Gorilla at Large (1954)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Harmon Jones

Writers:

Leonard Praskins (writer)
Barney Slater (writer)

Release Date:

May 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

in 3-D!

Plot:

At a carnival called the Garden of Evil, a man is murdered, apparently by a gorilla...or someone in a gorilla suit.

Plot Keywords:

Gorilla | Carnival | Broken Neck | False Confession | Police Investigation

Cast

Cameron Mitchell	...	Joey Matthews
Anne Bancroft	...	Laverne Miller
Lee J. Cobb	...	Detective Sgt. Garrison
Raymond Burr	...	Cy Miller
Charlotte Austin	...	Audrey Baxter
Peter Whitney	...	Kovacs
Lee Marvin	...	Shaughnessy, Policeman
Warren Stevens	...	Joe, Detective
John Kellogg	...	Morse (as John G. Kellogg)
Charles Tannen	...	Owens

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Nu Pike Amusement Park, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Panoramic Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the camera cuts to Laverne swinging on the trapeze an obvious stunt woman is used with much thinner legs and off color on her wig.

Quotes:

Sgt. Garrison: You've always been this alert, Shaughnessy?
Shaughnessy: Always on my toes!
Sgt. Garrison: Well, get off 'em. You're a cop, not a ballet dancer.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 1st Annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Summer Blockbuster Review (1997) (TV)

Better than I expected

I had heard about "Gorilla at Large" for years, but avoided watching it because of the campy title and brief clips I had seen, usually of the gorilla swinging on a vine. Recently, this movie was broadcast on Fox Movie Channel. On a whim, I recorded it with my PVR and watched it the next day. To my surprise, I found "Gorilla at Large" to be an entertaining movie. It's not a monster film at all, or even a jungle themed movie. Rather, it's a crime/detective story that keeps you guessing. "Gorilla" has a very good cast and interesting story. A young Lee Marvin has an amusing role as a policeman. The sexy Anne Bancroft is the main star....although some might claim it is the gorilla.