Am I Missing Something?

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Although this film was shot in Thailand, the small inaccessible kingdom where the action of the film takes place looks more like a Tibetian type culture. Jock Mahoney plays Tarzan for the second and last time in Tarzan's Three Challenges. And the title is a misnomer, the heir to the kingdom has three challenges, Tarzan is his champion in the fourth which is a kind of medieval wager of battle.Woody Strode is both the old and dying king and his younger ambitious brother. A young child played by Ricky Der is named the heir probably in a process similar to how the Dalai Lama is chosen. The brother who is a warrior and has trained his son to be the same thinks the time has come for a warrior to lead in this modern age and the hell with traditions of pacifism. Tarzan comes to this kingdom to aid young Master Der on his journey to claim his rights. And of course Strode the warrior tries to stop him as the king Strode dies. When Der completes his three challenges Strode does the wager of battle thing that involves barrels of hot oil. Quite a good challenge as Tarzan is the only guy around who would have chance against Strode.Actually Strode the warrior does make some rather valid points about moving into the 20th century. Even the Dalai Lama in exile has come to grips with modernity in some ways.Tarzan's Three Challenges holds up very well for today's audiences, these films shot on location are so much better than those shot on the back lot of RKO back in the day.

I actually count this as a "7" as a genre movie (as opposed to the serious "A" list stuff that gets the Oscar nominations every year) because it has a lot of heart, some pretty good casting and performances (you gotta love Woody Strode when he plays a heavy), and a lot of nice touches in the screenplay. (I especially enjoyed the "test of wisdom" challenge, where Tarzan gives a very clever and witty answer to the monks' puzzler.) As a kid I was a bit taken back by how skinny the "new" Tarzan seemed to be compared to the beefcake idols who preceded him, but knowing that poor Jock Mahoney was dealing with dysentery and dengue fever during the shooting of the film explains a lot. Even so, "Tarzan" was still lithe and agile looking, and the character seemed to have a wisdom and wit that was missing from previous movies (Lex Barker was great, but his character was still somewhat pre-verbal.) This made for an interesting change in the movie. Normally Tarzan is the primal Alpha Male in a Tarzan movie, and the outcome is never really in doubt. However,it was obvious from the beginning that for all his sinew and courage and resourcefulness, Tarzan might be outmatched this time by the Woody Strode character. It made for a genuinely suspenseful climax when the two finally locked horns. Or swords, or whatever.In short, for what it was "Three Challenges" was a fine movie. I'd love to see it again some time soon.

Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963) ** (out of 4) Strange entry in the never ending series has Tarzan (Jock Mahoney) going to an oriental country when he learns that their leader is dying. The throne is suppose to go to the dying man's son but his evil brother (Woody Strode) plans on stealing it. This film does have some nice touches here and there but sadly the screenplay takes way too many easy spots and in the end there's just not enough to carry the 93-minute running time. I think Mahoney makes for a rather strange Tarzan because outside the outfit and people calling him Tarzan you'd never really know he was the legendary character. I say that because Mahoney really doesn't give him much of a personality and so many of the classic things are missing here including the famous yell. I'm really not sure how much blame should go towards the actor since he apparently got dysentery and dengue fever while filming this movie. You can actually see that his body weight is different in various scenes in the film and there are times that he appears so white you'll be thinking he's playing a ghost. I'm really not sure of the full story so I don't know if the actor got sick early on and this impacted everything going forward or not but there are many scenes where it's obvious the actor isn't in the best shape. Strode is pretty fun as the bad guy but the screenplay really doesn't leave him too much to do except be mean and act tough. The rest of the supporting cast fit their roles nicely even if no one really sticks out. The title refers to three challenges that Tarzan must go through and these here are certainly the highlights. One of the best moments happens during the strength challenge when Tarzan's arms are attached to two bull pulling in the opposite direction. Another very good scene happens at the end when Tarzan and the brother must battle to see who will get the throne. Having a kid as a side kick was certainly due to this film being aimed at children but I didn't mind this too much. I only wish the screenplay had added a tad bit more of a story or at least thrown in a few more interesting characters. This isn't a totally worthless film but I don't see anyone except Tarzan junkies eating this thing up.

This is Tarzan at its best. A man of nature dealing with the nature of man. Defending the spiritual from the corporeal. Terrific allegory. Jock Mahoney, although a bit old at the time of this film, is a terrific Tarzan. My favorite.