Gorilla at Large (1954)

I love this movie so much

To me, this movie is perfection.

Simply Perfect

Did you people see the same film I saw?

"Gorilla At Large" is a very good example of a 1950's 3-D film. If you only see it in 2-D, you are literally seeing only half the picture. Why do you think the bars are in the foreground, the gorilla jumps at the screen, the girl is trapped in a house of mirrors, or the rockets are shot at the gorilla? Because it is supposed to be seen in 3-D. That's why.Having said that, 23 year old Anne Bancroft gives an interesting sex-pot performance. She spends most of the time either in her trapeze costume or in lingerie. Raymond Burr, known as a bad guy at this time, gives a very offbeat performance. And a very young Lee Marvin is extremely funny as a cop who doesn't have a clue.The 1950's saw a great many 3-D films that are no longer available in that format. It is really too bad we can't see "Gorilla At Large", "House Of Wax" and "Dial M For Murder" the way they were meant to be seen.

Gorilla at Large is directed by Harmon Jones and jointly written by Leonard Praskins and Barney Slater. It stars Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J. Cobb, Raymond Burr and Charlotte Austin. Out of Panoramic Productions and filmed in Technicolor, the music is by Lionel Newman and cinematography is by Lloyd Ahern.An amusement park/circus is rocked when a freshly sacked employee is found brutally murdered inside the cage of the star attraction, Goliath the Giant Gorilla. The evidence points to it being the short tempered beast, but many of the human employees also had reasons to commit the crime...Well it sounds like a Z grade picture, both in title and synopsis, and with it originally released in 3D during the short lived 3D boom of the mid 1950s, it was hardly going to be the Citizen Kane of Schlocky Horrorville. Yet it's a picture that is far better than it has any right to be, oozing a fun vibe coupled with the "who done it?" mystery element, pic doesn't lack for effort or genuine intrigue. Yes it's unintentionally funny at times, and there was never going to be a time when a man in a Gorilla suit (George Barrows) wasn't going to be corny, but it's a very good production (lovely Technicolor) and boasts a super cast of actors into the bargain. Is it scary? Well no, not really, that is unless you suffer from Agrizoophobia? Yet there's enough suspense and iffy character shenanigans to more than lift this above the ridiculous.Anne Bancroft spent the rest of her career denouncing the film, like many others who were tied into studio contracts back in the day, thus "having" to do films they would rather not do, she forgot that this type of film still had many fans. She looks a picture here, very slinky and shapely, OK so she's not pulling up any acting trees as the central lady character, but it's a nice performance that sits well with the tone of the story. Burr files in for one of his imposing "possible" villain roles, and Mitchell is at home in the genre. There's much fun to be had with Cobb's performance as cigar chomping Detective Sergeant Garrison, mainly because he seems to be the only male actor taking it seriously! Unlike Lee Marvin, who in a secondary supporting cop role plays it with tongue in cheek and appears to be enjoying himself into the bargain. Nice to see the chiselled features of Warren Stevens (Forbidden Planet) on board as well.Filmed at Nu Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, California, Harmon Jones (The Pride of St. Louis) makes good use of the funfair location. With rides and stalls colourfully forming the backdrop, there's a big sense of fun and adventure as the bustling public carry on about their business oblivious to the murder, love ratting and suspicion that's going on behind the scenes. It also allows the director to slot in some staple (good) funfair sequences, namely the Room of Mirrors and the Roller Coaster. While Newman's score isn't found wanting as it builds up a head of steam for the more dramatic periods. As for the outcome of this murder mystery? Well it's a doozy, nigh on impossible to figure out because it's suitably bonkers. And that's just one of the many beauties of Gorilla at Large. 7/10

I had originally watched this one a long time ago during my childhood days on a now-defunct Sicilian TV channel; in hindsight, it can now best be considered as a guilty pleasure and, besides, the fact that it isn’t really a bona-fide horror film (given that the murders are not actually committed by the titular beast but rather by somebody conveniently donning a simian costume) might perhaps endear it to those film buffs who normally shun the genre.The terrific cast is also a definite attraction here: Lee J. Cobb and Lee Marvin are particularly fun to watch as, respectively, the cigar-chomping Police Detective heading the murder investigations under the Big Top and a loudmouth but sleepy-eyed cop left to guard the caged gorilla but, inevitably, ending behind its bars himself! Cameron Mitchell, Raymond Burr and Anne Bancroft – who, arguably, never looked lovelier on screen than she does here as the star trapeze artist of husband Burr’s circus – all have good roles and gleefully enter into the fun spirit of the thing. Interestingly enough, both Cobb and Burr were about to embark on their signature screen roles that same year in, respectively, ON THE WATERFRONT and REAR WINDOW! The gorilla keeper (Peter Whitney) is also a noteworthy and malevolent presence, particularly when trapping a victim into his self-designed mirror maze and when offering to teach Mitchell how to raise ex-wife Bancroft over his head for the crowd's pleasure! The belated identification of the real killer is a big surprise – which makes the sequence of Burr taking on the blame for the circus murders and his eventual revelation as a cripple by Mitchell in front of Cobb a moving one and the film’s highlight. While the ape itself is clearly a man in a suit, it’s not a particular liability to one’s enjoyment of the show; the 3-D effects are not especially obtrusive either and are limited to the beast swinging by rope or walking into camera and passing through the revolving merry-go-round at the film’s climax. In conclusion, this modest production proved to be highly enjoyable hokum – although, admittedly, the nostalgia factor may have had a hand in how much I wound up liking the whole thing. Being a picture originally distributed by Fox, it was surprisingly (but thankfully) added to the coveted “Midnite Movies” line of DVD releases (which has recently been taken over by Fox from MGM) along with the unrelated Spanish adventure effort MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND (1981) featuring genre icons Peter Cushing and Paul Naschy and which I will get to later on during this Halloween marathon.

From what little I can find on the internet about Gorilla at Large, it seems that Anne Bancroft viewed the movie with disdain and wasn't at all proud of her appearance. Well, as far as I'm concerned, you can have your Academy Award for The Miracle Worker and you can have the incredibly dull The Graduate – who needs them? You can look down on Gorilla at Large, but I'd rather watch it any day over either The Miracle Worker or The Graduate. Why? It's just more fun! Call it cheesy, call it campy, call it whatever you want – bottom line, Gorilla at Large is one entertaining movie. What's not to like? A Technicolor 3-D (though I saw it in 2-D) murder mystery where a gorilla is one of the prime suspects – how cool is that? I mean any movie with a gorilla that is so obviously played by a guy in a suit and a director that has the cajones to have a character put on another gorilla suit is okay with me. Two gorillas for the price of one – can't go wrong with that.In addition to the dismissive Anne Bancroft, Gorilla at Large has a very impressive cast. The resolute Raymond Burr, the cigar-chomping Lee J. Cobb, a baby-faced Lee Marvin, genre favorite Cameron Mitchell, and the most famous man in a gorilla suit, George Barrows, are all on hand for the fun. I realize that most of these actors were in the early stages of their careers, but what's the likelihood of getting two or even three "names" in a movie. Gorilla at Large has a known name or face at every turn. Amazing! Overall, I had a great time watching Gorilla at Large. It's too bad Anne Bancroft never saw the fun in this movie.