This movie is just okay. The main appeal is for the curious, as British actor Michael Gough (pronounced like 'cough') plays a bitter college professor and botany researcher. During a colonialism-driven trip to somewhere in Africa (Uganda is mentioned as his crash landing area) , the professor claims to have been taught advanced science by the natives. The professor comes back to London to teach, but also is obsessed with proving that his exotic plant species can be manipulated for..;. Manipulating purposes, as well as to influence animals and humans. A serum derived from the plants is applied to his pet chimpanzee, and miraculously grows to the size of a full gorilla-- a completely different species, of course, not that early 1960s audiences would care. From that point on, the professor promises his assistant/girlfriend that he will marry her, but she must keep the secret of using Konga the chimp/gorilla as his personal assassin, sending the ape after anyone who angers him.
The professor's plot thickens as he keeps secretly sending Konga after anyone who is perceived to be a threat. This leads into a climax involving a sultry college co-ed, and the professor's actions-- and that of his secretary-- send Konga on a path of literal growth and a path of mass destruction.
The special effects are extremely B-movie basic here. The acting by the actors is capable, though the material is extremely thin and borderline boring, not making much sense in the 21st century, in many respects.
Sidebar: "footage" of the professor's time in Africa is shown, which is stock footage of documentaries made about indigenous communities in African and Pacific ocean societies.
The professor's plot thickens as he keeps secretly sending Konga after anyone who is perceived to be a threat. This leads into a climax involving a sultry college co-ed, and the professor's actions-- and that of his secretary-- send Konga on a path of literal growth and a path of mass destruction.
The special effects are extremely B-movie basic here. The acting by the actors is capable, though the material is extremely thin and borderline boring, not making much sense in the 21st century, in many respects.
Sidebar: "footage" of the professor's time in Africa is shown, which is stock footage of documentaries made about indigenous communities in African and Pacific ocean societies.