The first Tarzan movie, (1918), was filmed primarily in and around Morgan City, Louisiana , along the Bayou Teche and in the surrounding swamps. Some jungle scenes were also shot at a studio lot in Chicago (where the production company Essanay Studios was based) and at Buskirk Beach on the Kankakee River in Illinois. However, the iconic wilderness settings were largely captured in the Louisiana bayous.
: While Spanish moss isn't actually found in African jungles, it was mentioned in Edgar Rice Burroughs ' original novels, making the Louisiana landscape surprisingly "accurate" to the book's descriptions. Hollywood Comes to Town
: Since real apes were too dangerous or unavailable, 40 circus acrobats from the New Orleans Athletic Club were hired to play them. They struggled through the intense August heat in heavy, non-breathable costumes. where was the first tarzan movie filmed
because its lush, untamed vegetation and moss-draped cypress trees in the Atchafalaya Basin provided a perfect, "jungle-like" stand-in for Africa. Lake End Park
While the story is set in the dense, fictional jungles of Africa, the movie was filmed almost entirely in the United States. The production utilized two specific locations to create the illusion of an exotic equatorial environment: and California . The first Tarzan movie, (1918), was filmed primarily
Local legend says that several monkeys used during filming and that their descendants still live there today, though no scientific evidence supports this.
The production was a massive undertaking for the time, costing approximately . The Prop Shop : A local business, Shannon Hardware in downtown Morgan City : While Spanish moss isn't actually found in
Producers from the National Film Corporation of America selected Morgan City due to its dense sub-tropical greenery, deep-water bayous, local rail systems, and large storage warehouses. Tarzan of the Apes - 64 Parishes
: This waterfront site served as the primary location for many of the film's "hut scenes".
The first Tarzan movie ever made, the 1918 silent film Tarzan of the Apes , was primarily filmed on location in Morgan City, Louisiana . While the story is set in the African jungle, producers chose the Louisiana bayous for their lush, "jungle-like" vegetation and exotic moss-covered trees, which were actually mentioned in the original novels. Key Filming Locations in Morgan City Lake End Park : This waterfront site was used for many of the film's hut scenes. The production crew built (and later burned) palmetto huts here for the camera. Atchafalaya Basin