Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
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Tarzan and the Leopard Woman was a 1946 action film. Directed by Kurt Neumann, the premise of the movie is Tarzan encounters a tribe of leopard-worshippers.
Plot
Travellers near Zambezi were being killed, apparently by leopards. The commissioner (played by Dennis Hoey) asked Tarzan to look into the matter. Tarzan immediately doubted that leopards were the problem. At the same time, Tarzan, Jane, and Boy had taken in Kimba, a boy who claimed to have become lost in the jungle. Kimba (played by Tommy Cook) was the brother of Queen Lea, leader of a leopard cult. She had dispatched him to spy on Tarzan. Queen Lea was also conspiring with Ameer Lazar (played by Edgar Barrier), a Western-educated doctor who resented the West's domination of the area.
Kimba had a goal of his own: to take the heart of Jane (played by Brenda Joyce) a deed that would make him a warrior in the eyes of the cult. The Leopard Men wore leopard skins that formed a cowl and cape, with iron claws attached to the back of each hand. Queen Lea (played by Acquanetta) wore a headband, wrist bands, ankle bands, halter top and miniskirt made of leopard skin. As "Variety" put it: "She displays plenty of what it takes to stir male interest and handles her acting chores adequately." She worked her followers into a frenzy in an underground chamber, "These skins are your disguise. These claws are your weapons. Go not as men, but as leopards. Go swiftly, silently."
They attacked a caravan bringing four teachers (played by Iris Flores, Lillian Molieri (Miss Central America of 1945), Helen Gerald and Kay Solinas) and brought the maidens back for sacrifice. They also captured Tarzan, Jane, and Boy. Tarzan brought down the roof of the cavern, destroying the cult and rescuing his friends.
The plot is summed up by these lines spoken by Tarzan (about Cheta):
- "If an animal can act like a man, why not a man like an animal?"
An episode of the 1996 "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures" TV series, starring Joe Lara, also was titled "Tarzan and the Leopard Woman."
External links
- IMDb entry on Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039011/)