Bowl of Serials: Tarzan the Tiger Episode 5

Bowl of Serials delves into the world of movie serials in cinematic history, one episode at a time.  First up, Tarzan the Tiger, a 15 episode serial that ran in theaters weekly between 1929 and 1930.  The episodes starred Frank Merrill (Tarzan), Natalie Kingston (Jane), Al Ferguson (Werper), and Kithnou (La) and were directed by Henry MacRae.

When we last saw Tarzan and Jane, they were captured by the priestess La and her Sun Worshippers, and Tarzan (still suffering from amnesia) was about to meet the business end of a spear. Tarzan's false friend Werper returned to Greystoke to find a suspicious Achmet Zek waiting for him.

The Sun Worshipper hurls the spear at Tarzan from a few feet away and... misses! High and to the right. No sooner does the spear lodge itself in the tree when Zetks men arrive and recapture Jane. A fight ensues and Tarzan rescues La.

La, now believing Tarzan loves her, declares he shall not be harmed. The priestess' necklace reminds Tarzan of the jewels he hid in the forest.

He sets off to find the treasure and discovers Werper has stolen it. Enraged, he seeks out his former friend and sees him in the distance being chased by Zek.

Werper and Zek fight. Werper kills the slaver and escapes from Tarzan back to Zek's camp where Jane is being held.

Werper plots to sell Jane as a slave, but is betrayed by Zek's second-in-command. Werper kills the man, but Tarzan arrives, crashing through the roof to reclaim his jewels.

Zek's men arrive and see their leader dead. Werper claims Tarzan murdered him and is captured. What fate awaits our hero next?


This episode represents the best and worst aspects of this serial so far. The pace really picks up. Zek is taken off the board. Werper is revealed as a bad guy. Tarzan reaches a temporary resolution with La. It ends at an intriguing moment. All good.

But then there's the spear missing Tarzan. You want your hero to earn his escape, not stumble into it. When Tarzan is angry, he starts breaking sticks, uprooting trees and throwing boulders. He looks ridiculous doing it, like my four year old throwing a tantrum. And when the animals "help" him? It consists of him running by a tiger, pointing as though he is speaking with the comatose animal, and running off. Silly.

Still, I'm happy about the forward movement here. I'd be happier if the amnesia subplot fizzled out, but I'm not holding my breath there.