Tarzan's Peril

Tarzan's Peril is a 1951 film directed by Byron Haskin and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Virginia Huston as Jane, and featuring Dorothy Dandridge as "Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba."^[2][3] The fifteenth film of the Tarzan film series that began with 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man, some of it was shot in Kenya, making it the first Tarzan film to be filmed in Africa, though the majority of its location shooting was done in the United States. Critics praised the convincing integration of the African and American footage. The film is frequently shown under the alternative titles Jungle Queen and Tarzan and the Jungle Queen, and was followed by Tarzan's Savage Fury in 1952.

Tarzan's Peril
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Byron Haskin
Based on	Characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Produced by	Sol Lesser
Starring	Lex Barker Virginia Huston Dorothy Dandridge
Cinematography	Karl Struss
Edited by	Jack Murray
Music by	Michel Michelet
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	March 10, 1951 (1951-03-10) (US)[1]
Running time	78 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

District Commissioner Peters delays his retirement when confronted with Radijeck, an escaped criminal resuming his gunrunning on behalf on an unnamed foreign power. When Peters and his replacement Connors discover the gunrunning, Radijeck murders the two men. Radijeck sells the weapons to King Bulam who arms his men to revenge himself against Melmendi, Queen of a rival tribe who spurns his offer of marriage. With Melmendi and her people held captive, only Tarzan can stop them.

Cast

• Lex Barker as Tarzan
• Virginia Huston as Jane
• George Macready as Radijeck
• Douglas Fowley as Herbert Trask
• Glenn Anders as Andrews
• Alan Napier as Commissioner Peters
• Edward Ashley as Conners
• Dorothy Dandridge as Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba
• Walter Kingsford as Barney
• Frederick O'Neal as King Bulam

Critical reception

A contemporary review of the film in Variety reported that it "has the familiar ingredients of jungle adventure, plus good background footage actually lensed in Africa," and "Lex Barker is a capable hero in his Tarzan character. Script could have made him even more of a superman, but otherwise does not let down the fans of the Edgar Rice Burroughs creation."^[4] Writing in Turner Classic Movies, critic John Miller described the film as "perhaps the best of Barker's five Tarzan pictures," noting that "the effort to capture genuine scenes in Africa give the film a sense of scope and verisimilitude that previous Tarzan pictures could not approach."^[5]