Lord Greystoke (a.k.a. Tarzan, played by Bruce Bennett aka Herman Brix) and his team of explorers has recovered The Green Goddess - an ancient Mayan totem that contains the chemical formula for an incredibly powerful explosive. On their trail is evil enemy agent Raglan, as well as the Guatemalan natives that want their idol back. Tarzan must keep the Green Goddess safe until he can stop Raglan from learning the secret of the ancient weapon.

Selected by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs to play the character with class and sophistication, Herman Brix was originally cast to play the lead in the 1932 MGM production of Tarzan and the Ape Man. He was replaced by Johnny Weissmuller after suffering an injury on the set of Touchdown (1931). Ashton Dearholt, who played Raglan, was a close personal friend of Burroughs as well as the husband of Tarzan and The Green Goddess leading lady Ula Holt. Billed as the sequel to The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935), Tarzan and The Green Goddess is actually a re-edited version of the 1935 serial with a small amount of new footage added.