To Swing or Not to Swing

Never underestimate the power of popular culture. We always associate Tarzan with swinging on the vine, starting with the 1932 movie, Tarzan the Ape Man with Johnny Weissmuller (himself an Olympic swimming champion). This image has had permeated and embedded in our cultural psyche in the forms of sequels, spoofs, TV commercials, other movies (i.e. George of the Jungle), greeting cards, comic books and the like. A long time ago, I was watching a 1918 (silent) movie called Tarzan of the Apes with Elmo Lincoln in the title role. And to my shock, Tarzan himself was NOT a vine-swinger. Rather, he was a tree CLIMBER! We see him mostly climbing on the tree branches. The only shot I ever saw him with a vine was JUST when he landed on the ground and letting go of the vine from his hand. The vine itself was barely seen at the right side of the movie frame!

I never read the original novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, thus unable to know if the author did write about the part of vine-swinging or tree-climbing. According to the Internet Movie Database, this 1918 version is most faithful to the novel than others. It could have had something to do with limited technology or stuntwork during the filming (although the cast and crew spent almost a full year in the jungle). Or, whatever possibilties did or did not occur back, no shots existed in this 1918 film of Tarzan swinging on the vine in full view. To swing or not to swing, draw your own vines.