When Johnny Weissmuller was approached to play Tarzan, he was under contract with BVD to advertise their underwear and swimming trunks. BVD strenuously objected to its spokesman appearing in just a loincloth - the company only wanted him to appear wearing its product. In return for letting Weismuller play Tarzan, MGM allowed BVD to run ads featuring the studio's contract players in BVD swimsuits (including Greta Garbo, 'Joan Crawford' , Jean Harlow and Marie Dressler). (source: Tarzan of the Movies by Gabe Esso)
Tarzan's distinctive call was created by sound recordist Douglas Shearer. It was a normal call, manipulated and played backwards.
Clark Gable was considered for the role of Tarzan, but was deemed too much of an unknown to play the ape man.
At no point in this movie is the line "Me Tarzan, you Jane" spoken. When Jane and Tarzan meet, it is she who initiates the verbal exchange, repeatedly indicating herself and giving her name until he repeats it. She then points to him, indicating that she wants to know if there's a word for who he is as "Jane" is the word for who she is, until eventually he understands and says, "Tarzan."
This film used considerable stock footage from Trader Horn (1931) also directed by W.S. Van Dyke, resulting in some very obvious back-projection effects, particularly toward the beginning of the picture.
Apparently, the chimpanzees were supposed to be the baby apes, and the men in costumes, the adults. This idea was dropped after this movie; one of the men who played the apes was Ray Corrigan.
Jane Parker:
Thank you for protecting me.
Tarzan:
Me?
Jane Parker:
I said, thank you for protecting me.
Tarzan:
[points at Jane] Me?
Jane Parker:
No. I'm only "Me" for me.
Tarzan:
[points at Jane] Me.
Jane Parker:
No. To you, I'm "You."
Tarzan:
[points at himself] You.
Jane Parker:
No...
[Thinks for a second]
Jane Parker:
I'm Jane Parker. Understand? Jane, Jane.
Tarzan:
[points at Jane] Jane, Jane.
Jane Parker:
Yes, Jane. And you?
[Tarzan stares]
Jane Parker:
[points at herself] Jane.
Tarzan:
Jane.
Jane Parker:
[points at Tarzan] And you?
Tarzan:
Tarzan. Tarzan.
Jane Parker:
Tarzan...
Audio/visual unsynchronized: While swimming across a river, Tarzan gives off his full Tarzan yell while his head is completely submerged under water.
Revealing mistakes: In many scenes, you can see the trapeze bar Tarzan uses to swing through the jungle.
Continuity: When Harry sits down on the ground in front of Jane, there is a campfire on his left side. In subsequent shots, which show him from the front, the campfire disappears.
Continuity: When Jane falls in the precipice, she stays hanging in the rope, clearly in a free space. In following shots she appears with a boulder behind her.
Continuity: After the first Tarzan's yell, Harry has the gun on his right shoulder. Next shot he is holding the gun barrel with his left hand.
Continuity: After the safari people cross the river, the hippopotamuses follow them. Then Parker and Harry appear either with the guns lowered or with them pointed to the hippopotamuses.
Continuity: When the safari people stop to camp, Parker gives the orders to the carriers holding the gun about his waist, with the left hand. In the subsequent shot the gun is resting on the ground, with the barrel held by Parker's right hand.
Continuity: On the tree, Jane holds the Tarzan's right hand to help him to sit. The next shot shows him sat, with the right hand leaned on the tree.
Continuity: When Jane and Harry are saying good-bye, they are very close to each other, and she puts her right hand on his right hand. In the following shot they are a little way from each other and then he takes her hand and kisses it.
Revealing mistakes: Most of the shown elephants are obviously Indian elephants wearing artificial ears.
Miscellaneous: Tarzan is stalked by a lioness in the trees. Lions rarely climb trees except to escape heat and insects or poach a kill of another predator.
