You can tell a Tarzan movie with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan was a big deal by this showmanship pressbook. It’s huge: sixteen colorful, large format, pages of merchandising and theater promotion, printed on cardstock. Check out the cool Ballyhoo! float, the coloring pages, tie ups (that Remotrol game is so period), ice cream cups, giant vampire bats theater marquee (somebody PLEASE have a photograph of that in situ), streamers, standees, hangars (they were double-sided mobiles), tire covers(!), Tarzan Bread(?), and tons more stuff to promote the movie and sell merchandise. Sadly, the giant vampire bats scene was cut because audiences found it too scary. Imagine that!
The original version of this film, titled The Capture of Tarzan, was shown to preview audiences in 1935 and was heavily criticized for scenes of gruesome violence. The most notorious scene was one involving a giant bat attack in a swamp. Hollywood legend has it that, at the preview showing, the sight of these giant creatures carrying off panic-stricken porters sent kids screaming from the theatre. So strong was the negative reaction from parents, critics and media, that the studio ordered much of the film re-shot. MGM replaced the original director, James McKay, with a series of directors with the final credit given to Richard Thorpe. (ERBzine)
