The First and Only Online Fanzine Devoted to the Life and Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs

Some of the following information has been gleaned from The Internet Movie Data Base -
a valuable reference tool for all movie buffs.
See our ERB LifeLines Bio for more of ERB's film activities.
Many of the BTP references in ERB LifeLines have been collated below.

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BURROUGHS-TARZAN ENTERPRISES

1934
ERB, Dearholt and two other investors, formed Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises to produce Tarzan pictures. Their office was located at 8476 Sunset Boulevard. Plans were made to film a Tarzan movie in Guatemala.  In October, Olympic athlete Herman Brix was chosen to play Tarzan in Guatemala. Ed refused to write a  movie tie-in novel, preferring to leave the promotion to a special Whitman Big Little Book, a Tarzan Clan campaign, and Signal Oil.  Dearholt ran into casting problems but the Tarzan film expedition sailed for Guatemala in November. In December, the Dearholt expedition, aboard the liner Seattle, landed on the Guatemala coast in a storm which caused incredible difficulties.  The December 11 issue of Variety reported that the Guatemala Tarzan film would be called Tarzan and the Green Goddess. Titles later considered included The New Adventures of Tarzan and Tarzan's 1935 Adventures.

1935
On January 7 ERB was reported to be enthusiastic over the early Guatemala rushes, on what was to be a 12-part Tarzan serial but on March 5 he was disappointed over the uncut film from Guatemala.

1936
Burroughs-Tarzan Pictures (BTP) was negotiating various films: Dark River, Typee, Three Wise Monks, The Drag-Net, The White Glove, The Phantom of Santa Fe, Tundra, and Murder at the Carnival but the company was facing serious financial problems. Preliminary shooting of The Phantom of Santa Fe was completed at Tarzana Ranch. Ed traveled to Chicago and New York to seek outlets for BTP films.

1937
Many ERB stories were submitted as film vehicles: Seven Worlds to Conquer, Elmer, Back to the Stone Age, The Oakdale Affair, and The Rider. None were picked up and BTP soon went out of business. Meanwhile, the December 22 issue of The Daily Express reported that Tarzan and the Green Goddess was doing great business in England.

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BURROUGHS-TARZAN PICTURES

Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises Inc.
ERB's film production company (Ashton Dearholt was a partner in this) is credited with the following films:

1. New Adventures of Tarzan (I) (1935 - 265m (12 episodes) - b/w)
    ...aka Tarzan and the Lost Goddess (1935)
    ...aka Tarzan in Guatemala (1935)

PLOT: The Green Goddess is a totem worshiped by the primitive natives of a lost city deep in the jungles of Guatemala. It contains both a fortune in jewels and an ancient formula for a super-explosive which could threaten world safety in the wrong hands. From Africa, Major Martling and Ula Vale launch separate expeditions to find the Goddess and place its secrets in safe hands. Ula's fiance died in an earlier attempt at the same goal and she has taken up the trail in his memory against the advice of her lawyer, Hiram Powers, who covets the Goddess for himself and sends Raglan, a mercenary, to get it for him. Aboard their ship to Guatemala is Lord Greystoke - aka Tarzan - on a mission to find his old friend, d'Arnot, whose plane crashed in the vicinity of the same lost city. Tarzan joins forces with Martling, and they reach the lost city in time to save d'Arnot, but lose the Goddess to Raglan. Ula joins Tarzan and Martling in pursuit of Raglan, whence they must contend with the perils of the jungle, Raglan's henchmen, and a party of primitives from the lost city sent to retrieve the Goddess...

Summary written by RichWannen

 
PLOT: Tarzan goes to Guatemala to find his lost friend, D'Arnot. On the way he helps Major Matling search Mayan ruins for hidden jewels and an idol containing the formula for a powerful explosive. D'Arnot and the idol are rescued, but the idol falls into the clutches of the explorer Raglan.

Summary written by Ed Stephan

TRIVIA: The original story for this serial featured munitions runners, Alice and Gordon mistaken for spies and pursued by the Guatemalan police, and Ula Vale as a mysterious figure revealed in the final episode to be an undercover government operative. The script was rewritten during production and these elements dropped. However, the original treatment was used for the pressbook synopsis and the original chapter titles were retained despite lacking relevance any longer (e.g. "Operative 17" as the final chapter). Virtually all Tarzan/serial film "historians" continue to refer to the pressbook synopsis, also, instead of watching the serial, and thus fail to accurately present the story that was finally filmed. Caveat emptor. Tarzan's chimpanzee is called "Nkima" (not "Cheetah"), true to the Edgar Rice Burroughs books. D'Arnot's plane is a two-seater, but both Bouchart and David Brent are supposed to have been with him in it on the flight when it crashed. While the primary release version had a 65-minute first episode, there has also been cut a version with only a 43-minute chapter one, which is quite commonly the print being sold on video today.

