The Gorilla (1939)

While "The Gorilla" isn't a disaster, it is a pale imitation of the type of story done dozens of times since the beginning of the silent era. "The Gorilla" is one of those old plays that has been altered for storytelling, some serious, some comic, and this version goes for the later. The Ritz Brothers are certainly not everybody's cup of tea, and even if they can be funny in small doses, a little bit of that goes an awfully long way. "Why would he hire a group of morons like this?" one character asks about wealthy Lionel Atwill's decision to hire them to protect him from a serial killer only known as "The Gorilla". It isn't known if this killer utilizes a gorilla to kill their victims or is simply known by that moniker as a nickname. Of course, there is a gorilla present, so this sets up the possibility for either/or.There is a fragile young heroine here of course, and it is played by veteran actress Anita Louise, having played that type character since the early 1930's. As predicted, everybody in the household is looking out for her, and Edward Norris is the handsome hero determined to keep her from becoming a victim. That frightening man of horror, Bela Lugosi, is here as the rather mysterious butler, Peters, and he is the type of character who seems to enjoy making people think he's creepy. Even the shrieking maid (Patsy Kelly, as "Kitty!") is afraid to be in the same room as him. Lugosi makes the most out of his rather predictable part, stealing every moment he gets a close-up, especially when he heads towards the heroine with a coat while giving her a rather sinister look.At the tale end of their 20th Century Fox contract, the Ritz Brothers spoofed everything from "The Three Musketeers" to the "Old Dark House" film, which this totally emulates. It's only just over an hour, so there is not much to criticize. In fact, the presence of such stalwarts as Kelly (hysterically funny), Louise and horror vets Atwill and Lugoi makes for a fun hour that won't eat up any brain cells and may create a few chills combined with laughter.

Newspaper headlines proclaim the notorious 'Gorilla' has murdered several people. The setting for this spooky comic murder mystery is the house of Warren Stevens. Stevens' estate is no ordinary edifice. The place is a maze of secret passages. Virtually, every room boasts a concealed panel. The maid Kitty (Patsy Kelly) is reading the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. before she goes to sleep when she sees the arm of a gorilla pin a note to her robe. Kitty raves hysterically with fear about her close call with danger, and Peters (Bela Lugosi) the butler examines that document. Stevens (Lionel Atwill) arrives to investigate and peruses the note, too. The note is a death threat for him. A thunder storm with recurring lightning enhances the atmosphere laden with paranoia about when the 'Gorilla' will next strike. The same night that this happens, Stevens sends an urgent radiogram to his niece Norma Denby. It seems that Stevens and Norma are joint heirs under the terms of her late father's will. Until Norma marries, Uncle Walter is the executor of her estate. Walter wants Norma and Jack to know what the contents of the estate are. The next day Norma and her boyfriend arrive to find Walter feeling a little apprehensive about the death threat. Of course, Walter has no idea why anybody would want to kill him. Earlier, we see him on the phone begging for clemency in regard to a monetary debt of $250-thousand. Later, a genuine gorilla enters the mansion. Somebody has knocked the gorilla's trainer out and unlocked the beast's cage. Later, we learn that the gorilla is named Poe.Stevens hires three detectives from the ACME Detective Agency. The nitwit Ritz Brothers play the numskull private eyes that Stevens hires to protect him from the homicidal ape on the loose. They make their entrance about ten minutes into the action. They arrive in the pouring rain in a convertible with an umbrella serving as their roof. They have cut holes for their eyes so they can see where they are driving. "I'll bet there's a dead body in every room," Garrity (Jimmy Ritz) observes before they climb out of her automobile. At best, the Ritz Brothers are low-brow comics that rely on verbal wit and hammy acting to yield laughs. They freak out at the very mention of the Gorilla's name and Harrigan puts on a dumb show when he encounters the ape. Everybody is in the study when the lights go out and Stevens vanishes. The Ritz Brothers try to reenact Stevens' disappearance by using a stand-in for him. "Look," Mulligan says, "I've got an idea. If we can figure out how Garrity disappeared, we can figure out how Stevens disappeared." Mulligan (Al Ritz) sits where Stevens sat behind the desk. Harrigan (Harry Ritz) switches off the lights and Mulligan disappears. The next stand-in for Stevens that Harrigan uses is Kitty. This time the lights go out and Harrigan rather than the stand-in for Stevens disappears. Suddenly, Kitty finds herself face-to-face with Peters.At the halfway point in the film, a couple of other people arrive. Not only does a mysterious but natty stranger (Joseph Calleia) appear without invitation, but our bumbling heroes discover a sailor in a closet. The stranger prowls the premise after Harrigan has vanished as a part of his reenactment ploy. The stranger finds Harrigan. Initially, Harrigan suspects the stranger is the 'Gorilla.' The stranger explains he stepped into the house to use the telephone because his car broke down. When Harrigan brandishes his revolver, the stranger assures him he is making a big mistake. The stranger surprises Harrigan, knocks him unconscious, and claps handcuffs on him. About forty minutes into the plot, A.P. Conway (Paul Harvey) storms into the mansion. He is adamant about collecting a quarter of a million dollars. "I have proof that Stevens have been stealing from his client's accounts for over a year." He refuses to leave until he has his money. More than ever the Ritz Brothers are determined to solve the mystery. Eventually, they venture into the cellar and encounter the real gorilla. During their search, Harrigan gets himself snagged to a dressing dummy and freaks out. The fake gorilla attacks Norma. Jack suspects Peters is the culprit because the butler is never around when anything occurs. Later, Harrigan confronts the real gorilla in a clever scene when he thinks that his partners are accompanying him. The sailor recovers and warns them about Poe. Poe hates women. The sailor says a man hired him and Poe. Somebody clobbered the sailor and released Poe."The Man in the Iron Mask" director Allan Dwan's version of "The Gorilla" is the second remake of the Ralph Spence stage play. Spence was a comic scriptwriter, too. He wrote the screenplay for the Wheeler and Woolsey comedy "Hook, Line, and Sinker." Scenarists Rian James and Sid Silvers have penned some snappy, rapid-fire dialogue for the Ritz Brothers that aptly illuminates their idiocy. The gobbledygook dialogue is amusing in its lunacy. Dwan doesn't squander a second in this fast-paced laffer. He gets more mileage than you might imagine out of the weird sounds that a Zenith radio receiver emits with warnings about Stevens' impending demise. Bela Lugosi is cast as a sinister butler. Typically, the cliché in murder mysteries such as this one is that the butler committed the crime. Dwan uses Lugosi as an effective red herring. Nobody likes or trusts the butler. Dwan gets as much mileage out of Lionel Atwill as Stevens. Patsy Kelly spends most of her time screaming in fright. The fake gorilla that is supposed to be a real gorilla is hilarious because it is so obviously ersatz.

