Konga (1961)

Dr.Decker comes back from Africa after a year, presumed dead. During that year, he came across a way of growing plants and animals to an enormous size. He brings back a baby chimpanzee to ... See full summary »

Director:

John Lemont

Writers:

Aben Kandel (original story), Herman Cohen (original story)

Stars:

Michael Gough, Margo Johns, Jess Conrad

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Gough	...	Dr. Charles Decker
Margo Johns	...	Margaret
Jess Conrad	...	Bob Kenton
Claire Gordon	...	Sandra Banks
Austin Trevor	...	Dean Foster
Jack Watson	...	Supt. Brown
George Pastell	...	Prof. Tagore
Vanda Godsell	...	Bob's Mother
Stanley Morgan	...	Insp. Lawson
Grace Arnold	...	Miss Barnesdell
Leonard Sachs	...	Bob's Father
Nicholas Bennett	...	Daniel
Kim Tracy	...	Mary
Rupert Osborne	...	Eric Kenton
Waveney Lee	...	Janet Kenton

Storyline

Dr.Decker comes back from Africa after a year, presumed dead. During that year, he came across a way of growing plants and animals to an enormous size. He brings back a baby chimpanzee to test out his theory. As he has many enemies at home, he decides to use his chimp, 'Konga' to 'get rid of them'. Then Konga grows to gigantic proportions and reaks havoc all over the city of London!!

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Plot Keywords:

simian fiction | kaiju | chimpanzee | plant | killing an animal | 

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Taglines:

Not since "King Kong"...has the screen exploded with such mighty fury and spectacle!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1961 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

I Was a Teenage Gorilla

Filming Locations:

Croydon, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Merton Park Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jess Conrad was scheduled to sing a song in the film, but it was cut (he mentioned this in an interview on BBC's The One Show: Episode dated 24 May 2017 (2017), when a piece was done on the film).

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Goofs

There is no explanation for what has happened to Claire Gordon (Sandra Banks) in Konga. Towards the end of the movie she is seen distressed after accidentally getting her lower arm trapped in one of the small carnivorous Venus Flytraps; but then she vanishes from the movie completely! Surely its ludicrous to suggest she was eaten whole in this manner. All she would suffer is a small wound, and this resolution should have been seen as such.

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Quotes

Supt. Brown: Fantastic... There's a huge monster gorilla that's constantly growing to outlandish proportions loose in the streets!

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Connections

Featured in TJ and the All Night Theatre: Escape from the Planet of the Apes + Konga + Til Death Do Us Part (1981)

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Soundtracks

Arabeske
(uncredited)
Music by Robert Schumann
Arranged by Gerard Schurmann

User Reviews

Man that MICHAEL GOUGH !!!

When I was a kid Famous Monsters of Filmland touted KONGA as the new King Kong so I layed down my 35 cent sat in the air conditioned comfort of the local theater where you got two movie's and normally a couple cartoons thrown in for good measure. Got thru the first film it could of been Attack of the giant leeches since A.I.P like to re release films to go as a second to save money it was good but I'd seen it a couple years before at the same theatre. Well Konga sure wasn't any King Kong by any stretch of the imagination Hell the only Jungle we get too see is fleeting and is in the very beginning but I think we all knew as kids who loved giant monsters, small monsters, robots,etc. and we always wanted to believe the studios and their posters that this time they would really spend some money on the effects and they would be great!!!and the creature would be fantastic and......... Well you know. No what I liked about the movie was Michael Goughs over the top performance as the Mad Scientist like the mad man of letters in Horrors of the Black Museum or the uptight landlord that yearns for a young female tenet in the Boys from Brazil. Hes always wonderful and makes these performance's his own. And if people only remember him from Batman thats.....somewhat a pity. Id have liked Konga for Gough's performance alone but the lurid plot, the not tooo bad effects didn't hurt ( I knew they wasn't going to be any animation) while its no great film its fun and sometimes thats enough...........