Monster
Crap Inductee: The White Gorilla
We
Really Were Desperate For Entertainment As World War 2 Was Still Happening
1945
Normally,
Monster Crap talks about movies with color and at least most of you, your
parents, or your grandparents were born in, but there is a rare example where
we have to do a film where probably none of you were even a sperm in your dad’s
genitalia. This is definitely the case as this is the oldest film I have ever
inducted, coming out in 1945 (during the end of World War 2).
So
let’s go back to 1945 and there weren’t many films in theaters because film
stock was in short supply as there were more important things to make during
WORLD WAR 2 and also, film stock back then tended to be super flammable, which
is kind of why most silent films are lost film since they probably burned up. A
producer named Lori Weiss urgently needed a first run “gorilla film” (since
because of King Kong, gorillas in films were rather popular whether they were
big ass gorillas or normal sized apes. So he went to the director of this film
and probably a guy he knew well in Harry L. Fraser and asked him to write and
direct a film that would need to be ready in six weeks. Fraser came up with The
White Gorilla idea pretty quickly even though he thought it was ridiculous.
Now to
save time, cost costs, and help his colleague, Weiss had this 1927 silent
serial called Perils Of The Jungle (starring the silent screen version of
Tarzan in Frank Merrill) and gave it to
Fraser to see if he can use that footage in his film, which of course
Fraser could use to help with the run time (which is 62 minutes aka barely
enough of a runtime of what I would consider to be a feature length film). As
for the new stuff, they got Ray “Crash” Corrigan (given that name from his
football playing days before he decided to go into movies) to star in the film
as Steve Collins (who most of the film is just watching Frank Merill and
Eugenia Gilbert do stuff) and also as the White Gorilla (in costume) which
Steve fights (which probably needed doubles because unless Ray Corrigan had a
clone, it would be impossible for him to fight himself). All of this was done
in four days so the rest of the six weeks could be done editing in the new
footage with footage from the 1927 serial.
And
Some Of You Probably Thought Godfrey Ho Was Unique With His Style Of Filmmaking
With
that out of the way, let’s get to this old ass film that you want me to induct.
We
begin with a title card like most old movies did.
Now
this next one I want to show you is very telling as it only shows 2 names and
an “all-star cast”.
Which
Means Everyone Else Was Just There And Didn’t Have The Name To Be Credited
Or….They Were In Archive Footage And Why Would We Credit Those Guys?
And
after the opening credits, we cut to a stock footage of animals (accompanied
with jokes by me) and narration talking about the jungle being weird and
mysterious with dangerous beasts. He also mentions that the jungle is where
countless explorers have fought their way through to find the stories in this
“land of mystery”. Some explorers also never return and become victim to the
savage tribes that live in these lands or the jungle beasts and even if you
survive, you are left with memories of this land.
I Could
Have Found A Better Pride Rock, But I’m Too Tired To Care
Excuse
Me, I Gotta Go Find And Kill Tarzan’s Parents
You
Better Not Fail In That Quest, Mom….We’re Too Cute To Survive Out Here
Ignore
The Cameras, Guys…..They’re Just Making Stock Footage So We’ll Be In Some Kind
Of Crappy Movie
Come A
Little Closer, Camera Guy, So I Can Show You How We Take Care Of Annoying
Assholes Out Here In The Wild
Officer
Judy Hopps And Officer Nick Wilde Better Not Cause Some Shit Today As Today,
I’m Enjoying A Nice Bath
We’re
All Just Hanging Out Until Mr. Primm Shows Up To Take One Of Us To His Victorian
Brownstone
Bald!!!
Bald!!! Bald!!!! My Eyes!!!!!!!
Can’t
Wait Until Gumball And Darwin See My Latest Pop Quiz
None Of
Us Are Okay With The Current Republican Party
Time To
Plan The Death Of That Little Simba Asshole
We then
go to Morgan’s trading post which was owned by a J. Morgan.
Inside
this trading post are three men in Mr. Stacey, Hutton, and Mr. Morgan
Mr.
Stacey Is The Guy On The Left, Mr. Morgan Is To The Middle, And Hutton Is To
The Right
They
talk about how some guy named Bradford went on an expedition and that he is a
fool. They think they will be stuck in here until they find out if Bradford is
alive or dead, which may be hard to determine. Their chat is interrupted when
Steve Collins (who has tattered clothes showing he might have been in a fight
of some kind) arrives in the trading post.
So
Badly Beaten That Steve Has To Be Brought In By The Other Men
They
tend to Steve’s wounds and we find out Steve was a part of Bradford’s team.
Steve talks about how he got beaten up by a white gorilla, which both Stacey
and Hutton find hard to believe. However, Hutton says he has heard of such a
beast that was born all white and because of that was forced out of its own
group by the other gorillas so it roams alone and angry at the world. They then
think the white gorilla got Bradford and the rest of the team, but Steve says that
isn’t what happened. Basically, he left Bradford’s team because they would not
leave the jungle and we get more of the story through archive footage from
Perils Of The Jungle with Steve just watching.
