White Pongo

A group of explorers embark on a journey into the middle of the African jungle in search of a fabled white ape; a creature thought to be the missing link.

The idea that a white ape would be closer to man than a black one is possibly a little bit subconsciously racist if you were to choose to over-analyse this movie. But it's really best to take this detail with a pinch of salt as White Pongo is resolutely not a film to take seriously at all. It was one of dozens of adventure films from the 40's that were set in exotic and unchartered locations. Back in those days before the advent of television audiences certainly seemed to get a kick out of seeing stories set in the wild. There was still something mysterious about these places and the world hadn't been so fully explored that it didn't seem impossible that a large hitherto unknown gorilla could be out there somewhere. White Pongo like others of its type pandered to these kinds of feelings.

The film itself is a quite typical adventure film from the time. Men-in-monkey-suit movies were ten-a-penny back in the 40's and this is simply another one in the cycle. It's a fairly enjoyable one though. Aside from White Ponga (it's never actually referred to as 'Pongo' for some reason) there are other typical black apes. The latter are nastier, baser creatures. White Ponga by contrast is relatively noble. He kills bad guys and, like King Kong before him, is somewhat obsessed with the white woman of the party, whom he captures. Aside from the monkey mayhem there is strife and underhand dealings happening amongst the explorer outfit; while there is the requisite smattering of stock footage of wild animals thrown in for good measure. Overall, it isn't exactly a bad way to spend an hour of your time.

I'd swear that half of these B jungle movies has the people getting from one place to another. If they aren't paddling down a river, they are walking up a hill or across a field. Native tribesmen follow, single file, saying nothing, carrying supplies on their heads. This one is about an effort to find a white gorilla, a clue to the missing link. In the safari are a couple of factions as we find out. There's a rifle man, who is quiet and mysterious (we find out later what he really is), a young woman who is being pursued by a man who loves her, but who has no character. There is upper class snobbery. There is a group of cutthroat mutineers who wish to take power. Then there are scenes of out and out racism. The gorillas are, as usual, men in bad monkey suits. Even back in those days, couldn't they have put together something a little more convincing. One of my childhood memories is watching this movie on our old Admiral TV and seeing this long haired white ape. I may be wrong, but I think the ape suit shows up in other places, including an episode of the old George Reeves "Superman" TV show. This was another jungle movie that was part of a science fiction collection. I suppose the missing link is borderline science fiction. Overall, pretty lame.

As low budget jungle movies go this one isn't that bad. The production values are reasonable and the acting is perfectly ok. The script and storyline just aren't up to much and the whole film drags badly in the middle section. Not that there's much of a climax either - they just don't seem to know how to use the white gorilla effectively. Of course he steals the girl - they always do. As far as the gorilla costumes etc are concerned believe me they are nowhere near the worst you will ever see in films of this vintage. Enjoyable fun and a decent print on the alpha DVD I saw.

This movie for some reason isn't as popular as Plan 9 and Robot Monster, but it's really good (in a bad way).

The whole film is a waste of your time. You got a stupid storyline - an albino gorilla running around the jungle terrorizing people. You got scientist trying to stop the havoc. Then there's the horrible monkey suit and dialogue. Yes, it's one of the worst! Watch it!

Sam Newfield, director of White Pongo, had a long and productive career, spanning from the mid-1920s to the mid-1960s. Averaging 3-4 films per year (a total of 7 in 1951), he apparently did not have a great deal of time to waste with art, script refinement, and cinematography. His most well-known films achieve a relatively high rating here on IMDb (4), and are all within the horror genre (e.g. Dead Men Walk), but he did occasionally branch out into Sci-Fi (Lost Continent) and made a decent number of respectable war and western films in the last ten years of his career. Although I have not seen many of Newfield's films, and remember even fewer, I am willing to wager that White Pongo is fairly representative of the lot.

There are essentially two weakly developed plots. First - an expedition of upper crust white guys and a beautiful young woman are out in the jungle searching for a missing link (an albino gorilla whose only truly distinguishing characteristic is bad costuming). Since this plot had been done several times previously in equally bad films and the excellent King Kong, the screenwriter included a rather over-dramatic romantic quadrangle between the young lady, a privileged jerk to whom she is apparently betrothed, a decent young laborer, and - of course - the albino gorilla. Raymond Schrock, who had been writing for film since the teens gets the only credit I can give anybody in the production team for giving the actors something reasonable to work with. Schrock is an interesting character. Most of the films he was involved with are very obscure and difficult to find, but those which remain in the light seem to rate pretty highly here on IMDb. Sadly, White Pongo was made within the last five years of his career. and, in terms of plot, it's a very predictable, unoriginal, mess.

The cinematography is fairly standard for the jungle adventure genre as it stood in the middle of the 20th century. In other words, it is quite limited by available technology and set problems. The directing exemplifies the term "pedestrian", and the acting, though uninspired, is not nearly as bad as might be expected from the largely unknown cast. Those interested in the history of African American participation in film may be interested to see activist actor Joel Fluellen playing an unfortunate stereotype "Mumbo Jumbo" in this film, and will appreciate the irony that the only two 'ethnic' actors in this film (Fluellen and Al Eban) outlasted the rest of the cast. Fluellen appeared in some fairly good roles in Oscar and Grammy nominated films late in his career.

Best viewed with the aid of intoxicants and friends with good senses of humor. Otherwise - to be avoided.