie and try to trap animals to sell to the zoos. About the only redeeming quality to this film is Scott's bulging muscle physique......Scott by far the biggest muscleman Tarzan ever....Scott handles his role rudimentary and a little off center....he seems more perplexed with Vera Miles more than the animals....in real life Scott and Miles married......Scott is not given much to say that makes much sense...just grumbling and Me Tarzan, you Jane schuck!!!! Peter Van Eyck as a jungle doctor trying to save natives and animals alike.....this was very weak Tarzan film and rumor had it that Scott only made $50000 for the whole film.... His other Tarzan adventures turned into classics, such as "Tarzan and the Lost Safari", "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" and "Tarzan the Magnificent"....in those films Scott's role as Tarzan reached new heights as an intelligent thinker......Greatest Adventure the best Tarzan ever in my mind....

Gordon Scott makes his debut here as the king of the jungle in this acceptable but routine Tarzan flick. TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE isn't as bad as some of this film detractors claim. As far as the RKO Tarzan flicks go, TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE is about average. What disappoints most Tarzan fans, is that one would think with RKO introducing a new actor in the role of Tarzan, they would have made this film a little something more. The film has a good supporting cast, but the production values are slightly below par. One would think the studio heads at RKO would have given this film a higher budget considering they were introducing a "new" Tarzan. I've heard that producer Sol Lesser tried to convince RKO to make this film in color, but the studio brass refused. Lesser, who owned the screen rights to Burroughs famous character, departed from RKO after twelve years of making Tarzan flicks for RKO, and moved on to make Tarzan flicks with Scott for other studios. I suspect it was RKO's refusal to allow him to shoot this film in color and the usual low budget that made Lesser part company with RKO. The next Tarzan flick (TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI) was in color and had a higher budget.Note: this film does have one scene thats a real gem. Tarzan rescues Vera Miles from quick sand and then tries to wash the mud off her. She tells Tarzan she needs a bath, so Tarzan agrees and tosses the startled Miss Miles in the drink.