ADVENTURES OF TARZAN (1921) 10 Chapters. Tinted

The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) is a 15-chapter movie serial that features the third and final appearance of Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan. The serial was produced by Louis Weiss, written by Robert F. Hill and Lillian Valentine (partially based on the novels The Return of Tarzan and Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs), and directed by Robert F. Hill and Scott Sidney. The first chapter was released on December 1, 1921.[

PLOT:
Tarzan rescues Jane from Arab slave traders after they become marooned in Africa. They return to the cabin where his parents lived before their deaths. Jane is captured by Queen La of Opar, taken to that hidden city, and is to be made a sacrifice. Tarzan rescues her and they escape. Nikolas Rokoff and William Cecil Clayton, the usurper to Tarzan's title of Lord Greystoke, learn that Jane has a map to the city (which contains fabulous riches in exotic jewels), tattooed onto her back. They kidnap her and attempt to loot the city. Tarzan braves many perils, finally rescues Jane, defeats the villains and escapes La's amorous clutches.

CAST
Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan
Louise Lorraine as Jane Porter
Scott Pembroke as William Cecil Clayton, cousin of Tarzan, usurper to title of Lord Greystoke
Frank Whitson as Nikolas Rokoff, a villain
Lillian Worth as Queen La of Opar, a villainess in love with Tarzan
Charles Inslee as Professor Porter, Jane's father
Zip Monberg as Monsieur Gernot (credited as George Monberg)
Charles Gay as Sheik Ben Ali
Maceo Bruce Sheffield as Chief of Wazini
Fifi R. Lachoy
Frank Merrill as Arab Guard
George B. French
Gordon Griffith
Thomas Jefferson

CASTING:
This serial marked Elmo Lincoln's return to the part of Tarzan, whom he was the first to play, but it was also Lincoln's last time as the character. The serial was advertised as "Censor-proof." Nevertheless, censorship forced the previously bare-chested Lincoln to cover up and wear an over-the-shoulder-styled costume for this production. Louise Lorraine celebrated her sixteenth birthday during production. As advertised, "Joe Martin, famous screen ape, plays a leading part." Production started January 1 and finished August 13, 1921.[3]

Stunts
Frank Merrill began doubling Lincoln about halfway through the serial. Lincoln was insured for $150,000, and the insurers were UNHAPPY with him doing his own stunts. Seven years later, Merrill was cast as the apeman in Tarzan the Mighty.

RELEASE:
The Adventures of Tarzan Serial Sales Corporation was formed in New York for marketing purposes, The serial sold in half of all available markets without a roadman. It sold out in most countries worldwide within three months of its completion date. Despite rumors circulated that the serial was not new material, but just a rehash of footage from previous Tarzan films, The Adventures of Tarzan was a successful film and one of the top four attractions of the year. The film was reedited and released with sound effects twice—first in 1928, and a second time in 1935.

CRITICAL RECEPTION:
The Exhibitors Herald wrote, "Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan is too well known to theater-goers to need further introduction. His red-blooded fights, staged in each episode, will evoke applause from the serial audience." Film Fun Magazine wrote, "There are enough wild animals introduced in each episode to keep the younger generation, which has shown a predilection for the serial form of entertainment, whooping her up."

INFLUENCE:
The success of the serial inspired a Broadway show, Tarzan of the Apes, but critics attacked it as fit only for film and unsuitable for the stage.

SURVIVAL STATUS
The complete fifteen-chapter version has not survived.[citation needed] The version available on DVD is the 1928 ten-chapter rerelease.[citation needed] The ten-chapter version can also be viewed at the Internet Archive. The first thirteen chapters survive in 16mm film at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Archive. The UCLA Film and Television Archive has restored chapter 11: "The Hidden Foe". Silent Era claims that the archive also has prints of the film and 1928 rerelease.