Bride of the Gorilla

Certainly not a bad little low budget film, this "Bride of the Gorilla", but nothing special, neither, and not memorable enough to be ranked among the meaningful Sci-Fi efforts of its time. Director Curt Siodmak was an eminent scriptwriter during the 1930's and 1940's and delivered stories for some true genre classics ("I walked with a Zombie", "The Wolf Man") but, as a director, he obviously lacked the required competences. "Bride of the Gorilla" is similar to the aforementioned "The Wolf Man" in story and atmosphere, but the film looks a lot more amateurish and pitiful. Both handle about cursed men that turn into large animals at night, but the titular gorilla doesn't look half as threatening as the werewolf, even though the film got released a whole decade later. During a cheesy opening speech, actor Lon Chaney tries to convince us that the jungle is an ominous place and hiding many mysteries, but actually there's no real mystery in the plot. It's just handles about a plantation manager who's jealous at his older colleague for having such a beautiful young wife and he kills him. A native woman witnesses his crime and puts a spell on Barney that causes him to transform into a hideously big gorilla at night... Or maybe she just wants him to believe he's turning into a hideously big gorilla…Lon Chaney himself plays the police commissioner charged with the murder investigation while Raymond Burr (who starred in about a thousand Perry Mason TV-movies) portrays the greedy plantation manager/nightly gorilla. Siodmak attempts to make the film look like a supernatural thriller – is it or is it not all just happening in Barney's head? – fail miserably and it causes way too much talking and too few jungle-action. Several of the jungle-settings are nicely pictured but the rest of the "special" effects are tacky and poorly done. Still the acting is pretty good, Barbara Payton is looking beautiful and – although very predictable – the story is strangely compelling until the very end. Weird movie, it probably voodoo-cursed me

Typical and run-of-the-mill monster movie in the Fifties style. Very mediocre terror movie with some scenes fun to watch . On a remote and deep location, in a South American jungle rubber plantation , a foreman called Barney Chavez (Raymond Burr) spends much time dodging working and visiting the boss' (Paul Cavanaugh) wife , Dina Van Gelder (Barbara Payton) , whom he tells he would like to take away from her husband. When her hubby , the chief Klass Von Gelder dies from suspicious circumstances Barney deceives his jealous lover Larina (Carol Varga) but the housemaid Larina Gisela Werbisek) uses weird magic to cast a spell on Barney , who's plagued by a strange voodoo curse . Barney starts transforming before his own eyes into a Gorilla and family physician Dr. Viet (Tom Conway) sees that the man is laboring under something he believes is poison . Then an enormous being on the loose begins to become evil and escapes around the lush jungle , killing here and there . When investigating the rampage of an ancient and mythological being called Sukara , local constable Taro (Lon Chaney, Jr.) realizes that Barney is missing at night coinciding with ravaging animal killings on the jungle and he and Dr. Viet work to get to the bottom of the mystery . Along the way, Barney suffers long lapses of memory loss, and continues to see himself as a Gorilla causing wreak havoc . Her clothes torn away, screaming in terror!.Her marriage vows were more than fulfilled!.A Blonde Beauty and a Savage Beast... alone in the Jungle!

Routine and regular monster movie about habitual issue concerning an enormous , unfriendly , stalking and very anger gorilla. This is a cheap , humdrum and monotonous production, written director Curt Siodmak himself , being spoiled by suffering from lousy interpretations and an embarrassing lack of imagination . Fakey special effects might have been decent in the Fifties or Sixties , but they just don't cut it today. T Here only stands out Raymond Burr who travels to jungle where he meets a wife , a plantation and a curse in this African twist on the werwolf legend , replacing him with a gorilla . In fact , there appears Lon Chaney Jr ,though he doesn't takes his Wolf Man usual role , but a local police officer on the trail a strange creature on the loose . Raymond Burr physical changes are amusing to watch , while turning nightly into a rampaging gorilla . And gorgeous Barbara Payton (who acted in important films as ¨Dallas¨, ¨Only the valiant¨, ¨Drums in the Deep South¨, ¨Kiss Tomorrow goodbye¨, ¨The Great Jesse James Raid¨) , she performed one of the saddest stories from dark chronicle Hollywood . Attractive blonde sexpot and her life eventually disintegrated , mostly for her own doings . She was the subject of a spread in Confidential Magazine in the early 1950s when then fiancé Franchot Tone allegedly caught in bed with Guy Madison . Tone later married her , despite of the indiscretion , in addition she had a tempestuous relationship with Tom Neal . But happened the downfall , her once enticing countenance now blotchy and once sensational figure now bloated , Barbara sank deeper into the bottle and had several brushes with law , among them public boozy , bad checks and ultimate prostitution . The 39 years former star was found on the bathroom floor . They're well accompanied by a nice secondary cast , such as : Tom Conway, Lon Chaney, Paul Cavanagh, Gisela Werbisek , Carol Varga and Woody Strode.

