Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman was a
1946 action film based on the
Tarzan character created by
Edgar Rice Burroughs. Directed by
Kurt Neumann, the premise of the movie is Tarzan encounters a tribe of leopard-worshippers.
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?"*
Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan
*
Brenda Joyce as Jane
*
Johnny Sheffield as Boy
*
Acquanetta as Lea, the High Priestess
An episode of the 1996 "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures" TV series, starring
Joe Lara, also was titled "Tarzan and the Leopard Woman."
*
IMDb entry on Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
