The Gorilla (1939 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = The Gorilla

| image = The-gorilla-1939-poster.jpg

| caption = Promotional release poster

| based_on = {{based on|The Gorilla
1925 play|Ralph Spence}}

| starring = Al Ritz
Harry Ritz
Jimmy Ritz
Anita Louise
Patsy Kelly
Lionel Atwill
Bela Lugosi
Joseph Calleia
Edward Norris
Wally Vernon

| music = David Buttolph
David Raksin
Cyril J. Mockridge
Alfred Newman

| cinematography = Edward Cronjager

| editing = Allen McNeil

| distributor = 20th Century-Fox

| released = {{Film date|1939|05|26}}

| runtime = 66 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $175,000{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety133-1939-02/page/n3/mode/1up?q=%22cost+around%22|magazine=Variety|date=1 February 1939|title=Ritzes 'Gorilla' Jam with 20th|page=4}}

}}{{For|the 1952 Bela Lugosi film involving a gorilla|Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla}}File:The Gorilla (1939) by Allan Dwan.webm

The Gorilla is a 1939 American comedy horror film starring the Ritz Brothers, Anita Louise, Art Miles, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, and Patsy Kelly. It was based on the 1925 play of the same name by Ralph Spence.

The film is in the public domain.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0V7td4yxdEC&q=the+gorilla+1939+public+domain&pg=PA152|last2=Okuda|first2=Ted|last1=Brotherton|first1=Jamie|title=Dorothy Lee: The Life and Films of the Wheeler and Woolsey Girl|year=2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786433636}}page 152

In the film, investigators are hired to protect a wealthy man from a gorilla-themed killer. But they instead encounter an actual gorilla.

Plot

When a wealthy man (Lionel Atwill) is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive. Patsy Kelly portrays a newly hired maid who wants to quit because the butler, played by Bela Lugosi, scares her.

Cast

File:The Gorilla (1939) 1.jpg

{{castlist|

Jimmy Ritz as Garrity
Anita Louise as Norma Denby
Harry Ritz as Harrigan
Al Ritz as Mulligan
Patsy Kelly as Kitty
Lionel Atwill as Walter Stevens
Bela Lugosi as Peters
Joseph Calleia as the Stranger
Edward Norris as Jack Marsden
Wally Vernon as a Seaman
Paul Harvey as Conway
Art Miles as Poe the Gorilla

{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-gorilla-v20391/cast-crew|work=Allmovie|title=The Gorilla (1939) - Cast|publisher=Rovi Corporation|access-date=May 4, 2013}}}}

Production

By October 1938, 20th Century-Fox bought the rights to Ralph Spence's play The Gorilla. Fox wanted production on the film to start in January, which would be when The Ritz Brothers finished their tour. The studio wanted Kane Richmond to play a part in the film, but Richmond was replaced by Edward Norris after Richmond signed on for the film Charlie Chan in Reno. Fox signed on Bela Lugosi for the film as the butler. This character was originally meant for Peter Lorre.Rhodes, 2001. p.113

The death of the Ritz Brothers' father caused production of the film in January to be delayed. Fox placed a $150,000 suit against the Ritz brothers for a breach of contract as the film was stated to start production on January 30, but was halted when the Ritz Brothers did not show up. They were reluctant to appear in a B picture. By March, the film began shooting again with the Ritz brothers returning to the film. The Gorilla became the last film made for Fox by the Ritz brothers.

Release and reception

The Gorilla premiered on May 26, 1939.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} A negative review of the film was written in The New York Times stating, "It's all supposed to be either really funny or shockingly thrilling, depending on how you look at it. We couldn't see it either way."Hallenbeck, 2009. p.27 Describing the Ritz Brothers performance in the film as "perhaps best appreciated by those who find the antics of The Three Stooges to be of too high an order of wit," critic Craig Butler wrote in AllMovie that "shameless scenery chewing from Patsy Kelly ... can't distract from the baldness of some of the plot machinations or from the fact that many of the comic moments are shoehorned in with little rhyme or reason."{{cite web |last1=Butler |first1=Craig |title=The Gorilla (1939) |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-gorilla-v20391/review |website=AllMovie |publisher=Netaktion LLC |access-date=2022-03-15}} Writing for Turner Classic Movies, critic Jeff Stafford described the film as "interesting primarily for Lugosi's tongue-in-cheek performance," but that the Ritz Brothers "come off like a poor man's version of The Marx Brothers," and that "Patsy Kelly's shrill performance as the terrified maid can also grate on your nerves."{{cite web |last1=Stafford |first1=Jeff |title=The Gorilla (1939) |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/76766/the-gorilla#articles-reviews?articleId=92577 |website=Turner Classic Movies |publisher=Turner Classic Movies Inc. |access-date=2022-03-15}}