White Pongo (1945)

WHITE PONGO is another of those movies with an interesting-sounding premise and a very dull execution. It's a jungle safari film in which a bunch of the dullest characters imaginable head into the jungle in search of a mythical white gorilla. The trouble is, this plotting plays out very slowly indeed, with a maximum of padding that makes it a tough watch. None of the characters stand out and the only people making an effort are the sound effects guys with their constant jungle ambience noises. As for White Pongo himself, he's just the usual guy in a gorilla suit you've seen a million times; he just happens to be a different colour.

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 wish I had a dollar for every film made about the African jungle or that featured some knucklehead dressed up in a gorilla costume during the 1930s and 40s--I'd be a millionaire. Sure, in this case it's a WHITE gorilla, but it's still at heart a movie like so many others.The film begins with a man escaping and making his way through the jungle back to civilization. During this torturous trek, he sees a white gorilla and once rescued he babbled on and on about it. How his rescuers took this to mean that this albino gorilla was some sort of "missing link", I have no idea and they soon set off to look for the beast.There must be something about the jungle, as some sort of aphrodisiac must grown in the wild. First, two men in the party fall for the lone lady in the group. Then later, Pongo (the white gorilla) himself and a black gorilla ALSO fall for this hottie! I could say more about the film, but frankly who cares?! Yet another man in gorilla suit film AND the gorilla becomes infatuated with the lady--haven't we seen this before....many times? Overall, a dull and not particularly inspiring film. I wish I could get as excited about the film like some of the other reviewers, but I just got bored with the film almost as soon as it started.

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!