Mighty Joe Young (1949)

In Africa, the girl Jill Young trades a baby gorilla with two natives and raises the animal. Twelve years later, the talkative and persuasive promoter Max O'Hara organizes a safari to ... See full summary »

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writers:

Merian C. Cooper (story), Ruth Rose (screenplay)

Stars:

Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Terry Moore	...	Jill Young
Ben Johnson	...	Gregg
Robert Armstrong	...	Max O'Hara
Frank McHugh	...	Windy
Douglas Fowley	...	Jones
Denis Green	...	Crawford
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Smith
Nestor Paiva	...	Brown
Regis Toomey	...	John Young
Lora Lee Michel	...	Jill Young, as a Girl
James Flavin	...	Schultz
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Gordon	...	Old Woman (unconfirmed)

Storyline

In Africa, the girl Jill Young trades a baby gorilla with two natives and raises the animal. Twelve years later, the talkative and persuasive promoter Max O'Hara organizes a safari to Africa with the Oklahoma cowboy Gregg to bring attractions to his new night-club in Hollywood. They capture several lions and out of blue, they see a huge gorilla nearby their camping and they try to capture the animal. However, the teenager Jill Young stops the men that intended to kill her gorilla. Max seduces Jill with a fancy life in Hollywood and she signs a contract with him where the gorilla Joseph "Joe" Young would be the lead attraction. Soon she realizes that her dream is a nightmare to Joe and she asks Max to return to Africa. However he persuades her to stay a little longer in the show business. But when three alcoholic costumers give booze to Joe, the gorilla destroys the spot and is sentenced by the justice to be sacrificed. Will Jill, Gregg and Max succeed in saving Joe?

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Plot Keywords:

gorilla | hollywood | africa | nightclub | giant ape | 

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Taglines:

Striking! Startling! Staggering!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swahili

Release Date:

29 August 1949 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Mr. Joseph Young of Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argosy Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone) (some sequences) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Joe smashes through the facade during the nightclub riot, the first scream you hear is that of Fay Wray, stock audio from the original King Kong, which was also produced by RKO.

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Goofs

At the end when Jill throws a banana to Joe, Joe catches the "banana" but the actual banana thrown can still be seen flying past Joe

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Quotes

Golden Safari patron: [walking through the Golden Safari] Gee, this looks just like Africa.
Her escort: How would you know? You've never been out of the state.

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Crazy Credits

Good Bye from Joe Young.

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Connections

Referenced in Fear in the Dark (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Beautiful Dreamer"
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster

User Reviews

Surprisingly Excellent Movie and with Awesome Special Effects

In Africa, the girl Jill Young trades a baby gorilla with two natives and raises the animal. Twelve years later, the talkative and persuasive promoter Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) organizes a safari to Africa with the Oklahoma cowboy Gregg (Ben Johnson) to bring attractions to his new night-club in Hollywood. They capture several lions and out of blue, they see a huge gorilla nearby their camping and they try to capture the animal. However, the teenager Jill Young (Terry Moore) stops the men that intended to kill her gorilla. Max seduces Jill with a fancy life in Hollywood and she signs a contract with him where the gorilla Joseph "Joe" Young would be the lead attraction. Soon she realizes that her dream is a nightmare to Joe and she asks Max to return to Africa. However he persuades her to stay a little longer in the show business. But when three alcoholic costumers give booze to Joe, the gorilla destroys the spot and is sentenced by the justice to be sacrificed. Will Jill, Gregg and Max succeed in saving Joe?

"Mighty Joe Young" is a surprisingly excellent movie, with a story that entwines drama, romance and adventure and with awesome special effects for a 1949 movie. I bought this DVD a couple of years ago, but I was expecting a lame rip-off of King Kong based on the awful Brazilian title. However, the plot is engaging, with lots of emotions and many plot points and Joe's runaway is spectacular. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Monstro de um Mundo Perdido" ("Monster of a Lost World")