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	...	Superintendent Brown
George Pastell	...	Professor Tagore
Vanda Godsell	...	Bob's Mother
Stanley Morgan	...	Inspector Lawson
Grace Arnold	...	Miss Barnesdell
Leonard Sachs	...	Bob's Father
Nicholas Bennett	...	Daniel
Kim Tracy	...	Mary
Rupert Osborne	...	Eric
Waveney Lee	...	Janet

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!!

---

Plot Keywords:

simian fiction | kaiju | man eating plant | psychotronic film | chimpanzee | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The adaptation of this film done by Charlton Comics came out about a year before the film reached theatres. It spawned a series that was easily the most successful of any based on a movie at the time; Konga was not returned from the dead - rather a second ape was introduced and was given a new serum that transformed him into a second Konga.

---

Goofs

Real world Venus Fly Traps seize their prey when hairs on the inside of their leaves are touched, and dissolve their prey over a long time. The huge mutated plants, however are shown almost begging for meat treats like animals, and gulp as if swallowing their food.

---

Quotes

Dr. Charles Decker: [after shooting his cat twice with a pistol] Even those few drops might have made Tabby swell up to huge proportions!

---

Connections

Referenced in Inside the Tower (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Nocturne Op.15 in G
(uncredited)
Music by Frédéric Chopin
Arranged by Gerard Schurmann

User Reviews

Poverty Row King Kong

Even though the story is fairly interesting, I can't help but look at this film as a cheap rip off of the classic King Kong. Michael Gough does a decent job playing the crazed Doctor Decker who wants to eliminate everyone who he feels has wronged him. He also is obsessed with one of his young, voluptuous students. His obsessions lead him to the breaking point and this helps to make this a fairly interesting story. Too bad it is undone by the horrible effects, especially the old "man in the cheap gorilla suit" gimmick. I guess the budget didn't allow for decent effects like stop motion animation. However, despite cheapness of it, this film will always remain a guilty pleasure of mine.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1961 (UK)

Also Known As:

I Was a Teenage Gorilla

Filming Locations:

Croydon, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alta Vista Productions, Anglo-Amalgamated Productions, Herman Cohen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (photographed in) (Eastman Colour)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1