Tarzan and the Valley of Gold is the best of Sy Weintraub’s Tarzan films. After the soft-headedness of the Johnny Weissmuller films, it is surprise to see such a grittily realistic Tarzan film – the image of a Tarzan wielding a machine-gun to mow down opponents for instance is quite startling. There are some excellent action scenes – Tarzan bringing down a helicopter with a bolas or a suspense-filled scene where he pulls an explosive pendant off from around Nancy Kovack’s neck. The film was accused at the time of being an attempt to appeal to the James Bond audience. The credits do make an effort to conduct a swinging 60s psychedelic look, all accompanied by lounge music. And there is one sequence that opens the film that does give cause for the Bond ripoff justifications with Tarzan arriving in from Africa via helicopter and emerging not in loincloth but in a sharp business suit, which is followed by an action sequence involving a shootout in a sports arena with Mike Henry distracting his opponent using sunlight reflected off a car sideview mirror and then rolling a giant Coke bottle mock-up down on them.

It is also good to have a Tarzan who speaks perfect rather than pidgin English for once, although this is somewhat weakened by former footballer Mike Henry’s obvious American accent. (Mike Henry at least has an impressively muscled physique that is more than suited to the part). There is convincing wildlife photography intercut with the action. Particularly impressive is the location work at Mexico’s Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan, which stand in for the lost city. Nancy Kovack is there for the sole purpose of being the suggestion of a love interest (which never happens). David Opatoshu, a fine actor who never received any major roles, makes an excellent serpentine villain. Indeed, he makes for a villain of unusually strong calibre for a Tarzan film.