The motion picture was badly directed by exiled writer/filmmaker German Curt Siodmak . One of Siodmak's first film-writing assignments was the screenplay for the German sci-fi picture "Floating Platform 1 Does Not Answer", based on his own novel. Curt and brother Robert Siodmak started in the film business writing German inter-titles for Mack Sennett comedies. In 1928 he wrote scripts for movies for the first time; his idea for the script for People on Sunday (1930) constituted the first directorial success for his brother Robert Siodmak. Compelled to leave Germany after Adolf Hitler and the Nazis took power, Siodmak went to work as a screenwriter in England and then moved to Hollywood in 1937. He got a job at Universal through his director-friend Joe May, helping write the script for May's The Invisible Man Returns (1940) . It was at Universal where Siodmak became identified with science-fiction and horror; especially with movies like The invisible women (1940) and The wolf Man (1941). Landed a worldwide success with his novel "Donovan's Brain" in 1942, which was filmed four times over the next 20 years. Siodmak directed a few films such as : Ski Fever , The Devil's Messenger , Demon Street , Tales of Frankenstein , Love Slaves of the Amazons , Curucu, Beast of the Amazon, The magnetic monster. His final significant genre credit was for Terence Fisher's German production Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace . Bride of the Gorilla(1951) rating : 4.5/10 . Below average.

For being such an old movie, "Bride of the Gorilla" has good special effects that help make great scenes! In the film the jungle looks like a real, large, and living jungle, which really makes the movie.

After watching this movie i really understood the "magic" of the jungle and how staying out there can make people go crazy! The beautiful Barbara Payton did a terrific job

with her character, and the love she shows for her husband, even though

he turns crazy, is the typical 1950's "love" relationship. This movie is

good, but sad in the end. It's a definite MUST SEE!

Bride of the Gorilla (1951)

*** (out of 4)

Barney Chavez (Raymond Burr) kills a man in cold blood so that he can steal his wife (Barbara Payton) and he thinks he's gotten away with it but he didn't realize that a voodoo witch has placed a curse on him. The curse turns him into a gorilla but he really changing or is it all in his mind?

Curt Siodmak wrote and directed this low-budget "B" film and that's worth noting because he wrote some of Universal's biggest hits of the 1940's. One such film was THE WOLF MAN, which was obviously the inspiration for this movie. If you're familiar with that 1941 film then you might remember that the screenwriter originally wanted to make it unclear whether the Lon Chaney, Jr. character was a werewolf or if it was all in his mind. Well, that scenario is basically what plays out there.

If you look around at the reviews you'll notice that the majority of them are negative but I feel that's a bit unfair. While this here certainly isn't a classic movie it's at least a lot more entertaining than a lot of the "B" horror movies that were out there around this time. The film obviously doesn't have much money and this is rather clear when you see how cheap some of the special effects are. In fact, the majority of them are off screen or POV shots.

I thought the film was at least entertaining enough to hold your attention throughout and I must admit that I really liked the Burr character even with what he did. I thought it was interesting seeing what he was going through and of course there's the mystery of what exactly is happening. Burr turns in a good performance as did Payton. Then you've got Chaney, Jr. in a supporting role and while it is a throwaway part he's at least fun.

BRIDE OF THE GORILLA is a bunch of low-budget non-sense but I've always found it to be mildly enjoyable.

Don't be deceived by the prominent billing of Lon Chaney Jr or the advertising that stresses all the horror in this little yarn. In point of fact, Mr Chaney is confined to a rather small role. He's neither our heroine's husband nor lover. He's not even the gorilla! Mr Chaney stays firmly on the right side of the law for once, while Raymond Burr in his usual confidently cool, surly, self-assured manner enacts the title role opposite the legendary Barbara Payton (here looking extremely attractive, thanks to flattering photography and most seductive—if rather inappropriate by jungle standards—costumes. She speaks her lines with more than adequate conviction too).

Tom Conway walks through his part with his usual, blandly smooth impeccability, whilst Carol Varga's eye-catching native girl gives Barbara a fair run in the beauty stakes. Woody Strode is also on hand as a policeman who has a key scene with a black-robed, rather sinister servant-lady.

As a director, Mr Siodmak takes great care that every word of the marking-time hokey dialogue he has contrived for his script, be clearly and distinctly heard. His actors are coached to speak carefully and to enunciate with great deliberation so that not one time- consuming cliché be lost. In other respects too, Siodmak's handling has not a great deal to recommend it. Even at 65 minutes, the pacing appears remarkably slow, even tired, listless, dull. Except for a few shots of the camera tracking subjectively through the undergrowth and the jaws of the gorilla flashing momentarily right in front of the lens, Siodmak does little to capture audience interest in his tale. He focuses more of his attention on the bride than the gorilla—which is fine for us Barbara Payton fans, but may leave horror and fantasy devotees feeling rather short-changed.

All told, from a horror perspective Bride of the Gorilla turns out as a tame and tedious affair that signally fails to deliver the frights and the terror promised by its script and its advertising. We see only a few flashes of the gorilla (an obvious impersonation by a stuntman in the same well-used monkey suit the costume company has been renting out for twenty years) and there's no impressive special effects work either. Most of the movie perambulates around three or four sets and was obviously lensed on an extremely tight budget. (In fact, it was reportedly shot in ten days).

Bride does have one other important factor (aside from Miss Payton), in its favor, however. It was superbly photographed by Charles Van Enger. If you love glossy photography, Bride of the Gorilla is your meat.