Thru Thin and Thicket, or Who's Zoo in Africa (1933) User Reviews

Strange Interlude....ish.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 15 July 2018]

"Thru Thin and Thicket, or Who's Zoo in Africa" is an incredibly dumb film. However, what saves it is that it deliberately tries to be dumb...and never takes itself seriously.

There's not a ton of plot here. An expedition led by Professor Backwash (James Finlayson) arrives in the African countryside. Soon, the reporter Scoop Skinner (Eddie Borden) arrives and he soon spots a female Tarzan, called 'Tarkana' (Dorothy Granger). Soon she and Scoop are making out and having a grand time. But Backwash is jealous and wants her for himself, so he incites the locals who soon attack. Can Tarkana and her animal friends save the day?

As I said, the film is dopey but tries to be. Tarkana calls all sorts of creatures to help....and soon they're not only showing footage of African predators but salmon on a run and rabbits hopping about for no particular reason. Not all the jokes work but they come so often that you hardly have time to notice. Entertaining...in a low brow sort of way.

By the way, I mention "Strange Interlude" in the summary and that's because that's one of the jokes in the picture. It is referring to a Clark Gable-Norma Shearer film written by Eugene O'Neill (based on his play) where you can hear the thoughts of the actors in the story. This also occurs when Scoop drinks the 'Strange Interlude Cocktail'!

Riotously funny, madcap Tarzan parody

[mgmax · 9 November 2003]

Sandrich is remembered now for several of the best Fred and Ginger movies (and for fathering one of TV's most successful comedy directors) but he first really made his name directing RKO talkie shorts like the Oscar-winning (and wildly ribald) So This is Harris, also with James Finlayson. I saw this entry in the series produced by the Masquers club at Cinesation and it's nearly as good as So This is Harris, a nutty, fast- paced sendup of explorer documentaries that soon turns into a Tarzan parody with the various males (including Finlayson) attempting to woo the female Tarzan in between drinking gags and double-entendres.

Could have been more astringent, but still a pleasure to watch!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 25 May 2016]

One of the many, many shorts that Mark Sandrich directed before turning to features in this very same year (1933) and turning out some of the best musicals the world has ever seen before his untimely death from a heart attack at the age of forty-three, just nine days into shooting. In that context, this two-reel Tarzan spoof seems somewhat lacking in what we might call the Sandrich touch. Indeed, the comedy often seems more than a bit forced, although that is often the fault of the script rather than the direction. It was also probably a mistake to throw everything into the pot. We are treated to verbal comedy, and inter-title bon mots, as well as just plain slapstick.

Nevertheless, Dorothy Granger delivers a great performance as Tarkana (or Tarzan's Jane in disguise). Also to be commended for her exquisite timing is Grayce Hampton who plays Mrs. Chyzzlebottom to the "T" (sic!). James Finlayson is also in there, mugging away, though we could have done with a bit less of his Backwash -- and the same goes for first-billed Eddie Borden who plays Scoop Skinner. As I said, it could have been more astringent, but it's still a pleasure to watch, and it's available on the Alpha DVD entitled "Lost Comedies of the 30's".