Where Was The First Tarzan — Movie Filmed Top

While many people might think of Johnny Weissmuller or the 1980s Greystoke film as the early days, the very first time Tarzan appeared on screen was in the 1918 silent film Tarzan of the Apes. The movie starred Elmo Lincoln as the Ape Man and Enid Markey as Jane Porter.

The production of this film was a massive undertaking for the time, and its locations were split between two vastly different environments: the wilds of Louisiana and the controlled sets of California.

The decision to film the first Tarzan movie in Louisiana established a template that would be followed for decades. Subsequent silent Tarzan films, including The Romance of Tarzan (1918) and The Son of Tarzan (1920), also used Louisiana and other Southern locations (like Florida’s Silver Springs) as jungle stand-ins. where was the first tarzan movie filmed top

It wasn’t until the sound era, particularly the Johnny Weissmuller films of the 1930s and 40s, that Tarzan movies began using more exotic locations like Guatemala’s Lake Atitlán or California’s Sherwood Forest. And it took until the 1980s and 90s for major productions to occasionally film on actual African soil (e.g., Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan was shot in Cameroon and Kenya).

Before we dive into the location, it is crucial to identify the correct film. Many people mistakenly believe that the 1932 Tarzan the Ape Man starring Johnny Weissmuller was the first. It was not. The very first adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ iconic character was a silent film titled Tarzan of the Apes, released in 1918. While many people might think of Johnny Weissmuller

This film was a massive gamble. Burroughs’ novel (published in 1912) was wildly popular, but translating its African jungle setting to the screen in 1918 was a logistical nightmare. Filming in Africa was impossible due to cost, colonial travel restrictions, and the lingering effects of World War I. The producers needed a location that looked exactly like the Congo or Gabon—but was within a train ride of Hollywood.

That search led them to the bayous of Louisiana. This film was a massive gamble

To answer correctly, we must distinguish between the first appearance of Tarzan in a motion picture and the first feature-length film.

Understanding where the first Tarzan movie was filmed is not just trivia—it’s a window into early cinematic ingenuity. Here is why this location remains at the “top” of film history lists: