Ozirah54 Reviews

Tarzan and the Huntress (1947)

Monak's Attack

[12 March 2006]

Already in agreement with the other comments about the place of this film in the tradition of Tarzan movies, I would like to concentrate on one sub-plot, the animosity between Tarzan (played by Johnny Weissmuller) and Monak (played by ex-prize fighter Mickey Simpson), loyal servant to the scheming, evil Ozira (yes, my namesake; I am a major Tarzan fan).

Ozira stands to receive generous bounties for helping a safari catch African animals to re-stock the zoos after the Second World War. Since his uncle, King Farad, won't cooperate, Ozira stages the shooting of Farad (by Monak) to look like an accident and Farad's teenage son Suli is also believed killed, pushed into a pool of crocodiles, again by Monak.

As Monak leads the gun bearers and safari hands to help the hunters get their animals, he has a number of brushes with Tarzan. Tarzan liberates captured animals, knocks out several of Monak's guards and, when other bearers are sent back to the city for help, one safari hand is killed by a lion. Monak seethes to get revenge and tangle with Tarzan.

In one scene, after Tarzan and Boy steal the guns and rifles, Cheetah the Chimp tries to steal the compact of the female hunter (the Huntress of the movie, Tanya, Patricia Morrison's character). Monak hurls his knife, almost getting Cheetah. We are also treated to a closeup of Monak, a big man, proud, powerful, commanding, a large, smooth chest, fine belly, wide, deep jungle navel. Certainly, he would never miss with a knife again.

The guns retrieved, the safari continues to collect animals and Tarzan and Boy find Prince Suli very much alive. The city of Toronga must know the truth about this and Ozira's treachery unmasked.

As Tarzan attempts to lead Suli to safety, Monak, rifle in hand, bandoleer across his powerful, commanding chest, knife stuck in his sarong-like wraparound, spies him and, along with two gun bearers, bandoleers crisscrossing their majestic chests also, Monak goes after them, pausing to take a few unsuccessful shots. Tarzan takes to the trees and the three separate to get at him and to finish off Suli.

Weissmuller sharpens a vine to use as a spear and hurls it into the bare belly of one of the gun bearers who topples to the jungle ground. Tarzan then flings his knife into the back of a second gun bearer, who falls onto the ground, the bullets framing his brave chest, his life lost for Monak and Ozira.

Monak has climbed a tree to direct the battle. Tarzan is in that same tree and so is Suli. Monak, smiling with confidence, slyly pulls his knife out and it flies through the air but inexplicably misses Suli. Monak then sees Tarzan approach and the battle is on. Monak pulls off his bandoleer and tries to hit Tarzan with it. The two actors are now side by side and it is clear what a formidable man Simpson was. Then thirty-four, he was at least fifteen to twenty years younger than Weissmuller, depending upon the uncertain birth date of the former Olympic swimmer. Monak almost takes Tarzan, but Tarzan jumps down to a lower branch. Monak tries to push Tarzan off the tree with his foot. Tarzan catches hold of Monak's foot and twists it. Monak grimaces in pain as he realizes the tide of battle has turned. Losing his balance, he falls, attempts to grab onto a branch but, not able to hold on, tumbles down many feet, past a smiling Suli, and rolls over onto his back as he hits the jungle ground. His arms spreadeagled, his broad, expansive, brave, adventurous, daring, bold, jungle leader chest is splayed on the jungle floor.

Monak has given his life for Ozira. (Ozira and some of the hunters will soon die in one of the most exciting elephant stampedes ever brought to the screen). Monak's death is the turning point of the story for now, following the stampede, Prince Suli will be restored to his people. Ozira will die by being driven over a cliff in the ensuing confusion of the elephant stampede and hitting his head on a rock. Ozira will never know that only a short distance away, the fine body of his "most trusted servant" lies still, having risked everything to serve his greedy, malevolent master.

Tarzan the Magnificent (1960)

Johnny Banton's Daring Gamble

[28 January 2006]

Other reviewers have ably discussed where this movie fits in within the corpus of Tarzan movies and have pinpointed the epic fistfight battle of Jock Mahoney and Gordon Scott.

Before Scott's Tarzan character tangled with Mahoney as Coy Banton, however, there is a scene where the youngest of the Banton family attempts to take on Tarzan and defeat him.

The Banton family is a bunch of robbers and killers and, as they follow Tarzan who is conducting Coy Banton to the authorities, accompanied by the survivors of a steamboat accident, there are opportunities to attack this group and rescue Coy.

Johnny, supposedly in his early twenties, played by then newcomer Gary Cockrell, whose career seemingly fizzled out in the 1970s, is making a daring attempt to go after this group without the support of his father or older brother and perhaps molest one of the women.

Johnny comes across one of the women and chases her to a pool or stream some distance from the village where they have stopped. Johnny proceeds to grope and attack her, when Tarzan shows up as a result of her screams.

