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Gorilla at Large (1954)At a carnival called the Garden of Evil, a man is murdered, apparently by a gorilla...or someone in a gorilla suit. Director:Harmon Jones |
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Title: Gorilla at Large (1954)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Cameron Mitchell | ... |
Joey Matthews
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| Anne Bancroft | ... |
Laverne Miller
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| Lee J. Cobb | ... |
Detective Sgt. Garrison
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| Raymond Burr | ... |
Cy Miller
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Charlotte Austin | ... |
Audrey Baxter
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Peter Whitney | ... |
Kovacs
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| Lee Marvin | ... |
Shaughnessy--Policeman
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| Warren Stevens | ... |
Joe, Detective
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John Kellogg | ... |
Morse
(as John G. Kellogg)
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
At sinister carnival The Garden of Evil, the main attraction is Goliath, "world's largest gorilla...cost the lives of 1,000 men before his capture." Barker Joey Matthews is about to enter the gorilla act, teamed with seductive mantrap Laverne, the owner's wife. Then a man is found dead of a broken neck. Was it Goliath or someone wearing Joey's gorilla suit? Detective Sgt. Garrison finds four interlocked romantic triangles among the suspects... Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords:
gorilla | carnival | broken neck | false confession | police investigation |Taglines:
From the highest point of the carnival midway...he unleashes a terror never known by mortal man before! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
May 1954 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
A Besta Negra See more »Filming Locations:
Nu Pike Amusement Park, Long Beach, California, USACompany Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Color:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Shaughnessy: Always on my toes!
Sgt. Garrison: Well, get off 'em. You're a cop, not a ballet dancer.
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(uncredited)
Music by Juventino Rosas
Arranged by Urban Thielmann
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Did You Know?
Goofs
When Kovacs is hoisting Laverne over his head to show Joey what to do, wires holding Laverne in the air can be seen. See more »Quotes
Sgt. Garrison: You've always been this alert, Shaughnessy?Shaughnessy: Always on my toes!
Sgt. Garrison: Well, get off 'em. You're a cop, not a ballet dancer.
See more »
Soundtracks
"Over the Waves"(uncredited)
Music by Juventino Rosas
Arranged by Urban Thielmann
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It's not so much that there's more than meets the eye as it is what
does meet the eye that makes this picture worth a look-see.
Sure, if you want to be all serious, then you could easily object to a
rather predictable plot, or some wooden performances (though I'd
have something to say about that), or a delightfully inept gorilla suit
that looks more like an animated swatch of shag carpet (the eyes
are so...human!). You could moan and groan about the film's
portrayal of women, etc., etc. You could call it a bad movie.
But you shouldn't! Firstly, it does offer the sorts of thrills that
B-movie fans relish: the lurid carny life, cartoonish violence,
trapeze artists in skimpy costumes, emotions writ large and
unambiguously (at least ostensibly).
In fact, I'd say that many of the performances are great, not
because they are especially moving or "realistic," but rather,
because the conventions of the genre frame them in such a way
as to be quite effective, and not least of all, gratifying. Anne
Bancroft smolders magnificently as a trapeze artist with quite a
shady past. Raymond Burr's controlling, yet ambiguous carnival
manager never fails to intrigue. Lee Marvin is great as a feckless,
blow-hard police officer. And perhaps most compellingly, there is
Lee J. Cobb, as a no-nonsense, cigar-chomping gumshoe. You
really get a sense of what an entirely watchable performer he is in
this picture, and personally I think he's better here than he is in "On
the Waterfront" (gasp!).
Camp values aside, the technical aspects of the film are
breathtaking. The picture's technicolors blast out of the screen,
aided by 3-D that is so sharply defined and brilliant that you feel
like you are watching some sort of moving ViewMaster reel. A
restored print has recently been struck and you'll be blown away if
you have a chance to see it. I'd say that its use of technicolor and
3-D are perhaps more impressive than even "House of Wax," and
certainly more accomplished than such unnecessarily 3-D'd
features such as "Dial M for Murder" or "Miss Sadie Thompson."
Color, violence, a beautiful girl and a gorilla--and in not one, nor
two, but THREE dimensions. What's not to like?