Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack. Starring Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh, Lora Lee Michel, Regis Toomey.

Armstrong and Johnson take a trip to Africa to find wild animals for entertainment, and they stumble upon quite the find: a massive gorilla named Joe (credited as “Mr. Joseph Young”) owned by Moore. Predictably, the big ape is transported back to the States to be shown off, and even more predictably, the big fella breaks loose and wreaks havoc. Something of a ‘Kiddie’ Kong, with a repetitive bag of tricks, reduced sense of style, imagination and adventure, and much milder thrills, but the Oscar-winning stop-motion effects work is first-rate (handled by, among others, Ray Harryhausen in his first Hollywood production). As far as acting acumen goes, Moore makes Fay Wray look like Fay Bainter and rigid Johnson is a drippy brand of hero, but Joe is a dashing diva. Although abrupt and tacked-on, the color-tinted climax involving a rescue operation at a burning orphanage is a marvelous set-piece. Watch the beautiful beast in action, skip the human drama. Produced by Merian C. Cooper and John Ford.

54/100