Frank Merrill in a scene from Tarzan the Tiger, a serial that bridged the gap between silent and sound films. Natalie Kingston played Jane in this version of ERB's "Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar".
TARZAN THE TIGER (1929)
Cast: Frank Merrill (Tarzan / Lord Greystoke), Natalie Kingston (Lady Jane), Al Ferguson, Kithnou, Sheldon Lewis, Paul Panzer, Clive Morgan.
Directed by Henry MacRae; screenplay by Ian McClosky Heath and William Lord Wright; titles by Ford Beebe based on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the novel "Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar".
PLOT: After Tarzan's estate is destroyed by Arabs Jane is sold into slavery by a man posing as a friendly scientist. Tarzan develops amnesia after a blow to the head. When he recovers his memory (from a later blow) he defeats the villain, recovers the fabulous jewels of Opar, and rescues Jane.
Chapter titles:
1. Call of the Jungle
2. The Road To Opar
3. The Altar of the Flaming God
4. The Vengeance of La
5. Condemned To Death
6. Tantor the Terror
7. The Deadly Peril
8. Loop of Death
9. Flight of Werper
10. Prisoner of the Apes
11. The Jaws of Death
12. The Jewels of Opar
13. A Human Sacrifice
14. Tarzan's Rage
15. Tarzan's Triumph
(NOTE) A sequel to Tarzan the Tiger was planned, called Tarzan the Terrible, but the producers did not think Frank Merrill's voice was suited for sound movies, so that movie was scrapped. MGM stepped in and acquired the rights to film a new series of Tarzan films. Surprisingly, with the advent of sound, Tarzan suddenly became a man of few words, mostly grunts and a few jungle words. And the famous "Tarzan yell". Herman Brix was MGM's first choice but injured his shoulder while filming the movie Touchdown. Johnny Weissmuller was spotted by writer Cyril Hume and the rest is history.
