There were many men who suited up in their loincloths to play this special role. Gene Pollar, a New York fireman, P. Dempsey Tabler, an opera singer, Jim Pierce, a football player, and Frank Merrill, a gymnast, where just some of the big muscular men to play Tarzan. Frank Merill was the first man to put a voice to the Tarzan yell. It was a weak attempt at the Lord of the Apes cry, but it was a start. In 1931, MGM set out to make the first of many Tarzan’s with sound. They rewrote the story of Tarzan eliminating all the complicated aspects of the story. They never explained how Tarzan got to Africa, and never took Tarzan to civilization. They entire movie took place in the jungle.  This drastically simplified the movie making. Tarzan did little talking in the film, which allowed the studio to find a man who fit the vision of Tarzan. The young man they picked was a 27-year old olympic swimmer athlete, named Johnny Weissmuller. He was considered one of the most perfectly shaped men in the world; he had no problem convincing people he was Tarzan. Tarzan the Ape-Man came out in 1932 staring Weissmuller. The film was shot in California and Florida and then pieced together with additional authentic footage of Africa from a different film. This film gave Depression-weary moviegoers a unique form of escape. Weissmuller did little talking in the film but the famous Tarzan Yell we all know came strait from him. After the release of this film kids across America could be found hanging from trees and yelling the "victory cry of the bull ape", joining the Tribe Of Tarzan, and taking the pledge to be "truthful, honest, manly, and courageous."

Page: 3     J.Arnold 2001