MORGAN CITY, La. (KLFY) -- The first Tarzan movie ever made, Tarzan of the Apes (1918 film), was filmed in the lush vegetation and bayous of Morgan City.

Morgan City is not an area that one would not confuse with the African jungle, but never the less, the South Louisiana city served as the primary location for 1918's Tarzan of the Apes. The film was based off of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel, Tarzan of the Apes, and was the first of many Tarzan films produced over the last century. It has also been considered to be the closest adaptation of Burroughs' novel.

Producers of the film chose Morgan City as the film's main shooting location due to the area's lush vegetation, bayous, waterways, facilities such as hotels, a railway-serviced wharf and cooperation of residents. Many of the cities residents were used as extras throughout filming of the movie.

Morgan City's own Tarzan of the Apes was the highest grossing film in the United States in 1918, bringing in around $1.5 million. The original runtime for the film was 1 hour and 13 minutes, but was cut down to just an hour.

If you'd like to watch the silent film and the first big screen adaptation of Tarzan, you can view the film here.

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