At first, Johnny goes for his rifle and the two tussle. The rifle is thrown away and Johnny, his shirt now in shreds, is pushed on to the ground. He stands and goes for his knife. His muscular, lean, sinewy chest is revealed and he seems a plausible opponent for Tarzan at the moment. But the knife fight does not last for long. Johnny wants his rifle, thinking only that will save him. When he at last spots and holds it, the fight is maneuvered into the nearby water and the rifle's barrel is now pointing under Johnny's chin. The rifle goes off in the scuffle and Johnny is killed. He falls back, the shreds of his shirt parted on each side so that his chest is fully revealed as he floats upon the water.

Tarzan smashes the rifle, for he knows that Johnny's death will invite more trouble from the rest of the Banton gang. Johnny's youthful, daring gamble has failed. The youngest of the Bantons is now dead.

Pawnee (1957)

Pale Arrow Battles Crazy Fox

[11 December 2005]

While much of this movie progresses at an anemic pace and much of the ending is lifted out of at least one other cavalry versus Indians movie, the epic confrontation of Pale Arrow (George Montgomery) versus Crazy Fox (Charles Horvath) offered, for me, a stirring finish.

All during the film, Crazy Fox has nourished a hatred against Pale Arrow, a man brought up by the tribe. Pale Arrow was favored by Crazy Fox's own father, stole his maiden, Dancing Fawn, and seems to have bested him throughout his life.

Now, Pale Arrow, who Crazy Fox thought had been killed at a Pawnee torture stake, spies the chief and a few braves in the midst of a great battle. Pale Arrow rides toward the chief and the epic, final fight is about to commence.

They ride toward each; their horses collide. Dismounted, they tussle, roll over each other, and fall into a nearby river. At first, Crazy Fox has the upper hand, beating Pale Arrow with a tomahawk as the swift current drags them away. But, then, they return to calmer water.

We see Crazy Fox only from the back now, his hair unbraided, his weapon gone, his skin shimmering from the dunking in the water. Pale Arrow slugs him and Crazy Fox falls back into the water. The proud, valiant, determined, bold, and adventurous Pawnee war chief tries to regain the initiative but cannot. A second punch and he is knocked down to the bottom of the river, near the bank. Pale Arrow jumps on him, holds him down, and drowns him as Crazy Fox desperately tries to save his audacious but malevolent and ultimately doomed life. His existence, his leadership of the tribe, his quest for revenge are all about to come to termination. As the background music reaches its crescendo, Pale Arrow strangles Crazy Fox and the Pawnee's face cannot be seen. Only the breastplate covering his magnificent Pawnee chest is still visible. Crazy Fox is dead.

The scene then switches to the final moments of movie.

The Charge at Feather River (1953)

Thunderhawk's Gamble

[24 July 2005]

Other commentators here have done an admirable job in addressing where "Charge at Feather River" fits in within the canon of Western movies, its similarity to "The Dirty Dozen" and other films of that genre, the use of 3-D effects, and even the origin of the Wilhelm scream. But what about the climactic, epic-making confrontation between Miles Archer (Guy Madison) and Chief Thunderhawk (Fred Carson)? In the action/adventure movies of the 1950s and 1960s, one knows the leaders will meet and fight it out. But when and where and how will it happen?

Thunderhawk has plenty of reasons to want to kill Archer himself. The whites are building a railroad through Cheyenne territory; their rescue effort has led to the death of Thunderhawk's bride-to-be. The cavalry troopers are occupying an island in the middle of the Feather River itself.

In the first charge, the Cheyenne have been repulsed. Their bodies float about the river. Stray horses amble about without direction. But the calm following this is deceptive. The Cheyenne prepare for another charge and this time Thunderhawk will personally take command.

At first, all goes well and a couple of the Guardhouse Brigade are picked off. Then, Thunderhawk commits his fatal mistake. At the head of about thirty to fifty braves, he veers off with only a half a dozen or so warriors to approach the island from the rear while the main bunch of Indians continues to hurl spears and to get shot, falling off their horses, and then bobbing in the river.

Thunderhawk, recognizable in his eagle feather headdress, leads his handpicked braves slowly up an embankment, on their bellies, in preparation for this "stealth" attack. But when they reach the crest of the embankment, above the river's edge, all goes wrong. They are seen too soon and all but Thunderhawk get shot down. Meanwhile, the main war party is beginning to back off.

Thunderhawk, without rifle or spear, cut off from all his men, draws his knife, preparing to do battle with Archer, one against one. Thunderhawk's very life now depends upon his skill with a knife. The bare-chested Cheyenne war chief, confident, powerful, motivated, eager for revenge and victory, squares off against Archer.

After only a few moments, Archer has maneuvered the chief to a slight earthen rise above the embankment, so that the daring, risk-taking, bold Cheyenne war chief stands a little bit above the cavalry officer. Archer goes for Thunderhawk's proud, taut, copper-bronze, native leader belly. As the knife goes in (off camera), Thunderhawk grunts in disbelief and topples, about to fall over the embankment. In a very clever shot, Guy Madison is seen looking over the embankment as Thunderhawk might have seen the view, his last before his death. Thunderhawk gives out a scream of terror as he tumbles down the embankment, splashing into the river. His horse makes way, only slightly, as the chief disappears under the water.

