Tarzan the Fearless (1933): Buster Crabbe's Serial-Era Jungle Hero

Tarzan the Fearless (1933) is a 12-chapter Principal Pictures serial starring Buster Crabbe as Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle hero Tarzan. The serial was produced specifically to compete with MGM's Johnny Weissmuller franchise, which had launched the previous year with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). Principal Pictures licensed the character through a different rights arrangement and rushed Crabbe's version into production within a year.

The Crabbe casting

Buster Crabbe had won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle swimming event at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. His combination of physical stature and proven athletic credentials made him a natural Tarzan candidate. Producer Sol Lesser cast him for Tarzan the Fearless within months of the Olympics. Crabbe would go on to play Flash Gordon (1936), Buck Rogers (1939), and dozens of other serial heroes through the 1930s and 1940s — but Tarzan was his first major role.

The serial structure

The 12-chapter serial was simultaneously released as a 73-minute feature film. The narrative followed Tarzan helping the daughter of a missing explorer search for her father in dangerous African territory. Each chapter ended on a cliffhanger — Tarzan in mortal peril, a serial-cinema convention designed to bring audiences back the following week. The full 12-chapter version runs roughly 220 minutes.

The competing Weissmuller picture

MGM's Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan series — launched with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and continued through Tarzan and His Mate (1934) — was substantially better-produced than the Principal serial. MGM had studio resources, the original Burroughs character licensing, and Weissmuller's enormous on-screen charisma. Crabbe's Tarzan the Fearless never seriously competed commercially.

The historical interest

Tarzan the Fearless is interesting today primarily as a Crabbe career marker. The picture launched his serial-cinema career. Within five years he'd be one of Republic Pictures' most reliable serial leads. The serial format was a major Hollywood revenue source through the 1930s and 1940s — short-form weekly chapters bundled with main features. Crabbe became one of the format's defining stars.

Public-domain availability

Tarzan the Fearless's copyright lapsed and the serial circulates freely in public-domain channels. Both the 73-minute feature version and the full 12-chapter serial are available. Image quality varies — the original Principal Pictures elements weren't preserved as carefully as MGM's contemporaneous Weissmuller pictures. But the serial is watchable and a useful introduction to early-1930s Crabbe before his definitive Flash Gordon run.