Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Unfairly chastised in some quarters for being a kiddie friendly King Kong, Mighty Joe Young is as charming as an Autumnal day. Many of the team from King Kong reteam to make this film, and undoubtedly it's pretty much the same plotting only with a different resolution.However, the effects work is still magical, harking back to a time when geniuses like Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen sweated buckets to make the magic move on the screen. Mighty Joe, the huge Gorilla of the title, is beautifully realised, full of expressions and emotions, he even has time for some sense of humour traits.Action is never far away, with models and sets destroyed with brute force, while plenty of beings get flung about to emphasise the madness of it all. Narratively like Kong there's still themes of greed and ignorance, the tampering with Mother Nature a big mistake, which all leads to a thrilling finale that in turn leads to something to savour.Kiddie Kong? Who cares! A wonderful film of skill and guile, of charm and brains. Go Joe Go! 8/10

. . . seldom has been more truthfully depicted on the big screen than in 1949's MIGHTY JOE YOUNG. Seduced by limelight, applause, and booze, this "Gorilla Ironman" (G.I.) Joe does ALL of the work and is given NONE of the profits. Hollywood's infamous accounting methods subject him to abject poverty in an appalling condition of solitary confinement. His career is on track to be shorter than James Dean's, River Phoenix', or Heath Ledger's, as a judge orders his summary execution by firing squad at his first hint of Union Activism. Always the Rich Man's stooges, the L.A. cops are only too happy to oblige The Man. But before these murderers-by-proxy can carry out their ghastly orders, G.I. Joe detours from his escape-back-to-Africa route to rescue a handful of young girls from a burning orphanage--the only thing preventing his liquidation by the Oppressors' Tools. A few years later John Garfield (GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT), Dalton Trumbo, and the rest of the "Hollywood Ten" martyrs would NOT fare so well!

Terry Moore stars as Jill Young, a young woman who has raised a gorilla named Joseph Young, who has grown quite large in her care. When nightclub owner Max O'Hara(played by Robert Armstrong) and his cowboy employee Gregg(played by Ben Johnson) find Joe, they persuade Jill to sign a contract and head for Hollywood, where Joe becomes the star attraction. Sadly, he isn't happy in captivity(can't blame him!) and after three drunken idiots humiliate Joe, he escapes and becomes the dogged pursuit of a manhunt, but Joe will come to the rescue when an orphanage is on fire...Good-natured film is hurt by extreme familiarity, since this had been done before and better in "King Kong". Not bad, but mediocre film is mostly good for kids.

In Africa, the girl Jill Young trades a baby gorilla with two natives and raises the animal. Twelve years later, the talkative and persuasive promoter Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) organizes a safari to Africa with the Oklahoma cowboy Gregg (Ben Johnson) to bring attractions to his new night-club in Hollywood. They capture several lions and out of blue, they see a huge gorilla nearby their camping and they try to capture the animal. However, the teenager Jill Young (Terry Moore) stops the men that intended to kill her gorilla. Max seduces Jill with a fancy life in Hollywood and she signs a contract with him where the gorilla Joseph "Joe" Young would be the lead attraction. Soon she realizes that her dream is a nightmare to Joe and she asks Max to return to Africa. However he persuades her to stay a little longer in the show business. But when three alcoholic costumers give booze to Joe, the gorilla destroys the spot and is sentenced by the justice to be sacrificed. Will Jill, Gregg and Max succeed in saving Joe?"Mighty Joe Young" is a surprisingly excellent movie, with a story that entwines drama, romance and adventure and with awesome special effects for a 1949 movie. I bought this DVD a couple of years ago, but I was expecting a lame rip-off of King Kong based on the awful Brazilian title. However, the plot is engaging, with lots of emotions and many plot points and Joe's runaway is spectacular. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Monstro de um Mundo Perdido" ("Monster of a Lost World")