LEX BARKER & BRENDA JOYCE IN 'TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN'

Title: TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN Year: 1949 Rating: **1/2

Johnny Weissmuller's replacement was Lex Barker, and his first turn as the King of the Jungle, TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN, is a sleight-of-hand, keeping the same actress for Jane, who was a replacement for Maureen O'Sullivan in a wide-smiled Brenda Joyce, so the viewer could close their eyes and imagine Johnny's still in the role...

However Lex was a good fit despite MAGIC FOUNTAIN dragging after the most intriguing aspects in the first half, where a female aviator turns up after having vanished for decades, and is still a beautiful twenty instead of fifty... 

Cheetah in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

Combining science-fiction within adventure while the Fountain of Youth location, with neat matte-paintings liken to RKO's KING KONG, is being guarded by dangerous natives, so even Tarzan gets spears thrown his way...

But as usual the main villains are white capitalists: herein Albert Dekker and Charles Drake, seeking that Fountain for riches, following Tarzan, Jane and a frolicking Cheetah around a Tarzan programmer with visual style over substance.

Brenda Joyce in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

Lex Barker in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

Albert Dekker and Charles Drake in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

Lex Barker in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

Evelyn Ankers in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

First Tarzan actor Elmo Lincoln to right of Lex Barker in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN

RKO Backdrop from TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN