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Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)

Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla
The Boys from Brooklyn
The Monster Meets the Gorilla


Cast:

Bela "How the mighy have fallen..." Lugosi is Dr. Zabor
Duke Mitchell is Duke Michell
Sammy Petrillo is Sammy Petrillo
Charlita is Nona
Muriel Landers is Saloma
Mickey Simpson is Chula
Milton Newberger is Bongo, the Witch Doctor


What the box says:

As outrageous as the title suggest and every bit as fun! The title's namesake, Bea Lugosi, stars as Dr. Zabor, a mad scientist living on the Pacific island of Cola-Cola, who whiles away his time performing weird evolutionary experiments. The island is also home to a tribe of primitive group of tribesmen. Into this mix, parachute two goofy entertainers (Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, in roles reminiscent of those most often played by 'Martin & Lewis). Mayhem ensues when Mitchell takes a liking to the Chief's daughter, sparking jealousy and a devious plot by Dr. Zabor to make a monkey out of him. This film has it all - horror, comedy, romance, songs - and has gone on to become a highly prized cult classic!


Plot:

Narration and stock footage show us the tropical island. Duke and Sammy are found by natives and brought to the village. Nona, the extremely hot daughter of the chief, convinces the others not to kill them. The heavily masked witch doctor is certain they should be killed.

Later, Nona discovers who the men are when they awaken. The worst Jerry Lewis impression ensues. Sammy and Duke fell out of airplane. The natives of Cola-Cola welcome them and plan a luau in their honor.

At the luau, the typical dancing natives ensue. Sammy isn’t too happy that Duke has the uber-hot Nona. Well, Sammy gets introduced to the hefty Saloma, baby sister of Nona. Saloma keeps trying to fatten Sammy up.

I've never heard Queen's song about Fat Bottom Girls...
I've never heard Queen's song about Fat Bottom Girls...
More horrid Jerry Lewis impression occurs during the tribal dance.

Sammy starts his nightclub act for the natives to dead silence until Nona translates it in the native language.

Ladies and Germs, a little ditty called Blaze of Glory
Ladies and Germs, a little ditty called 'Blaze of Glory'.
Saloma carries Sammy away. Duke decides to serenade Nona with his unique song styling. The song “Deed I Do” isn’t known for a good reason because it is worse than the Wookie Life Day song.

Later, Nona mentions Dr. Zabor who is studying evolution on the island.

Sammy is trying to escape Saloma. Stock footage ensues as day and night are intercut. She finally catches her gawky unfunny scrawny man.

Let the lovin’ ensue between Duke and Nona. Sammy’s high-pitched scream ruins the suckin’ of face.

Dukey, take me now my gawky stallion..
Dukey, take me now my gawky stallion..

The next day, Nona takes Duke and Sammy to Dr. Zabor’s castle. After the introductions, Sammy thinks Zabor is a vampire. The good doctor offers the castle’s hospitality to Duke and Sammy and is very happy to help them.

Nona is working in the lab. She shoots Zabor’s indecent proposal.

Duke and Sammy thank the doctor for his help. The good doctor tries to explain his experiments about studying evolution. Zabor can advance evolution in hours.

Painful comedy with Sammy and Ramona the chimp.

Duke and Sammy meet Pepe, the island cop who has the only radio on the island.

Ramona the chimp is able to trap Sammy in the cage.

Night, Duke is with Nona.

Back at the castle, Zabor is brooding while hitting the whiskey bottle.

Sammy is in bed when Ramona the chimp sneaks in his bedroom. At first, Sammy doesn’t seem to mind being groped by Duke. He freaks when realizing a chimp was doing it. Sammy takes Ramona back to her cage. Awful lullaby ensues before Ramona locks him back in the cage again.

Duke returns to the castle and hits the hay.

Chief Racka talks with Zabor and decides to have another luau.

Zabor, Duke, and Nona are present. Sammy is trying to keep Saloma from fattening him up. Nona and Duke sneak away. Zabor sends Chula, his servant, to spy on them. Sammy and Saloma leave but Sammy is trying to hide from his Pacific Island Passion flower.

