Viewers Couldn’t Handle the Nudity in Tarzan the Ape Man

One of the most popular film franchises of all time are the Tarzan adventures. One of the original films that launched the franchise was the 1932 film Tarzan the Ape Man. Tarzan the Ape Man was a popular adventure film starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan and became one of the biggest hits of its time.

▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 - Intro
00:19 - The Beginnings
01:38 - The Controversy
02:39 - Fun Facts About the Film
04:38 - Pre-code and the Hays Code
06:26 - Outro

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But Tarzan the Ape Man also had major controversies. The film included a scene of Tarzan and Jane swimming naked together. On top of that, Jane wore rather skimpy clothing that was a bit too revealing for conservative America at the time.

This film was one of the many that helped create the Hays Code which set strict guidelines on what films could and couldn’t show. It also sparked a conversation on what we can show in cinema and whether we’ve been desensitized to explicit content.

Tarzan the Ape Man also had an interesting backstory in how it got made. It was based on the story written by Edgar Rice Burroughs published in 1912. The studio executives at MGM wanted to hire a well-known star to play the role of Tarzan. They found Johnny Weissmuller who had recently retired from swimming.

He had appeared in a few films and was also making strides as a famous underwear model. He was so successful in his role in Tarzan and the Ape that he played the role in a further 12 films. He managed to beat out an unknown actor who sought out the role – but later became an icon of Hollywood himself!

Tarzan and the Ape is a fascinating film as is the whole Tarzan franchise. If you’ve seen the film, you might want to watch it again. If you haven’t, now’s the time to give it a try to see what the stir was all about!

Let’s look back at why viewers couldn’t handle the nudity in Tarzan the Ape Man…

Viewers Couldn’t Handle the Nudity in Tarzan the Ape Man