“Tarzan of the Apes” premiered on January 27, 1918. The first in a series of eight silent features made between 1918 and 1928 based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famous jungle adventurer, it’s considered by some to be the most faithful film adaptation of the same-named first Tarzan novel. Being the premiere production, the 1918 film has the distinction of featuring the first-ever screen Tarzan. Ironically, he’s portrayed by five different actors – first as a baby (played by two uncredited infants), then as a young man (Gordon Griffith), and for most of the film by Elmo Lincoln. The film’s fifth Tarzan was Stellan Windrow, who quit the production five weeks into the shoot to fight in the First World War. Footage of him swinging from vines remains in the finished film. The film was shot in Morgan City, Louisiana, with the local bayou standing in for African jungles. Masked and costumed members of the New Orleans Athletic Club played the apes. Today, the IMDb lists over 115 total film, TV, and cartoon productions that feature some form of the character. The most recent, tentatively titled “Tarzan”, is shooting now. The Dark Horse Entertainment/Warner Bros. production stars Alexander Skarsgård (son of Stellan) in the title role. David Yates, who helmed four “Harry Potter” films, directs. The release is scheduled for 2016.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:42:04 +0000
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