One of the Most Mis-Quoted Movies in History is Released
MGM releases the black and white adventure film Tarzan the Ape Man,based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' popular novel Tarzan of the Apes on March 25, 1932. The film will give rise to a wildly popular franchise and the oft-quipped catch phrase "Me Tarzan, you Jane."
The phrase is never actually spoken in the film, though. Nor is it ever used in the books. The quote is taken from an interview with the movie's lead star, Johnny Weissmuller, printed in the June 1932 issue of Photoplay Magazine.
In the interview, he jokingly tells a reporter I didn’t have to act in Tarzan, the Ape Man — just said, ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane.’” Shortly after the article hit newstands, the catchphrase entered the vernacular, often as part of comedy routines. The phrase quickly became associated with Weissmuller, and Weissmuller was intractably associated with the Tarzan films. Thus, the misquote.
The association would later be reinforced when Mexican dancer Lupe Velez, Weissmuller’s second wife, divorces him and tells the press that she speaks English so poorly because, “I was married to a guy who can only say, ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane.’”
The phrase is never actually spoken in the film, though. Nor is it ever used in the books. The quote is taken from an interview with the movie's lead star, Johnny Weissmuller, printed in the June 1932 issue of Photoplay Magazine.
In the interview, he jokingly tells a reporter I didn’t have to act in Tarzan, the Ape Man — just said, ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane.’” Shortly after the article hit newstands, the catchphrase entered the vernacular, often as part of comedy routines. The phrase quickly became associated with Weissmuller, and Weissmuller was intractably associated with the Tarzan films. Thus, the misquote.
The association would later be reinforced when Mexican dancer Lupe Velez, Weissmuller’s second wife, divorces him and tells the press that she speaks English so poorly because, “I was married to a guy who can only say, ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane.’”
Of course, the phrase does have a basis in the Tarzan dialog. In one scene, Tarzan saves Jane, played by Maureen O’Sullivan, from a jungle cat, and she, in return, attempts to thank him.
JANE: “Thank you for protecting me.”
TARZAN: “Me?” JANE: “I said, thank you for protecting me.”
TARZAN: (Pointing at her.) “Me?”
JANE: “No. I’m only ‘Me’ for me.”
TARZAN: (Pointing at Jane again.) “Me.”
JANE: “No. To you, I’m ‘You.’”
TARZAN: (Pointing at himself.) “You.”
JANE: “No. I’m Jane Parker. Understand? Jane. Jane.”
TARZAN: (Pointing at her.) “Jane. Jane. Jane.”
JANE: “Yes, Jane! (She points at him.) And, you? (She points at herself again.) Jane.”
TARZAN: (Pointing at her) “Jane.”
JANE: “And you? (Pointing at him.) You?”
TARZAN: (Jabbing himself in the chest.) “Tarzan! Tarzan!”
JANE: “Tarzan!”
TARZAN: (Pointing in turn) “Jane. Tarzan. Jane. Tarzan.”
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