Tarzan’s Desert Mystery (1943)

“Cut it out!  You’re queerin’ my pitch!” 4 September 2019

The Quick Pitch:  Tarzan sets out across the desert in search of medicinal plants.  Along the way, he’s accused of stealing a horse, meets a woman accused of murder, gets tangled up with Nazis, and runs into some rather large, menacing creatures.

It’s not that Tarzan’s Desert Mystery is a bad, unwatchable movie, it’s just that it’s not a very good movie and below the standard of the usual Tarzan effort.  The desert town Tarzan visits feels all wrong. It’s inhabited by too many “white” faces. I’m not buying Joe Sawyer, Lloyd Corrigan, and Robert Lowery as desert sheiks and princes.  There’s also too much of an emphasis placed of comedy. Whether it’s Cheetah stealing turbans or camel porters pulling faces, it makes for a rather silly movie – not what I’m looking for in a Tarzan film.  While I did get a kick out of the giant spider, the lizard fight sequences are out of place. I know they came from a cheap sci-fi film I’ve seen before, I can’t remember which, though. Nancy Kelly’s Connie Bryce is another unwelcome distraction.  I generally don’t like to call anything “outdated”, but her 1940s shtick is beyond annoying. Look at the quote I used as a title for this as proof. I won’t go further, but I could easily cite several other issues I had with Tarzan’s Desert Mystery.

Before I end this, I think it’s worth mentioning Otto Kruger as the film’s main baddie.  He’s a real bright spot in what is otherwise a lackluster affair.

5/10