Follows
Tarzan of the Apes (1918)
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927)
Followed by
Tarzan the Fearless (1933)
Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
Remade as
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959)
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)
Tarzan (1999)
Edited into
Tarzan Escapes (1936)
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972) (TV)
Referenced in
Three's a Crowd (1932)
The Intruder (1933)
Design for Living (1933)
Convention of the Century (1934)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
Molly Moo-Cow and the Butterflies (1935)
I'm a Big Shot Now (1936)
Disorder in the Court (1936)
Speaking of the Weather (1937)
The Sitter-Downers (1937)
My Friend the Monkey (1939)
You Can't Shoe a Horsefly (1940)
Hollywood Steps Out (1941)
Nutty News (1942)
George Washington Slept Here (1942)
- Douglas Croft hangs from a tree and imitates, says the title
Wackiki Wabbit (1943)
My Favorite Brunette (1947)
- When Ronnie is climbing the tree he remarks that it always looked easier in those Tarzan movies.
Rebel Rabbit (1949)
Road to Bali (1952)
- The three stars swing from vines, and Bob Hope does a Weissmuller style yell.
The Unexpected Pest (1956)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Xing xing wang (1977)
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978) (TV)
- Peter Criss does the tarzan 'yodel' while swinging from a chandelier
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Octopussy (1983)
Sheena (1984)
- Sheena's vine-swinging antics.
Explorers (1985)
Negro con un saxo, Un (1989)
Cool Runnings (1993)
- "you are the kind of club-toting, raw-meat-eating, Me-Tarzan-You-Jane-ing big bald bubblehead..."
The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio (1996) (VG)
- Bart and Lisa imitate the well-known Tarzan yell
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I Robot - You Jane (#1.8)" (1997)
- Is referenced in the episode's title.
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman (1998) (TV)
- referenced in Succinctly Speaking
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1998)
"Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Show No. 101 (#1.4)" (1998)
- Brad thinks that Colin is doing this character in Party Quriks.
American Beauty (1999)
"Futurama: Bendin' in the Wind (#3.13)" (2001)
- Bender grabs a rope and swings, then he calls out in the way Tarzan does when he swings on vines.
Mean Machine (2001)
- Massive says "I do believe you watched too many Tarzan movies as an impressionable young child"
The Tramp and the Dictator (2002) (V)
Sex Fever (2003) (V)
- a guy is called Tarzan
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains (2003) (TV)
Back to Gaya (2004)
- Tarzan-like movie called "Zartan: King of the Jungle"
Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle (2004) (V)
- Documentary about this film.
Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon (2004)
- "Me Max. You Jane."
Wah-Wah (2005)
- son is called Tarzan
Attack of the Sabretooth (2005) (TV)
- "those Tarzan movies"
Kettle of Fish (2006)
- a frog that has a strong voice is named Tarzan
The Guardian (2006/I)
- "I'm not Tarzan"
Featured in
"Don Adams' Screen Test: Tarzan/Public Enemy/Hurricane/Casablanca (Pilot)" (1975)
- extract
It's Showtime (1976)
The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981) (TV)
100 Years at the Movies (1994)
- clip of Johnny Weismuller swinging through the branches yelling the famous yell
Sixten (1994)
Tarzan: The Legacy of Edgar Rice Burroughs (1996) (TV)
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains (2003) (TV)
Spoofed in
Hollywood Party (1934)
Mickey's Man Friday (1935)
- In a "Me Mickey--you Friday" scene, Mickey Mouse plays the Jane role with a black man he rescues from cannibals.
The CooCoo Nut Grove (1936)
A Star Is Hatched (1938)
Porky the Fireman (1938)
Hollywood Daffy (1946)
Gorilla My Dreams (1948)
Past Perfumance (1955)
Ensign Pulver (1964)
The Strongest Man in the World (1975)
- After the Dean eats the formula to make him strong, he lets out a trademark Weissmuller Tarzan yell.
Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
- Philo does the Tarzan scream (exactly as Johnny Weissmuller did).
Octopussy (1983)
- James Bond swings thru the air with the sound of tarzan's voice
Biblia en pasta, La (1984)
- This movie spoofs the famous Tarzan scream, as well as the "Tarzan, Jane" scene and Cheetah.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
Short Circuit 2 (1988)
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
Malèna (2000)