The Gorilla

When I saw this Bela Lugosi "Horror Classics" boxed DVD set at Best Buy for something like $4.99, I thought that I would be watching classic B-Horror fare (i.e. _The Devil Bat_, _The Ape Man_, and _Carnival of Souls_). The first title of the "11 hours of entertainment" was _The Gorilla_. Believe it or not, this would be the first Lugosi movie I would ever see outside of his small role in _The Wolf Man_. Yet, I was refused a good look at a non-Dracula/non-Universal Bela Lugosi. Instead I was introduced to the horrific comic stylings of the Ritz Brothers and Patsy Kelly. Upon first viewing, I said out loud, "Are these guys suppose to be funny?" (By the way, they are supposed to be a comedy TEAM, but from what I saw the one Ritz brother cracked all the jokes as the other two made faces.) Yes, I am aware that their slapstick humor would be extremely sweet with movie-goers of the 1930s ad 1940s -BUT- these guys are so very lame. And, Dear Lord, Kelly's screaming is a steak knife scratching over and over again on a plate. Regardless, out of all the movies in this set, I cannot stop watching _The Gorilla_. After a couple of screenings, I hate to admit it, but the Ritz Brothers have grown on me (sorry, Kelly hasn't). Not because they are funny, but because their performance is so ridiculously terrible, that it evolves into funny.

This is a very fun comedy-horror film that is very much underrated. If you enjoy comedy-horror movies, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, The Ritz Bros. or Gorillas then look no further than this funny mystery horror classic.

All of this film is good right from the very beginning but I think my favorite part of the film is the "invisible butler" (Lugosi) carrying the trunk from upstairs to downstairs right in front of the Ritz Bros.

The biggest question or mystery in this film is "who or what is the gorilla"? This one may surprise you a bit towards the end.

This is a great matinée type of film and could easily be a double feature with a movie like "King of the Zombies (1941)" or "One Body Too Many (1944)"

8.5/10

This was my first encounter with The Ritz Brothers and, although I'll freely admit that their relentless mugging is an acquired taste, I found the film to be quite amusing at times; this variation on the "old dark house" theme has a good cast (the typically shady Lionel Atwill, our very own Joseph Calleia, a rather wasted Bela Lugosi and Patsy Kelly as a wisecracking maid) and some neat atmospheric lighting going for it...although it does tend to lose steam in its latter stages. Hopefully, one day I may also get the chance to watch The Ritz Brothers sinking their teeth into THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1939), also helmed by their GORILLA director, Hollywood veteran Allan Dwan.

If you think its funny watching a lot of pop-eyed mugging by the Ritz Brothers, see the Gorilla. If you enjoy the raspy screeching of Patsy Kelly, and watching Bela Lugosi with little to do but make faces at the behavior of his fellow "stars," by all means see the Gorilla. I like Lugosi, but found this film to be quite annoying and boring simultaneously. Why the Ritz Brothers only made a few other films is no mystery to me. The master for the DVD I purchased had excellent picture and sound quality...probably because it had been screened so few times since 1939. Spend the time you would have wasted screening the Gorilla watching Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, even Abbott & Costello...if you want to see talent.

That is indeed a fine description for this film which stars The Ritz Brothers mixing their comedic hijinks with Horror icons Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi. A young Patsy Kelly is also on hand. The story concerns a villain known as The Gorilla, who may be a human criminal or really an escaped ape no one seems to know for certain one way or the other, threatening the life of one Walter Stevens (Atwill), who hires three bumbling detectives (The Ritz Brothers) to protect him. Lugosi meanwhile plays Stevens' butler Peters and generally appears just at the opportune (or is that inopportune) moment to scare the willies out of and arouse suspicion in The Ritz Brothers detective characters Mulligan, Garrity and Harrigan. Who is the Gorilla? And why does he want Walter Stevens dead? The answer may not be what you expect...honestly I thought this was harmless fun and much better than most make it out to be.