TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI (1957)
Gordon Scott Tarzan
Robert Beatty Tusker Hawkins
Yolande Donlan Gamage Dean
Betta St. John Diana Penrod
Wilfrid Hyde-White 'Doodles' Fletcher
George Coulouris Carl Kraski
Peter Arne Dick Penrod
Orlando Martins Oparian Chieftan
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Screenplay by Montgomery Pittman and Lillie Hayward
Produced by John Croydon, Sol Lesser and N. Peter Rathvon
Original music Clifton Parker
Cinematography C.M. Pennington-Richards
Film Editing Bill Lewthwaite
Production Design Paul Sheriff
Art Direction Geoffrey Drake
Makeup artist L.V. Clark
Hair stylist A. Scott
Production manager C.R. Foster-Kemp
Second unit director Wilfrid G. Eades
Assistant director Fred Slark
Sound recordist Leslie Hammond
Dubbing editor Arthur Southgate
Special effects George Blackwell and Tom Howard
Photographer: Africa Miki Carter
Dress designer Anna Duse
Continuity June Faithfull
Dance arrangement Harold Holness
Recording director Harold V. King
Musical director Louis Levy
Camera operator Norman Warwick
MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Production began: Late December 1955 - late February 1956;
Release date: March 25, 1957 (April 18, 1957 in New York)
Solar Film Productions
Running time: 80 Minutes
Color by Eastmancolor
When an airplane crashes because a flock of flamingos flew in its path, Tarzan must rescue the passengers before the plane crashes into a deep gorge. Once the lost safari is brought to safety, Tarzan goes back to the plane to get some of their belongings. Meanwhile, a few Opar warriors kidnap Diana Penrod, but she is saved by Tarzan and a white hunter named Tusker Hawkins.
Hawkins has eyes for Diana, but she rejects him. Secretly, Hawkins has made a pact with the Opar people to help them capture the stranded passengers in exchange for ivory tusks. Tarzan becomes suspicious of Hawkins, and succeeds in proving the hunter is not to be trusted. When Tarzan goes to find a way out of a deep gorge, the Oparians, with Tusker's help, captures the members of the safari and prepares to sacrifice them, except for Diana. Hawkins wants her for himself.
Tarzan, with the help of Cheetah, who starts a fire in their village, rescues the socialites and leads them to a nearby settlement. Hawkins is killed when he tries to escape after Tarzan uses the jungle drums to alert the Oparians that Hawkins was a traitor. Tarzan is able to lead the Penrod's and their friends to the nearest settlement.
This was the first Tarzan movie to be released in color (as would all future films in the series). Tarzan And The Lost Safari was also the first Tarzan movie I saw in a theater and I became a fan of both Gordon Scott and Tarzan because of it. Even with an average story line, the use of color made it more appealing to audiences and this movie is still one of my favorites. The pacing is slow in places, but the acting and production values are very good. A very under-rated film.
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