The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935 American film Serial)

The New Adventures of Tarzan is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters starring Herman Brix. The serial presents a more authentic version of the character than most other film adaptations, with Tarzan as the cultured and well-educated gentleman in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. It was filmed during the same period as the Johnny Weissmuller/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Tarzan films. Film exhibitors had the choice of booking the serial in 12 episodes, the feature film (also called The New Adventures of Tarzan), or the feature film followed by 11 episodes of the serial.
The serial was partly filmed in Guatemala, and Tarzan was played by Herman Brix (known post-war as Bruce Bennett). The final screenplay was credited to Charles F. Royal and, from Episode 6 onward, also Basil Dickey. It was produced by Ashton Dearholt, Bennett Cohen and George W. Stout under the corporate name of “Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises, Inc.” (which also distributed) and was directed by Edward Kull and Wilbur F. McGaugh.

Plot
The original version of the plot proposed involvement of munitions runners and government agents, focusing more on the super-explosive formula hidden in the idol. This was rewritten during production, but some elements remain, such as the otherwise nonsensical final chapter name "Operator No. 17" and Ula Vale's unexplained periodic use of disguises in the first few chapters. (Ula Vale was originally written as a government agent using "Operator No. 17" as her code name; this plot element was dropped from the revised script, but only after some scenes from the earlier shooting script had been filmed, along with the main title cards.)

Cast
Herman Brix as TarzanHerman Brix as Tarzan
Ula Holt as Ula Vale,
Ashton Dearholt as P.B. Raglan
Frank Baker as Major Francis Martling,.
Lewis Sargent as George.
Jiggs as Nkima, Tarzan's chimpanzee
Dale Walsh as Alice Martling.
Harry Ernest as Gordon Hamilton.
Jackie Gentry as Queen Maya
Jack Mower as Captain Blade
Merrill McCormick as Bouchart

Production
Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises
In 1929, a would-be movie entrepreneur, Ashton Dearholt, arranged an introduction to Edgar Rice Burroughs, using his wife's friendship with Burroughs' daughter. Dearholt had held several jobs within the film industry during the 1920s and had even produced, directed and starred in a brief series of western films. As of 1929, he was familiar with Burroughs' work and wanted to get the rights to one of Burroughs' several singleton novels and film it in conjunction with RKO-Pathé.

Film locations for The New Adventures of Tarzan in Guatemala.
In spite of the difficulties faced while filming in the jungles, most of the places visited by the filming crew and actors were served by the American company International Railways of Central America (IRCA).

San Francisco church ruins in 1875; the Green Goddess temple scenes were filmed at this location in 1935. Photograph by Eadweard Muybridge.
The places where the filming took place were:
Chichicastenango: scenes of a native town where the explorers first met.
Antigua Guatemala: The Green Goddess temple in the abandoned Spanish city, filmed at the ruins of San Francisco Church.
Livingston: scenes where explorers prepare to go into the jungle
Puerto Barrios: arrival and departure of the boats carrying the explorers
Tikal: jungle scenes
Quiriguá: Mayan city where they get lectured on the Maya civilization
Guatemala City: then-luxurious Palace Hotel was used to shoot the scenes of the hotel in the imaginary town of At Mantique[
Scenes were also shot at Jungleland USA in Thousand Oaks, California.

Problems
While in Guatemala in 1933 troubleshooting for RKO, Ashton Dearholt met and fell in love with a young swimmer whom he hired as the serial's lead actress. She was named Florence Watson, but he rechristened her Ula Holt. He brought her back to Los Angeles with him and installed her in the Dearholt household. Dearholt's wife, Florence Gilbert, left with their two children and eventually filed for divorce shortly before the expedition's departure. While filming, Edgar Rice Burroughs divorced his wife Emma Hubert and married Florence Gilbert, 30 years his junior, on 4 April 1935, after which they escaped to Hawaii for their honeymoon. He would write in his personal diary that he had fallen in love with Florence when she accompanied Dearholt to his first meeting with Burroughs in 1929.

Tarzan's Yell
This serial features an alternate version of the famous Tarzan yell. This version is variously described as a rising pitch "Man-gan-i" or "Tar-man-gan-i" sound. The "Tar-man-gan-i" version originally comes from the 1932 Tarzan radio serial starring James Pierce.