Trivia information presented by RichWannen

CAST: Bruce Bennett, Ula Holt, Frank Baker, Lewis Sargent, Ashton Dearholt.
DIRECTORS: Edward A. Kull and Wilbur McGaugh.

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2. New Adventures of Tarzan (II) (1935 - 70M - B/W)
    ...aka Tarzan's New Adventure (1935) (USA: TV title)

PLOT: Most prior screen incarnations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary jungle hero were not even close to Burroughs' character. The Tarzan of the books grew up in the jungle, yes, but returned to England and was educated at Oxford before returning again to his jungle home. He was nobility even, the son of Lord and Lady Greystoke, and inherited his father's title. He was an intelligent, literate, culturally-aware man. Yet the cinematic version of Tarzan, up to that time, was an illiterate animal-like hermit whose first contact with civilization was his soon-to-be-girlfriend Jane. Burroughs was incensed at this portrayal, and that motivated him to produce his own Tarzan production more in line with his original vision of the character, namely a serial entitled The New Adventures of Tarzan. The serial was later edited into two (short) feature films released in the following years. The first film bore the same title, and the second was called Tarzan and the Green Goddess.

This first half of the 1935 serial relates several characters' efforts to find the green goddess, a valuable artifact in the possession of a tribe of natives in Guatemala. Burroughs and the filmmakers that worked with him on this weren't quite successful in bringing the real Tarzan to cinematic life. It's easy to see how The New Adventures of  Tarzan's story could be a gripping, rip-roaring novel -- but it's somehow unengaging as a film. The plot is solid, but it's hard to tell, so thoroughly is it camouflaged by deplorable acting and poor quality sound. (The opening credits even contain an apology for the bad soundtrack.) It's partially redeemed by some gripping suspense scenes and intriguing visuals. But as a whole, it's uninvolving and forgettable.

PLOT: The Green Goddess is a totem worshiped by the primitive natives of a lost city deep in the jungles of Guatemala, which contains both a fortune in jewels and an ancient formula for a super-explosive which could threaten the world in the wrong hands. From Africa, Major Martling launches an expedition to find the Goddess and place its secret in safe hands. So does Ula Vale, whose fiance died attempting a similar expe- dition, despite the warnings of her lawyer Hiram Powers, who recretly wants the Goddess' contents for himself and has dispatched Raglan, a mercenary, to get it for him. Aboard ship to Guatemala, they meet Lord Greystoke - aka Tarzan - on his way to the same locale to find his old friend d'Arnot, whose plane reportedly crashed near the lost city. On reaching Guatemala, Tarzan, the Martling party and Ula learn of Raglan's devilish mission and that he has a good head start on them...

Summary written by Rich Wannen

ALTERNATE VERSION: At some unknown point this feature was edited of about 10 minutes, apparently in the UK by New Realm Pictures, which reissued it. Especially removed was an extended action sequence on board ship to Guatemala in which Tarzan foils an attempt by a Raglan thug to pick Martling's pocket for an important telegram. Inserted in the revised print were closeups of a hand successfully making the pick, then dissolve to the hand passing the document to another, with the next cut being to Raglan reading the paper (he eventually gets it in the original. At some point the feature was redubbed in spots. The most notable change is that d'Arnot calls the native white queen Kia-kia instead of Queen Maya, which she is distinctly called in the serial. This print also carries a disclaimer that "variable atmospheric conditions" in Guatemala, where much of the footage was shot, loused up the sound-track. It is unknown if this disclaimer also appeared on earlier prints of the feature, but it does not occur in the serial print itself where the same material is used.

At-A-Glance Film Review by Rich Wannen

 
CAST: Bruce Bennett, Ula Holt, Frank Baker, Lewis Sargent, Ashton Dearholt.
DIRECTOR: Edward A. Kull

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3. Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938 - 72m - b/w)

REVIEW: This is the second of two films edited from the 1935 serial, The New Adventures of Tarzan, the first  bearing the same name. Herman Brix (also known as Bruce Bennett) plays the lead role, portraying him as the intelligent, literate English Lord he was in the books. Not surprisingly, this is very much like the first film -- a decent if confusing plot, terrible acting, rousing action, and an unbearable soundtrack. It's less innovative than the first film, however, and the sped-up fight scenes aren't as thrilling as they were at the time. Brix's Tarzan yell remains the most disconcerting of them all.

At-A-Glance Film Review

 
PLOT: At his English manor, Lord Greystoke - aka Tarzan - recounts his recent adventures in Guatemala. He had been there assisting Major Martling and Ula Vale in their quest for the Green Goddess, a totem worshipped by a primitive jungle tribe inside of which was hidden a formula for a super-explosive. They had successfully wrestled this totem from the natives and were heading back to Livingston when they were attacked by Raglan, a thug sent to steal the Green Goddess and its formula for Hiram Powers' personal use, and the Goddess is seized from them. On the trail of Raglan, they had to deal with his henchmen and also a party of the primitives, sent by the High Priest to retrieve the Goddess. With the Goddess still in Raglan's hands, they were seized by the natives and Tarzan locked in a small cell with a loosely-tethered lion, Ula in an adjacent cell under guard from a hideous jungle hag, and Martling being forced to watch his bumbling valet, George, being tortured by the natives with the assistance of a nameless expatriate white scientist who had joined forces with the primitives...

