Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Gorilla (1939) - Hilarious Lugosi and game Ritz Brothers light up above-average gorilla flick

2/13/2020

The Gorilla (1939) - Hilarious Lugosi and game Ritz Brothers light up above-average gorilla flick

♥♥♥♥

A lively poster for Allan Dwan's The Gorilla, which effectively indicates both the film's potentially frightening and funny elements

A rich man is threatened by a man who calls himself The Gorilla, and so he hires three detective brothers to investigate.

The Gorilla is written by Rian James (The Fortress (1947)) and Sid Silvers (Bottoms Up (1934)), based on the same-titled 1935 play by Ralph Spence (Let's Go, screenplay (1923)), and directed by Allan Dwan (The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch (1914)).
The film distinguishes itself from other gorilla movies of its era by being a 20th Century Fox studio picture and thus benefits from better production values; better pictures (cinematography by Edward Cronjager (I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1951))) and sets (including the central mystery house, enveloped in thunder of course), - and not least an ape that actually looks like one.
The Ritz Brothers (Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937)) as the three bumbling detectives and Bela Lugosi (The Wolf Man (1941)) as the incredibly funny butler Peters, (butler again, yes), make The Gorilla highly worthwhile for the viewer who can appreciate this type of thing.

Watch the opening of the movie here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[The Gorilla was released 26 May (USA) and runs 66 minutes. The film was written, produced and released within just 8 months. Lugosi's role was originally meant for Peter Lorre. Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California. The Ritz Brothers' father's death in January 1939 created a delay in the shoot, and when the three stars failed to show up to resume filming by late January, Fox sued them for 150k $. They came back and did the work but never worked for Fox again after that. The film has fallen into public domain and can be seen and downloaded free and legally right here. Dwan returned with Frontier Marshal (1939). The Ritz Brothers returned in Pack Up Your Troubles (1939); Lugosi in The Human Monster (1939). 1,176 IMDb users have given The Gorilla a 4.8/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Gorilla?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

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Wolfgang Petersen has died

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Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

2/13/2020

The Gorilla (1939) - Hilarious Lugosi and game Ritz Brothers light up above-average gorilla flick

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

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