Tarzan’s Three Challenges 1963

Jock Mahoney as Tarzan, of Africa, is summoned to an unnamed Asian country to protect Kashi (Ricky Der), the youthful heir to the throne, from his evil uncle, Woody Strode as Khan. Arriving by parachute from a light airplane and armed with a Spanish bolo hunting knife, Tarzan dons monk’s robes and travels by boat to a monastery.

The first set of three challenges tests Tarzan’s worthiness to enter Kashi’s service: a precise archery contest to prove steadiness and accuracy; a brutal strength test where Tarzan must hold onto two rope-attached handles as buffalo are driven apart, lifting him between two tall posts; and a final wisdom question designed to probe his judgment. The monastery then turns its attention to the young ruler, Kashi, who must pass his own three tests: first, selecting the correct diamond out of three; second, choosing an empty goblet out of three; and last, identifying one urn of ashes from five. Having passed these trials, Khan steps forward and demands a fourth test of three life-or-death challenges, a ritual long dormant, called The Challenge Of Might. The boy designates Tarzan as his defender, and Tarzan accepts the responsibility.

Tarzan and Khan clash across two events of the fourth test, building toward a dramatic final confrontation: a sword duel fought on a wide mesh net suspended above large vats of boiling oil, where Khan meets a fatal end by plunging through the net and into the cauldron below.