He
Watched As Bradford And His Associate Were Captured By The Natives
Suddenly,
an elephant entered the village and on it was a white boy who was able to
convince the natives to release the two men.
Bradford
and his associate ran into the jungle (away from the villagers) and Steve
decided to find out about this kid, but the kid disappeared on him. Bradford
and his pal met up with one of the native boys from their camp. They talk
(since this is silent footage, no dialogue can be heard) and then the jungle
boy shows up. The jungle boy runs away as soon as he sees them and Bradford
decides to chase after him. The jungle boy is able to evade Bradford as Steve
just watches.
Yep….Just
Standing Here Pretending I’m Part Of These Scenes And Not Looking At Nothing
Bradford
unfortunately does run into some lions who give chase.
Well,
What Do We Have Here? You Lost, Boy?
Bradford
decides to climb a tree to get away from the lions.
Bradford,
Sir….I Got Bad News.
Lions
Can Climb Trees If They Really Want Your Ass For Dinner
Nope…Still
Not Going To Do A Damn Thing Even If My Colleague Is In Danger
Suddenly,
a strange woman comes by and floats on a raft.
Unfortunately
for the lady, a territorial hippo is nearby.
Welp….Since
She Is In My Territory, Time To Be A Hungry Hungry Hippo
Bradford
climbs higher and sees the damsel being in danger. He yells for her to look out
and she sees the hippo so she now knows that she’s in danger.
And
Screams Like A Banshee….As If That Will Do Anything
She
then jumps off the raft and Bradford decides to use his skills when he was
Tarzan to use, by swinging on a vine to her.
Don’t
Worry, He Doesn’t Hit Any Trees.
That
Mistake Is Made By George Of The Jungle
Oh Man,
I Wish I Had Some Popcorn For This While I Still Do Nothing
Bradford
saves the girl from the hippo and we learn that the woman’s name is Phyllis
Marley. We go back to Steve Collins at the hut as he decides to take a drink
and not answer the men’s questions about who she was. Anyway, as he drinks, the
white gorilla decides to show up for a brief moment.
Did I
Mention That The Actor Is Steve Collins Here And The Guy In The Gorilla Suit?
Steve
sees him and drops his glass of liquor. The others go to see what Steve has
seen, but the white gorilla has already disappeared.
I’m
Watching You, Steve. I’m Your Own Family Guy Monkey In The Closet.
Stacey
then wants him to go back to the story about Bradford and Phyllis. He then
explains that Phyllis was the daughter of an explorer who got sick with jungle
fever and went blind so he can’t do shit these days.
No, Not
That Jungle Fever! Jungle Fever In This Case Is A Unnamed Tropical Ailment That
Most Likely Was Malaria Back Then, But Because Of The Lack Of Science, Never
Got Reported So It Was Just Called Jungle Fever.
Anyway,
back to the movie….they live near a shack by the stream where Phyllis takes
Bradford too and we meet the guide for the old man’s party which is Lou
Handley, who is the best guide in this jungle country.
We find
out that the journey was to a place called the Cave Of The Cyclops. Unfortunately,
as that image showed of Handley, he is not very trustful and decides he wants
the map from Phyllis’ dad. Meanwhile, Steve said he was searching for Allison
who went searching for supplies. Lou tries to steal the map from the sick and
blind man, but Bradford stops him so we get a 1920s silent movie fight.
Lots Of
Obvious Fast Forwarding Through A Fight That Was Obviously Slow And Thrilling
Music To Say How Important This Fight Is.
Phyllis
stops them from fighting and right on time as the lions show up.
Fellas,
I Think We’re Going Out For Dinner Tonight
They
all run into the house and try to keep the lions away.
By The
Way, That Guy Is Phyllis’ Jungle Fever Stricken Father
Steve’s
narration says he was tempted to fire some rounds to draw the lions his way,
but we all know he didn’t.
You
Assholes Think I’m Going To Do Something To Help? Hell No….Because That Would
Mean I Really Am In This Movie, Which I’m Not.
The
lions crashed in and it seems our leads are doomed and we see asshole Lou escape
out a window.
Lou,
You Coward!!!
Because
Bradford is a manly man, he is able to chase out the lions with his big fat
twig.
Get Out
Of Here, Lions!!! You Don’t Want Me To Go Tarzan On Your Asses And Make You A
Nice Coat!!!
Unfortunately,
we are told by Collins that Phyllis’ dad died because of the excitement and Lou
disappeared. Bradford took Phyllis back to his camp and Steve says that he
followed behind (well, far enough behind to not be in their part of the movie).
