Tarzan holds a gypsy-themed party at his Greystoke estate after returning from an expedition. He gets an old Gypsy fortune teller to narrate the story of his latest adventure. Along with Major Martling, Tarzan tried to retrieve the Green Goddess, an ancient Mayan relic that is being used as an idol by a small clan of worshippers in the Dead City in Guatemala. An unscrupulous explorer has stolen the statue in the hope that he can use an ancient secret formula hidden in it to manufacture a super-explosive that has the potential to change warfare forever. Tarzan & his companions get into various situations in order to stop the formula from getting into the wrong hands.
Tarzan and the Green Goddess was a feature-length (at only 72 minutes long) reedit of some episodes of the old serial The New Adventures of Tarzan. It featured a good performance by Bruce Bennett, who plays Tarzan in a rather unique fashion – this is the only time on film that you see a Tarzan who speaks English articulately & appears to be well-educated (although his Tarzan yell sounds like a stoned coyote). As far as the rest of the feature is concerned, the original serial was far better. It omits the spectacular theft of the idol & instead has plenty of cheap theatrics & cheaper action scenes. Although the scene where Tarzan faces off with a lion was slightly exciting, the rest of the film was one-dimensional & the idea of the hero going to all the trouble to obtain the secret formula only to have his female companion burn it in the end was kind of stupid. The worst aspect was the villain, played by Ashton Dearholt, who made a pathetic & often-put-upon villain.
Tarzan and the Green Goddess was a feature-length (at only 72 minutes long) reedit of some episodes of the old serial The New Adventures of Tarzan. It featured a good performance by Bruce Bennett, who plays Tarzan in a rather unique fashion – this is the only time on film that you see a Tarzan who speaks English articulately & appears to be well-educated (although his Tarzan yell sounds like a stoned coyote). As far as the rest of the feature is concerned, the original serial was far better. It omits the spectacular theft of the idol & instead has plenty of cheap theatrics & cheaper action scenes. Although the scene where Tarzan faces off with a lion was slightly exciting, the rest of the film was one-dimensional & the idea of the hero going to all the trouble to obtain the secret formula only to have his female companion burn it in the end was kind of stupid. The worst aspect was the villain, played by Ashton Dearholt, who made a pathetic & often-put-upon villain.