TARZAN AND THE MERMAIDS (1948)
Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan), Brenda Joyce (Jane), George Zucco (Palanth, the High Priest), Andrea Palma (Luana, Mara's mother), Fernando Wagner (Varga, Pearl Trader), Edward Ashley (the Commissioner), John Laurenz (Benji), Gustavo Rojo (Tiko, Mara's fiance), Matthew Boulton (British Inspector General), Linda Christian (Mara).
Directed by Robert Florey; Screenplay by Carroll Young and Albert DePina based on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs; Produced by Sol Lesser, Joe Noriega and Julian Lesser; Original music: Dimitri Tiomkin; Cinematography: Jack Draper; Art Direction: McClure Capps; Costume designer: Norma Koch: ; Assistant directors: Miguel M. Delgado, Bert Briskin, Jaime Contreras and Moisés Delgado; Sound department: James L. Fields and Rafael Ruiz Esparza; Production managers: Antonio Guerrero Tello, Ray Heinz and John Mari; Stunts: Angel Garcia and Paul Stader.
Sol Lesser Productions (as Principal Artists Productions)
RKO RADIO PICTURES
Release date: March 29, 1948 (premiere in NY); April 27, 1948 in Los Angeles; May 15, 1948
Running time: 68 Minutes
Filmed in Black and White
Boy is away at school in England. Mara, a lovely maiden from the forbidden island of Aquatania, has been selected to wed the “living god,” Balu, in reality a white pearl thief named Varga. Together with his henchman, Palanth, the high priest, he has been pilfering pearls from the superstitious natives for years.
Mara escapes and is found by Tarzan. He and Jane agree to help the girl, but she is recaptured and taken back to the island. Tarzan follows.
Tiko, an exiled Aquatican to whom Mara had been originally betrothed, comes upon Jane. Meanwhile, Benji, a combination minstrel and mailman, takes a black pearl which Mara had given to Jane to the local authorities, and the new commissioner decides to visit the island. On the way, he and Benji pick up Tiko and Jane, and the party heads for the island.
On their arrival, they are taken prisoner and Palanth is about to pronounce a sentence of doom, when Tarzan appears, disguised as Balu, and has them all released, and Mara is returned to Tiko. But before their marriage can take place, Varga reappears as Balu and through Palanth orders the outsiders to be hurled into the sea.
Before this can happen, Tarzan unmasks the spurious god, and he and Palanth suffer the fate intended for their victims.
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