Tarzan and His Mate Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Tarzan and His Mate Blu-ray Movie Review

Sweet Jane.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 20, 2026

The surprise standout in Warner Archive's small but mighty slate of February titles is Cedric Gibbons' Tarzan and His Mate, a wildly entertaining and action-packed pre-Code adventure film that was immediately subjected to censorship for its risqué and violent content that, like its predecessor, will still surprise first-time viewers who aren't familiar with this era of filmmaking. Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, and others return for this direct sequel to the linked Tarzan the Ape Man, which continues the story in real time as Harry Holt (Hamilton), along with his fellow explorer Martin Arlington (newcomer Paul Cavanagh), returns to the African jungles for a treasure trove of ivory hidden in a elephant graveyard. Holt is also looking for lovely Jane (O'Sullivan), who remained with Tarzan (Weissmuller) after the death of her father a year ago, and even brings a few bribes to entice her back to civilization.

There's obviously minimal setup this time around, but Tarzan and His Mate nonetheless opens with a brief opener and introduction for Martin Arlington, who's one of many new arrivals in search of the ivory treasure. Another party gets the jump on them so Holt and Arlington, along with the dutiful Saidi (Nathan Curry) and a few hundred expendable "safari boys", get a late start on their journey. Immediately facing danger in the form of a violent tribe and roaming wildlife, the men have their work cut out for them... but after presumably days of hiking and facing yet another threat, they're saved by Tarzan and company and it's not long before the civilized men are reunited with Jane. (Like Tarzan, she looks shower-fresh with straight, white teeth, freshly-cut hair, and smooth underarms, and she turns her social skills back on like only a few days have passed.) But they're not out of the jungle yet: the hidden elephant graveyard is still their main destination, and Tarzan might not be so keen on letting outsiders take whatever they want.

There's a lot to like about Tarzan and His Mate, but special attention should be paid to Cedric Gibbons for his first and shockingly only contribution as a director -- the wide majority of his lengthy career in Hollywood was as an art director where he worked on future classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Gaslight, The Yearling, An American in Paris, Forbidden Planet, and High Society. (One of 36 founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Gibbons also famously designed the Oscar statuette.) While Tarzan and His Mate may not rank above other "great films by a one-time director" like Charles Laughton's almighty The Night of the Hunter, Barbara Loden's Wanda, or even Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls, it's a terrific film and makes one wish he'd sat in the chair a few more times.

Beyond the outstanding direction, cinematography, and action scenes (I won't even hint at any, at the risk of spoiling them for first-time viewers), and exotic atmosphere, Tarzan and His Mate is actually something of a message movie. Not only does it take a bit more of an environmental approach to the plot, but Jane's got a nice little character arc in that she's got a tough choice ahead of her... even if the outcome is predictable. But it's that action and excitement that keeps this one moving along from start to finish, establishing loads of physical danger for our "heroes" within the first 30 minutes and rarely letting up for the next hour or so. This action is also peppered with admittedly shocking levels of violence, and yes, we even get a bit of nudity to make sure everything goes down smooth.

Tarzan and His Mate doesn't rely on this shock value to cement its status as A-grade genre entertainment, but it certainly helps. Perhaps the film's envelope-pushing was in direct response to looming Hays Code enforcement, but MGM stepped in (at the behest of Code representatives) only a few short days after the film opened in April 1934 to remove or reshoot certain scenes. The most famous is a playful underwater swimming tryst with Tarzan and Jane (here played by Maureen O'Hara's double, the Olympic swimming medalist Josephine McKim) where the latter is fully nude [screenshot #19], a scene that was later reshot with clothes to comply with various regional censorship laws. Other highlights include Jane's revealing two-piece jungle attire [screenshots #2, 4, and 5, among others], brief male nudity (Paul Cavanagh's backside can be seen before he gets a bath), and graphic violence during a handful of action scenes, including several cliffside deaths and a gruesome close-up stabbing. Even a few lines of dialogue implying that Tarzan and Jane were living together without being "legally married" (in the jungle!) were deemed offensive.

Luckily, many of these moments were reinstated as early as the late 1980s for VHS, laserdiscs, and showings on TNT, several decades after the Hays Code's unreasonably strong grip on movies no longer existed. Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray package goes one step further, reinstating all of the above moments for the first time on home video. Their restoration marks the first new ground-up master in more than 30 years and, paired with the inarguable strength of the main feature, is just one of many reasons to consider this one of 2026's best releases thus far.

Tarzan and His Mate Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Much like the original Tarzan the Ape Man and countless other Golden Age MGM movies, the original nitrate negative for Tarzan and His Mate was tragically destroyed in the 1978 George Eastman house fire. Typically the next-best source for such movies are fine-grain safeties that were luckily created by the studio beginning in the early 1960s... but in this case, more than one safety had to be used to ensure that all previously- censored scenes and shots were accounted for. This means that Tarzan and His Mate varies in quality at times but, like the boutique label's very best "reconstructed" releases, the seams have been made as invisible as possible. I've written at length about what to expect from Warner Archive's high-quality restorations in previous reviews... so in this case, I'll let the screenshots speak for themselves. In addition to the usual merits like terrific image detail, nicely-tempered black levels, and a naturally film-like texture, fans can also expect a carefully-cleaned picture and strong encoding on this dual-layered disc. In short, this looks like yet another labor of love from WAC that absolutely catapults past previous home video editions.

Tarzan and His Mate Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As usual, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track repurposes the film's original one-channel mix into split mono for wider playback and, aside from a bit of source-related wear-and-tear, is well within expectations for a film from the early 30s. Trace amounts of hiss can also be heard, which as usual indicate a lack of noise reduction applied to preserve as much of the dynamic range as possible. Overall, it's a solid effort and the original score by composer William Axt -- who was new to the franchise, but would return for the next film Tarzan Escapes in 1936 -- sounds very good as well.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Tarzan and His Mate Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover art and a few era-specific extras.

• What Price Jazz (17:04) - This unrestored black-and-white 1934 short takes a look at the acceptance and integration of jazz music into mainstream America. Like the next short, it has nothing to do with Tarzan but might have been included as pre-show entertainment during one of many films released during that year.

• The Spectacle Maker (20:15) - Written and directed by John Farrow (and very loosely based on the story by Frank Harris), this early three-strip Technicolor short concerns a pair of magic glasses and their various effects in 17th century Germany. It's more than a little corny but interesting from a historical perspective.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:01) - This creative, long-form promotional piece can also be seen here.

Tarzan and His Mate Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cedric Gibbons' infamous Tarzan and His Mate is regarded by many as the pinnacle of the franchise... which might actually be damning Edgar Rice Burroughs' most famous character with faint big-screen praise, considering how many films he starred in. It advances upon the earlier Tarzan the Ape Man with a stronger story, more interesting themes, better direction, and even more envelope-pushing content that tested the limits of "good taste". Hastily trimmed and re-shot by MGM only days after its 1934 theatrical release, an approximate "original cut" has been available for several decades but Warner Archive's new Blu-ray makes sure everything is accounted for. Add in their usual great restoration efforts and you've got a very strong release that's Highly Recommended to fans and first-timers alike.