Summary I written by Rich Wannen

PLOT: Tarzan goes to Guatemala to find his lost friend, D'Arnot. On the way he helps Major Matling search Mayan ruins for hidden jewels and an idol containing the formula for a powerful explosive. D'Arnot and the idol are rescued, but the latter falls into the clutches of the explorer Raglan.

Summary II written by Ed Stephan

REVIEW: This was a truly dreadful film. Although it was allegedly set in Guatemala, one of the first shots was of a rhino, followed by lions, and giraffes at a watering hole. Bruce Bennett did not have the physique to carry off the role of Tarzan, which did make it more believable when he kept getting knocked unconscious. His yell reminded me more of a fire siren going off. The plot set up the obligatory crocodile wrestling match, and then did not follow through. About the only redeeming feature was Ula, the Jane substitute. She was a strong, independent character who participated and didn't just faint at the first sign of danger. At several points, she was the one who rescued Tarzan, rather than the other way around.

A viewer's critique

CAST:  Bruce Bennett, Ula Holt, Frank Baker, Lewis Sargent, Ashton Dearholt.
DIRECTORS:  Edward A. Kull and Wilbur McGaugh.

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4. Drag-Net (1936 - 61m - b/w)

PLOT: A playboy takes a job as an assistant district attorney, finds himself up against a tough crime boss and his gang.
CAST: Rod La Rocque, Marian Nixon, Betty Compson, Jack Adair.
DIRECTOR: Vin Moore.

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5. Phantom of Santa Fe (1937 - 75m - Colour)

PLOT: One of the earliest color westerns. Edgar Rice Burroughs produced this colorful tumbleweed tale in which a band of renegades attacks and loots a Santa Fe mission. stealing some priceless treasures.  Area residents think it's the work of an enigmatic Zorro-like figure known as "The Hawk" or "The Phantom of Santa Fe.  Is he responsible? And just who is this mysterious person?  Director: Jacques Jaccard Cast: Ben Corbett, Carmelita Geraghty, Norman Kerry, Frank Mayo, Merrill McCormick, Jack Mower
DIRECTOR: Jacques Jaccard

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6. Tundra (1936 - 75m - b/w)
...aka Mighty Thunder

CAST: Del Cambre as Dr. Jason Barlow, Merrill McCormick as Mack, the trapper (as William McCormick), Jack Santos as Kuyuk, Eskimo from Noonak, Earl Dwire as Trading Post Keeper
Directed by Norman Dawn
Produced by Ashton Dearholt and partners
Distributed by Burroughs-Tarzan Pictures Inc.

COMMENTARY: RKO re-released TUNDRA in the late 40s, using much of its principal footage with added scenes of a wife & child for the doctor (a bachelor in the original) and one of the most interesting bits of matching work:  in the original, character actor Merrill McCormick plays a longbearded trapper who goes to the doc's rescue at the end.  McCormick was still around when they revised TUNDRA, and they put him in matching clothes & dyed his beard black & had him in perfect replication of his character in the original footage.  (Rich Wannen)

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7. Young Eagles (1934 ~ 228m ~ 12-episode serial)
Directors: Edward Lavier and Vin Moore
Story and Script: Harry O. Hoyt ~ Elizabeth Hayter
Cast:
Bobby Cox ~ Bobby Ford
Jim Vance ~ Jim Adams
Carter Dixon ~ MacLean, the aviator
Philo McCullough ~ Nicholas Condylos
Merrill McCormick ~ Jose Pinardo

PLOT:
A 12-episode serial in which two Eagle Scouts get lost in the jungles of Central America. They are captured by natives, discover treasure and are rescued by the U.S, government.

COMMENTARY: This was a serial Dearholt & Cohen (apparently without Stout) slapped together just before Dearholt convinced ERB to let him do the Tarzan serial: it's also got a South American/jungle motif, and is possibly the most boring serial ever made.  It was produced under the company name, Romance Pictures, which seems probably to have more or less been morphed into BTE.  (Rich Wannen)

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ASHTON DEARHOLT BIRTH NAME: Richard Holt
Sometimes Credited As: Don Castello ~ Richard Holt
BORN: April 4, 1894 ~ Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
DEATH: April 27, 1942, ~ Los Angeles, California, USA
 
 

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For information and photos on other ERB films see:
ERBzin-e of the Silver Screen
ERB ON THE SCREEN PT. 1
ERB ON THE SCREEN PT. 2