[5]

Lex Barker ends his five-film tenure as Tarzan with a bit of a whimper in Tarzan and the She-Devil. The plot focuses around ivory poachers, lead by Raymond Burr and icy-cool Monique van Vooren, who enslave a peaceful native tribe to do all their grunt work. This installment had the potential for the greatest emotional impact, with Tarzan’s tree-top home burnt to the ground and Jane presumed dead for the last half of the film. But neither the writers nor the actors are inclined to give the matinee serial any heft. Cheeta the Chimp is put the best use ever, though, trying desperately to free Tarzan from chains and secretly bringing the whipped, bleeding hero water when no one is looking. And while I normally roll my eyes at all the stock footage these films employ, there’s a truly spectacular clip here in which a black panther is taken down by an enormous python.