The Gorilla
About The Gorilla
Insurance broker Walter Stevens, played by Lionel Atwill, gets a death threat signed by the Gorilla and hires detectives Garrity, Harrigan, and Mulligan, played by the Ritz brothers. On the named night they question the maid Kitty, the butler Peters, played by Bela Lugosi, Stevens's niece Norma Denby, and her fiancé Jack Marsden, while a gorilla moves through the mansion. Stevens admits he wrote the threats and hired a circus gorilla to flush out the real killer. The man who has been passing as an investigator is the murderer.
Cast & crew
More about The Gorilla
Allan Dwan directed. Rian James and Sid Silvers wrote the script from Ralph Spence's 1925 play. Harry Joe Brown produced. Edward Cronjager photographed it. Allen McNeil edited. Fox bought the play in October 1938. The Ritz brothers' father died, and they did not appear for a January 30 start. Fox sued them for $150,000. Shooting resumed in March. It was their last film at Fox. The butler had been written for Peter Lorre. Lugosi played Peters. Edward Norris replaced Kane Richmond as Jack Marsden. Art Miles plays the gorilla, billed as Poe.
Themes
Making
The brothers balked at a B picture, missed the January start after their father's death, and came back in March. Lugosi took the butler written for Lorre.
Look
Edward Cronjager shot the mansion through the storm and the blackouts.
Music
David Buttolph, David Raksin, Cyril J. Mockridge, and Alfred Newman are credited with the music.
Preservation
A print survives and has been digitized.
Notes
- The opening credits read "The Ritz Brothers in The Gorilla.
- AFI lists 59 minutes and 6,100 feet. Wikipedia lists 66 minutes.
- Joseph Calleia plays the Stranger. Paul Harvey plays Conway. Wally Vernon plays a seaman.
- The $150,000 figure is the amount of Fox's suit against the brothers, not a second budget.
Scenes
- The Ritz brothers question the household while the lights fail.
- Stevens admits the notes are his and that the ape came from a circus.
Influenced by
- The Gorilla (Ralph Spence play)
Also available
- Internet Archive (the_gorilla)
- Wikimedia Commons (The Gorilla (1939) by Allan Dwan.webm)
