Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970

1970 in film

The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....

) is an adventure

Adventure

An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...

 film composed of an edited two-part television episode of Tarzan (1966 TV series) released as a feature

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

. It stars Ron Ely as Tarzan

Tarzan

Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

. Former Tarzan actor Jock Mahoney

Jock Mahoney

Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...

 and Woody Strode

Woody Strode

Woodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering black American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960...

 (a veteran of two previous Tarzan films) co-star. The movie was produced by Sy Weintraub

Sy Weintraub

Sy Weintraub was a movie and television producer best known for his series of Tarzan films and television episodes between 1959 and 1968. Weintraub broke with the Johnny Weissmuller formula of portraying Tarzan as a pidgin-speaking noble savage who lives in a treehouse with Jane and Boy...

 and Leon Benson, written by Lee Erwin

Lee Erwin

Lee Erwin was a television writer from the 1950s to the 1970s. Erwin wrote for Mr. & Mrs. North, The Millionaire, Have Gun, Will Travel, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan and many other 1950s and 1960s TV shows...

, Jack H. Robinson, John Considine

John Considine

This article is about the writer and actor. For his grandfather, the vaudeville pioneer, see John Considine . For the former Florida state representative, see John J...

 and Tim Considine

Tim Considine

Timothy Daniel "Tim" Considine is a former American child actor and young adult actor who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s...

 (based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...

) and directed by Robert L. Friend.

Plot summary

Tarzan loses his hearing after a bomb blast, and is hunted through the jungle by the ruthless Colonel.

Selected Cast

• Ron Ely as Tarzan
• Jock Mahoney
  Jock Mahoney
  Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...
  
   as The Colonel, a villain
• Woody Strode
  Woody Strode
  Woodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering black American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960...
  
   as Marshak
• Manuel Padilla, Jr. as Jai, Tarzan's youthful ward
• Nichelle Nichols
  Nichelle Nichols
  Nichelle Nichols is an American actress, singer and voice artist. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting...
  
   as Ruana

Production notes

The film consists of The Deadly Silence, a two-part episode of Ely's Tarzan

Tarzan (NBC series)

Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised...

series.

• The Deadly Silence, Part I, aired on October 28, 1966. It was written by Lee Erwin and Jack H. Robinson, and directed by Robert L. Friend.

• The Deadly Silence, Part II, aired on November 4, 1966. It was written by John Considine and Tim Considine, and directed by Lawrence Dobkin
  Lawrence Dobkin
  Lawrence Dobkin was an American television director, actor and television screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades....
  
  , who was not credited in the theatrical release of the film.

Jock Mahoney's first appearance in Tarzan films was as Coy Banton, a villain opposite Gordon Scott

Gordon Scott

Gordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960.-Early life, education and military service:He was born Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland,...

's Tarzan in the 1960

1960 in film

The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...

 film Tarzan the Magnificent

Tarzan the Magnificent

Tarzan the Magnificent is a 1960 British film, the follow-up to Tarzan's Greatest Adventure . It was directed by Robert Day and produced by Sy Weintraub. Gordon Scott makes his last appearance as Tarzan while Jock Mahoney appeared as villain Coy Banton...

. He took over the role of the Ape Man in 1962

1962 in film

The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....

's Tarzan Goes to India

Tarzan Goes to India

Tarzan Goes to India is the first film featuring Jock Mahoney as Tarzan. It was written by Robert Hardy Andrews and directed by John Guillermin who also directed Tarzan's Greatest Adventure. It was one of two Mahoney films that took Tarzan out of Africa and sent him to the far east...

. This was followed by his final turn as Tarzan in Tarzan's Three Challenges

Tarzan's Three Challenges

Tarzan's Three Challenges is a British-American adventure film filmed in Metrocolor, which is a followup to 1962's Tarzan Goes to India. The movie was Jock Mahoney's second and final turn as the apeman, was produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Robert Day and Berne Giler, and directed by Robert Day...

(1963

1963 in film

The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....

).

Woody Strode portrayed Ramo in Tarzan's Fight for Life

Tarzan's Fight for Life

Tarzan's Fight for Life is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan It stars Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Jil Jarmyn, and Cheeta the chimpanzee. The movie was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone...

(1958

1958 in film

The year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....

), and Khan in Tarzan's Three Challenges

Tarzan's Three Challenges

Tarzan's Three Challenges is a British-American adventure film filmed in Metrocolor, which is a followup to 1962's Tarzan Goes to India. The movie was Jock Mahoney's second and final turn as the apeman, was produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Robert Day and Berne Giler, and directed by Robert Day...

(1963).