Mighty Joe Young (1949)

A young woman who has raised a giant gorilla from an infant brings him to Hollywood years later seeking her fortune in order to save her family's ranch.

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writers:

Ruth Rose (screenplay), Merian C. Cooper (from an original story by)

Stars:

Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Terry Moore	...	Jill Young
Ben Johnson	...	Gregg
Robert Armstrong	...	Max O'Hara
Mr. Joseph Young	...	Himself
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:

animal cruelty | manager | animal character name as title | mighty joe young character | three word title | 

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Taglines:

Merian Cooper's amazing adventure in the unusual!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swahili

Release Date:

29 August 1949 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Mr. Joesph Young of Africa

Filming Locations:

Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argosy Pictures, ARKO

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

A sequel called "Joe Meets Tarzan" was planned in 1950 and would have had Mighty Joe Young team up with Tarzan, played by Lex Barker, who had just filmed Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950). The film was canceled due to the disappointing box office of "Mighty Joe Young".

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Goofs

When Gregg starts to climb a rope up the orphanage wall, he places a table against the wall to step op on. In the next cut, the table is gone.

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Quotes

Crawford: You can't rope a gorilla!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: Africa

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Alternate Versions

Although current prints include the restored sepia-tone in some of the later scenes (as presented in the original theatrical release) older television prints are shown in black-and-white only.

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Connections

Featured in Monsters, Madmen & Machines: 25 Years of Science Fiction (1984)

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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")