Tarzan's Hidden Jungle

Warner Archive Collection (series)

Posing as a film crew, a team of illegal hunters enters the teeming animal sanctuary of the Sukulu tribe. Their plan: drive the elephants, rhinos and lions out of the sacred land and slaughter them for their hides.

When we first meet the Ape-Man in Tarzan's Hidden Jungle, he's swimming in the river - a fitting introduction for Gordon Scott, the muscular new screen Tarzan who was discovered while working as a lifeguard at a Las Vegas resort. Zippy, a favorite on numerous '50s TV shows, portrays Cheetah. And the sense of jungle love you may detect between Scott and co-star Vera Miles is the real deal - they became an off-screen Mr. and Mrs.

By 1955, the original Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller, had long since retired, and RKO Pictures tried several replacements. TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE was the first of six films starring Gordon Scott as the ape man. It also was the last of 12 Tarzan pictures released by RKO Studios, and other studios subsequently stepped in to try to carry on the long-running franchise. The villain is a bounty hunter named Burger (Jack Elam), who has invaded the jungle in search of ivory, lion skins, and even animal fat. Tarzan thwarts his schemes with the help of the usual herd of elephants. He also spends a lot of time aiding a noble physician, Dr. Celliers (Peter Van Eyck) and his nurse, Jill Hardy (Vera Miles). Miles and Scott were married after the film was shot. Cheta the Chimp is joined by fellow chimps Lucky and Zippy, the latter of which was a mainstay on television's HOWDY DOODY series.