A valiant, determined, daring, native chief has lost his gamble.

The Magical World of Disney: Daniel Boone: The Warrior's Path (1960) Season 7, Episode 7

A Rousing Confrontation

[17 July 2005]

While many viewers will remember Fess Parker in the role of Daniel Boone from the long-running 1960s television series, there was a mini series of sorts on "Disneyland," one of the many incarnations of Walt Disney's weekly family-oriented programs before Parker's series started.

Daniel Boone was played by Dewey Martin in the several-part series and his main nemesis was Crowfeather, a Shawnee brave played by Dean Fredericks who, under several different names, often played native roles in the 1950s and 1960s.

Even before Boone leads his family and other settlers into Kentucky, he must confront the Indians' unwillingness to have their lands invaded, as they see it.

Chief Blackfish (Anthony Caruso) of the Shawnees arranges a contest of strength between Boone and Crowfeather. Crowfeather dislikes Boone from the start and cheats during the contest. After they shoot at a target with muskets, Blackfish hurls a tomahawk at a tree across a stream. The two men, now stripped to the waist and as eager to subvert the other as to win the contest, run for the tree. They must run through the stream and Crowfeather trips up Daniel Boone. When Crowfeather gets the tomahawk first, Boone gives as good as he got and the contest soon degenerates into a real fight.

The two men, their bodies glistening from the water, fight chest to chest and eventually Boone gets the war hatchet and maneuvers Crowfeather into the water. He appears to strike him with the hatchet but it apparently is not with the metal side. Crowfeather is defeated, humiliated, and left wallowing in the water.

Throughout the rest of the hour, Crowfeather, with an ever-dwindling number of braves, attempts to prevent Boone from bringing his group into Kentucky. The Shawnees are shot out of trees, roll down hills, and are bested in one fight after another, even one involving an inexplicably shirtless young boy.

Finally, Crowfeather's band, reduced to two braves, corners Boone and his immediate family in a cave. The ending is a rousing fight on a rocky ledge over, once again, a war hatchet, a tomahawk. Just as Crowfeather is about to kill Boone, Fredericks' character smirking in triumph and revenge, Blackfish and the rest of the tribe show up and Crowfeather is shot and falls to his death. The renegade brave has been killed by his own people for violating tribal laws.

The way is now clear for Boone to enter Kentucky.

Tarzan's Peril (1951)

Exciting Knife Fight in Tarzan's Peril

[4 July 2005]

If one is interested in the action/adventure component of Tarzan movies, Tarzan's Peril does have something to offer.

While the plot may be simple, this first Tarzan movie ever filmed in Africa does have its moments, mostly revolving around one of the sub-villains, King Bulam, played by noted African-American actor Frederick O'Neal, founder of the American Negro Theater in New York which launched the careers of such notables as Sidney Poitier.

Gun runners have broken out of jail and have come to King Bulam's village to trade guns for jewels. Bulam, who has tangled with Tarzan before, intends to use the guns to make war on the peaceful Ashuba people, led by Queen Melmendi (Dorothy Dandridge).

Tarzan (Lex Barker) is unsuccessful in stopping Bulam and his Yurongan warriors and is even thrown over a waterfall and presumably drowned. King Bulam conquers the village and, after being rejected by Melmendi, he withdraws and his warriors get drunk. Tarzan returns and organizes an uprising after having freed the Ashuban men.

When Bulam arrives to check on the situation, Tarzan gives his famous yell and the Yurongans are caught off guard. Bulam sees that Tarzan is very much alive and flees in confusion and fear.

Tarzan catches up with the husky, proud, ambitious, and greedy African war chief and a knife fight, one against one, ensues. While a much trimmer stunt double is sometimes visible, this is still an exciting screen fight. Bulam manages to knock Tarzan's head against a tree trunk and then pulls out a rather hefty, oversize knife that we have seen dangling at his waist for much of the film. The knife is almost in Tarzan's neck when Tarzan grabs Bulam's wrist and causes Bulam to fling the knife away. It lands in some ferns, blade side up. Using his legs as scissors, Tarzan manages to spin Bulam away, and the chief rolls over several times.

Here is the part I savor. Bulam rolls over onto the clump of ferns where his knife is projecting skyward. As his ample belly passes over the knife, it is shoved into his body. The wicked, adventurous, risk-taking war chief is stunned; he has been stabbed with his own knife! Bulam makes several attempts to rise and continue the fight and Tarzan even draws his own knife, not certain as to whether Bulam is really done for. But, as his head lolls for the last time, with the knife partially obscured by all the vegetation the king has rolled into, it is certain that Bulam has been vanquished.

The next scene shows the warriors being herded into a corral and Tarzan is begged to stay for a celebration but he must go after the gun runners who are even now having a falling out of their own and, eventually, endangering Jane.