Chula spies on Duke and Nona who gives Duke a pre-engagement necklace. Duke serenades her again. Pseudo-Dean Martin song ensues before more lovin’.

Zabor heads back to his castle and leaves the luau. Chula informs Zabor of what happened. Dr. Zabor broods before beginning working in the lab. He is able to finish his formula and injects Ramona the chimp who reverts to an infant state. Zabor is enthusiastic that he can turn a man into a gorilla. Chula is terrified he’ll be the test case. However, Zabor has a better test case to test.

Nona returns to the castle in the morning.

Duke will talk with Pepe to use the radio to inform the authorities about them. Zabor can’t spare Nona to go with Duke. She tells him to ask the Chief to show him to Pepe’s cabin.

In the jungle, Chula knocks Duke out and brings him back to the castle. Sammy stops by the lab. Zabor gets him and Nona to run an errand. Chula brings Duke in the lab and the experiment begins.

In the jungle, Nona finds the necklace.

Duke is trapped in the cage.

Back at the village, Nona learns that Duke never came by. She organizes a search party and heads back to Dr. Zabor’s castle.

The magic of time lapse photography shows how Duke changes into a gorilla. Awakening, gorilla Duke won’t get any wild monkey lovin’ with Nona.

Nona and Sammy enter the lab and spot the caged gorilla. Zabor claims the gorilla is actually Ramona. Gorilla Duke rages in the cage. Sammy will stay behind. Zabor and Nona will go back to the village.

Gorilla Duke tries communicating with Sammy. They start playing charades? Sammy finds Ramona and Duke’s clothes. He can’t figure out what that means until Gorilla Duke begins singing “Deed I Do.” Sammy lets him out of the cage…

Gorilla Duke knocks out Chula and goes upstairs with Sammy.

At the village, there has been no more word about Duke.

While Sammy tries to fire up his single neuron to formulate a plan, Chula awakens and leaves the castle to warn Zabor.

Nona starts bawling fearing the worst about Duke. Chula tells Zabor about the gorilla. He magnanimously gives permission to kill the gorilla.

The grunting of Gorilla Duke brings another gorilla. Sammy ponders the problem. Gorilla Duke runs off and real gorilla climbs into the room. Sammy tries to forcibly clothe the gorilla at first. He follows after Gorilla Duke when realizing his mistake.

Out of the castle, they knock down Zabor and Chula. Zabor gets his rifle to end the problem permanently.

The villagers panic when they spot Gorilla Duke with Sammy. He tries explaining what happened to Duke. Nona believes him for some unexplainable reason.

Dr. Zabor arrives and is about to shoot Gorilla Duke when Sammy takes the bullet for him. Sammy dies.

Suddenly, Duke wakes Sammy up from a nightmare. They leave the dressing room and run into Nona with a gorilla actually a guy in gorilla suit. They head to the stage and pass Pepe and others from the island. The club owner, Bela Lugosi wants a better performance from them or else.

The tribal dancers are led by Saloma who rushes up to Sammy to swap some spit who decides she’s not so bad after all.

A few more bad lame Jerry Lewis jokes ensue before Duke starts assaulting us with another song…”Deed he does…”


What I say:

Rogue Reviewers Roundtable
This week's suggested soundtrack is the "Dr. Zaius" song from the Simpsons.

A great man said everything is better with ninjas. Whoever that great man has also said everything is better with monkeys, too. I don't think that great man had the number of Bela Lugosi movies that had monkeys, apes, gorillas, or any type of simians in them. The Ape and the Ape Man won't be remembered for the being Bela Lugosi's better movies. Though, a Bela Lugosi ninja movie would be so sweet as to cause diabetic shock into the entire population of the world.

