Filmsite Movie Review
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Pages: (1) (2) (3)
Plot Synopsis (continued)

Tarzan responds by repeating her last word to him: "Me?" She repeats herself and points to herself to teach him his mistake: "I said: 'Thank you for protecting me.'" Tarzan again says "Me" as he pokes Jane. "No," Jane responds. Then, trying to teach him, she points to herself and says: "I'm only 'Me' for me." But Tarzan does not understand her explanation. Tarzan again pokes Jane and wrongly says, "Me." Jane tries to make her point again: "No. To you, I'm 'You'." Tarzan points to himself and again misinterprets: "You." "No," Jane replies.

Then she pauses and ponders how to get him to understand: "I'm Jane Parker. Understand? Jane. Jane." Tarzan seems at last to understand her, pointing at her: "Jane...Jane. Jane." She points to herself and back and forth between them:

Jane: Yes, Jane. (she points at him) You? (she points at herself) Jane.
Tarzan: (he points at her) Jane.
Jane: And you? (she points at him) You?
Tarzan: (stabbing himself proudly in the chest) Tarzan, Tarzan.
Jane: (emphasizing his correct response) Tarzan.

Then he points excitedly toward her and back to himself: "Jane. Tarzan." And then he continues to poke at her each time he repeats her name, repeating their names faster and faster:

Jane. Tarzan. Jane. Tarzan. Jane. Tarzan. Jane. Tarzan. Jane. Tarzan. Jane...

She becomes exasperated with him: "Oh, please stop! Let me go! I can't bear this!...Oh, what's the use?"

Tarzan signals that she must be hungry, and while she begs him to not leave her alone, he departs to search for food. Tarzan delivers two loud jungle cries that cause an elephant to appear. He jumps on its back and it carries him to a herd of elephants circling a pit/trap where a fellow elephant has been trapped. Tarzan assists it to escape and then continues his quest for food. He jumps on a wildebeest and with his bare hands kills it by twisting its neck. Cutting off meat with his knife, he is surprised by the approach of a lion that forces him to retreat to the trees.

While Tarzan is away, Jane is reunited with her father when their search party comes close by. When her father calls to her, she excitedly calls back and is located. She leaves Tarzan's tree home and runs to her father. When Harry in the search party shoots and kills the giant ape, she sees that Tarzan has returned, and fearing for his life, begs that Tarzan be spared, helping to alert the ape-man to escape. Tarzan and Chetah are saddened by the loss of the ape. Tarzan secretly follows the safari party and drowns one of the straggling native bearers in revenge.

That night in the safari camp, Jane's father comments on her strange mood and her experience with the savage ape-man:

Parker: You're in a queer mood, Jane. Oh yes, I know, it must have been a terrible shock. I've been reproaching myself all the time.
Jane: Reproaching yourself? Why? My dear, you don't need to.
Parker: Well, what is it? Were you very frightened?
Jane: At first, I thought he was a savage, but I found out he wasn't, that's all.
Parker: I can't make it out. How did he get here?

The answers Jane gives to her father's questions show the profound changes that she has undergone since her experiences with the ape man. But he wants her to believe differently - thinking Tarzan is barbaric and sub-human:

Jane: Oh, what does it matter? He's happy, and...at least he was, until, ...oh, father, did you hear his cry when that ape was shot? He'd probably never been unhappy before.
Parker: Oh, my dear, he's not like us...
Jane: He's white.
Parker: Oh, whether they're white or not, those people living a life like that, they've no emotion, hardly human.
Jane (defending Tarzan): Human. He's human all right.

Jane feels that Harry was wrong and cruel in killing the ape. Harry only laughs, but Jane reproaches him for his laughter and crude attitude: "Why do you laugh, Harry?" Harry spitefully and coldly remarks: "Funny - extremely, that you should be considering the feelings of a man-ape. It's a pity I didn't put two bullets in the gun while I was at it, and finish the job." At that moment, the safari party discovers another native bearer who has been picked off by Tarzan, but Jane is sympathetic toward Tarzan's motives:

Jane (to Harry as he cocks his gun): Oh Harry, Harry, you can't do that. He isn't a wild animal!...
Harry: He's a murderer.
Jane: But so are you to him when you killed that ape.


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