Tarzan and the Mermaids(1948).

Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948). Adventure film based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Directed by Robert Florey, it was the last of the Tarzan movies to star Johnny Weissmuller in the title role. Brenda Joyce plays Jane and George Zucco portrays Palanth, a high priest attempting to force a young girl (Linda Christian) to marry a con man (Fernando Wagner) impersonating the god Balu.

The film was shot in Mexico by RKO during its collaboration with Churubusco Studios at Acapulco, Teotihuacan and Mexico City. It was the first official Tarzan film to be filmed outside the United States since Herman Brix's The New Adventures of Tarzan.

The film is best known for its cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa, exotic Mexican scenery and coastal locales, a Dimitri Tiomkin score and much group singing. Two members of the film crew were killed during production. One Mexican crew member was crushed by a motorboat whilst Angel Garcia, a stunt diver who doubled for Tarzan's high dive, was killed after he survived the dive but was swept by the surf into the rocks of the cliffs.

The story begins on a beautiful island, a young girl Mara, has been promised in marriage to their god. Scared she escapes deep into the jungle. There she is found by Tarzan, who takes her home to meet Jane and Cheetah.

 

Mara, is afraid the high priest will find her and force her into marrying their god. Tarzan comes to the rescue.

This light- hearted Tarzan film has some great swimming and diving scenes, especially the fight with the octopus.  He does quite a bit of cliff climbing and diving into the water. You do not want to miss the grand finale in which he trows the impostor "Balu" from a high cliff it is very impressive.

Brenda Joyce (February 25, 1917 – July 4, 2009). Although she appeared in many B-movies of the 1940s, she was cast as Maris Hanover in the 1942 film, Little Tokyo, U.S.A., she is best-remembered as the seventh actress to play Jane in the Tarzan series of films.

She succeeded Maureen O'Sullivan in the series and appeared in the role five times. Her first four appearances as Jane were opposite Johnny Weissmuller.

In, her last performance as Jane in, Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), was with Lex Barker as Tarzan. Joyce and Karla Schramm from the silent era were the only two actresses to play Jane opposite two different actors playing Tarzan. She retired from acting in 1949.