This is another William "One-Shot" Beaudine movie, nicknamed for only filming what was required for the scene and not filming retakes. After Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, I should have learned my lesson. Who am I kidding? I'd watch Billy the Kid Versus Dracula if I could find it. Just seeing a title like Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla is just too much temptation to keep me from watching it. The famous day for night shots in many real low budget movies at least weren't as easy to spot as Ed Woods' Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Bela Lugosi was his worst enemy when it came to movies. His attitude and drug addiction knocked him into the poverty row movies of the late 30s and for most of the 40s. By the 50s, Lugosi was so desperate to work he took the Bowery Boy movies and some other kid-friendly type movies besides a couple of Ed Wood movies including his final Plan 9 From Outer Space. A number of low budget movies would have him to pretty much just play a role that would have everyone think "hey creepy Bela Lugosi.."

Mitchell and Petrillo were considered a poor man's version of Martin and Lewis. Duke Mitchell somehow lacks the charisma, coolness, and singing ability of Dean Martin. How did Petrillo managed to get away with basically stealing Jerry Lewis's act is incredible? Granted Sammy Petrillo could do an extreme Jerry Lewis impression to the point you would think the Nutty Professor himself was crying "NICE LADY!!" if you had been on a Mountain Dew bender for a couple of days coming off a No-Doze jag.

The Ape and the Ape Man had some bad gorilla costumes. However, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla has far worse gorilla costumes. Being so bulky and ratty looking doesn't make them look realistic. It is hard to believe that the gorilla suit used in Robot Monster wasn't as bad as what is used here.

The movie has so many plot points that are red herrings. The witch doctor wants to kill the heroes at first. He becomes the butt of most of the island voodoo witch doctor jokes. If only one guy has a radio that communicate off the island, why don't our "heroes" ask him to use the radio first? The entire rigamarole about staying at Lugosi's castle for a few days before using the radio seems awfully dumb. Zabor was studying about advancing evolution by trying to evolve a chimpaneze into a gorilla. He creates a formula that is able to regress the physical maturity of an animal to its infant state which within a day physically returns to its original age. Somehow, that is enough for him to be able devolve a human into a gorilla.

I don't want to make this movie sound like it is far ahead by being so snarky or with the dream ending. I'm sure this can't be the first movie that has a mad scientist escape alive. This may be the only movie that has the mad scientist not doing anything evil to his servant. The mad scientist or servant not dying painful deaths is also strange.

Politically correct was a phrase that didn't exist back in the early 1950s. A Pacific island tribe has the a dancing and masked witch doctor somehow that doesn't seem like something that would be in a current movie. Saloma, the "baby" sister of Nona has plenty of the fat jokes used on her. She never once got mad about any of them. The jolly fat people joke wasn't used but must have been a given in this universe.

Well with almost the entire movie being a dream, all the stupidity the people exhibit is understood. A dream also can validate all the stupid plot points that a 5 year old could figure out what is wrong with this movie. How do 2 guys fall out of an airplane trying to use the bathroom but are wearing parachutes?

One of the stereotypical movie endings, I truly hate is the dream ending. Fiction is one thing, we surrender our time to be entertained. To find the end of the movie is a dream is more than cheating the audience. Spitting tobacco juice on the audience may be more physically noxious but less mentally repugant. A dream ending is the ultimate indication that the writer had absolutely no idea of what they were doing. To be fair, the movie had quite a number of possible points that could have prevented such a lame ending. Not that I was hoping for a truly great movie ending.



1 1/2 NINJAS

Quotable Dialogue

"Sounds like a commercial for some bubble water."
"Saloma, no falopa."
"This looks like Death not only took a holiday, but he got a hangover from taking it."
"He thinks you're the guy going around biting kids in the neck."
"He has a one-syllable brain."
"The whole thing is very ambigious."


Morals of the Story

Pythons can easily crush elk.
Lepard skins make anyone look like a Pacific islander.
Guys can wear half shirts and be masculine in the 1950s.
Screaming "baby" for several minutes makes a song.
Pacific islands have an abundance of European style castles.
Men must wear night caps to bed.
Sleeping men aren't bothered when being fondled by chimps.
Hot island princesses make great lab assistants when combining sarongs and lab coats.
Bela Lugosi ordering men to be stripped is truly disturbing in dimensions science has yet to map.