The 30s and 40s produced some good comedy/horror films - Cat and the Canary, The Ghost Train, One Body Too Many, Hold That Ghost, etc. Unfortunately The Gorilla cannot be added to the list, being a jaw-droppingly unfunny vehicle for The Ritz Bros. Their overripe mugging fails to raise a single laugh...All the elements are there - spooky house full of secret passages, raging storm outside, a rampaging Gorilla at large, a murder mystery, the presence of Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi, etc. All this works to some extent - indeed to me the film is only worth watching for the two horror stars. Lugosi wears an amused smile to great effect in most of his scenes, and Atwill is his usual bluff excellent self.Every time The Ritz Bros, show up the film quickly sinks into the mire. This might have worked better with Laurel and Hardy, or The Three Stooges, but the results here are pretty dire. The treatment is also very stage bound, as the action never once leaves the house. The mystery isn't really up to much, either, concerning a mysterious murderer known as The Gorilla threatening his victims with warning notes before bumping them off 24 hours later. Atwill is in line to be his next victim.I wish he'd picked The Ritz Bros....

"This Ritz Brothers vehicle features them as detectives hired to protect lawyer Walter Stevens (Lionel Atwell) from 'The Gorilla', a killer working under the guise of an escaped circus animal. Garrity, Harrigan, and Mullivan (Jimmy, Harry, and Al Ritz) discover that is really heiress Norma Denby (Anita Louise) who may be the target of the killer. To complicate things even further, a real escaped gorilla shows up to befuddle our trio of detectives," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Another in the long line of comedy in the haunted house capers, "The Gorilla" works well if you're familiar with the Ritz Brothers, and unfamiliar with the often filmed storyline. It will also help if you like movies featuring men in gorilla suits. Director Allan Dwan and photographer Edward Cronjager make it look all right. The cast is strengthened by a high-key performance from literary maid Patsy Kelly (as Kitty), and a low-key play by butler Bela Lugosi (as Peters); their names, "Kitty" and "Peters", are certainly amusing.**** The Gorilla (5/26/39) Allan Dwan ~ Harry Ritz, Patsy Kelly, Bela Lugosi