Tarzan Goes to Thailand

Not all of the Tarzan movies are set in Africa. The ape man went to India and even New York. But, I didn’t realize that he had also been to Thailand for the 1963 movie “Tarzan’s Three Challenges”. The movie starred Jock Mahoney. Halfway through the film, according to wikipedia, Mahoney contracted dysentery, dengue fever and finally pneumonia. His weight plummeted from 220 pounds to 175 pounds. This led to a continuity problem during the movie as he was always wearing a loin cloth.

Here is the synopsis: “When the spiritual leader of Thailand dies his evil brother Khan tries to prevent his brother’s heir from assuming leadership. Tarzan is summoned to come to Thailand to protect the heir to the throne (a small innocent child) from Khan. When Tarzan arrives he must face three deadly challenges, the final one being a spectacular fight to the death with the dangerous & powerful Khan. The climactic fight is edge of your seat excitement as the two men clash with swords on a net stretched over huge cauldrons of boiling oil.” – Source hollywoodteenmovies.com

The top picture is of Tarzan fighting in front of the Temple of the Buddha’s Footprint in Saraburi. I have posted the movie trailer over at ThailandQA.com and you can see that there was a cast of thousands at this temple. Another location was Khao Luang Cave in Phetchaburi Province. Looking at the pictures below, and the proximity to the Buddha images, it makes me wonder how they got away with filming this movie. But then, didn’t they film Mortal Combat in the temple ruins and palaces of Ayutthaya and even blew up a few columns? I guess money talks when it comes to getting permission to film.