Tarzan Goes to Court

By Richard Corliss.

A judge cuts some nudity, leaving only a little Bo peek

"You could say this is a sexy Tarzan film," says Bo Derek, "but there is nothing lewd or obscene about it. It's pure sex, and there's a lot of nudity, but it all appears very natural."

--MGM press release

It did not appear all that natural to Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., corporate guardian of Tarzan's good name. An R-rated Tarzan, the Ape Man? One produced by and starring the sexiest number in "10,"and directed by her husband John? Convinced that the film would besmirch the jungle lord's reputation, the Burroughs estate went to court. Last week in Manhattan, Federal Judge Henry Werker previewed the film and re-viewed two earlier MGM versions of Burroughs' first Tarzan novel. His "suggestion": that MGM cut four sequences displaying Bo in various stages of undress. According to John Derek. Werker took the last three reels of the print into a Manhattan editing room and indicated with a grease pencil which scenes should be removed. MGM has agreed to the cuts.

Burroughs, Inc., still threatens to sue to stop release of the film. And the Dereks are emitting animal cries of rage.

At issue is the wording of a 1931 contract between Burroughs, who died in 1950, and MGM. For $20,000 the studio bought the rights to the author's 1914 novel, plus permission to remake the film, on the condition that any remake adhere to the spirit of the first film. With Johnny Weissmuller as the displaced Lord Greystoke and Maureen O'Sullivan as his comely mate Jane, MGM's innocently sensuous 1932 film was a box office hit and spawned a swampful of sequels. The sequels were not covered by the 1931 agreement, but MGM's 1959 remake was, and so is the new Derek version, which co-stars Miles O'Keeffe as the Ape Man.

"We spend a lot of time policing all over the world," says Burroughs" grand son Danton, "trying to stop the infring-ers." In 1977 the courts ruled that a sexy French cartoon could not use the name Tarzoon. Last year, before the Dereks' $5.5 million production had begun filming, the estate asked for an injunction to stop Bo's show. It was denied. "The Burroughs people are sue-happy," says John Derek. "But since we were aware of the estate's opposition, we were very careful to stay within the guidelines. The studio looked at all the rushes. They agreed this would be an R-rated film, but now they won't fight.

They're desperate to meet their July 24 release date." Adds Bo:

"The judge is engaging in obvious censorship, telling us which bits of nudity to cut."

About four minutes are being cut from the film. In one deleted sequence, which Bo describes as "really sweet and cute," the star wrestles topless with an orangutan. In the other, her nude body is painted in preparation for sacrifice to the dread

Ivory King. Says the director: "The sacrifice scene was done in the finest of taste --taste the Pope would applaud."

It seems the Pontiff will be denied that opportunity. And generations of aging boys, who recall Maureen O'Sullivan's nude swimming scene in the 1934 Tarzan and His Mate, will be forced to make do with a little Bo peek. Meanwhile Hollywood is happy to have another scandale on its hands. "Well, well, well," drawled one director working on the MGM lot, " Junglegate.'' --By Richard Corliss. Reported by Dean Brelis/New York and Elaine Dutka/Los Angeles

With reporting by Dean Brelis, Elaine Dutka

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