We also hear about another man named Carter from the party Phyllis was in out
looking for Lou. This is all told to us by Steve at the hut and the others ask
what this all has to do with the white gorilla. We find out that Carter is
actually part of this movie and not the archive footage. We also see in the
movie that the jungle kid (whose name is Kimpo) is friendly with a chimpanzee.
Just Be
Happy That Chimp Doesn’t Have Rabies.
We’ve
Seen This Year How Bad That Goes With Primate
Oh and
Kimpo has to be saved by a random person from some lions.
Anyway,
Carter ends up getting attacked by the white gorilla.
Is This Love That The Gorilla Is Feeling?
Carter
calls for help and Steve comes to the rescue. Steve tries to help, but the white
gorilla kicks his ass. The white gorilla then drags Carter off into the jungle.
Come
With Me, My Sweet
The
white gorilla meets come elephants and causes them to stampede. They end up
chasing Lou as the beasts believe he was the cause of the disturbance and Lou
ends up hiding in the same hut, that somehow was where Bradford and Phyllis
were hiding.
Oh
Hey….Funny Seeing You Two Here. You All Aren’t Too Sore About The Whole “Trying
To Steal The Map, Cause A Fight, And Leave You Guys When You Were Dealing With
The Lions”, Right?
The
maddened herd was about to destroy the hut, but Kimpo shows up and stops the
elephants.
I
Contributed Absolutely Nothing To This Perilous Situation
Thank
God For That Jungle Kid And Screw You, Steve….For Just Standing There!
The
elephant that hangs with Kimpo grabs Phyllis and takes her to a clearing at his
orders. As they are all safe, Steve leaves to try and find Carter. We also see
that there is a big ass black gorilla as well.
The
black gorilla sees the white gorilla with Carter and is not happy with the
white gorilla for some reason.
HEY…..THAT
GUY SHOULD BE MINE!!!!!
We then
get a fight between the two gorillas.
Carter
Is Lucky. He Has Two Gorilla Fighting For His Love.
Steve
ends up finding Carter and is able to get Carter away.
Screw
Those Two Apes…..Carter Is Mine
We go
back to the trading post as we are interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Stacey’s daughter Ruth.
They
fill Ruth in on what has happened and Ruth is shocked by a white gorilla. Steve
says he is glad to meet Ruth, but not glad to see that she is here in the
jungle as this is no place for a lady. Morgan says she is safe here and wants
Steve to go back to his story. So Steve does as he says he brought Carter to a
friendly native village and it is here that he learned that a roaming band of
Arabs led by Kimpo have taken Bradford and Phyllis to their village. Lou had
followed them and had planned to get rid of Bradford before going to the Cave
Of The Cyclops. Lou had a friend in the natives and the two killed a boar and leave
it in the village in hopes the lions will find it and kill Bradford.
Yeah,
This Will Be Perfect To Get Bradford In Trouble
The
lions come to the village and trap Bradford and Phyllis in a hut.
Once
Again….Steve Is Just Watching
Thankfully
for the two in the hut, there is a trap door that Kimpo comes out of and he
brings them to as well as the lions bust in and make off with the dead boar.
Hide In
Here
We find
out through narration that Bradford, Phyllis, and Kimpo were the few to escape
this attack and in fact, Lou was killed by the lions. Yep…we never see Lou die,
just get killed that “yeah, I found his body”.
Fuck
You, Lou
Back at
the trading post, Morgan mentions that he has heard of the jungle boy and to
the natives, the boy is taboo. Steve says that is correct and later, he found
out why as he kept following them. They then found out that the Cave Of The
Cyclops was actually not that far from camp. We find out that a woman in the
cave was the mother of the jungle boy and the jungle boy would hide in one of
the cyclops statues to move it around so he can make the natives believe the gods
there have blessed Kimpo and his mother.
She
orders that the white people be brought to the cave and the Tiger Tribe do just
that.
The
woman realizes that the tribe think that these white people should be
sacrificed to some starving tigers.
The
woman tries to stop it and Kimpo goes inside the hollowed out Cyclops statue to
have the tiger people leave them alive.
It is
at this point that Steve decided to leave since he could do nothing for them,
despite having a damn rifle with him. Oh and that is the last of the silent
series footage because the rest of this movie involves the talking parts. He
then realized he was being followed by an animal and of course, it’s the white
gorilla.
It’s
That Bastard That Kept Me From My Love, Carter
Steve
sees the white gorilla and now decides he should try and use his rifle to shoot
something. Unfortunately for our main character, his gun jammed. He tried to
back away, but the white gorilla got close enough to attack him.
Interesting
Case As Ray Corrigan Was Both Steve And The White Gorilla So I Guess There Was
An Uncredited Stunt Guy In A Gorilla Suit Or A Stunt Guy As Steve. Since This
Is 1945 And Many Of These People Have Now Passed Away, We Will Never Know.
Thankfully
for Steve, the black gorilla showed up and the white gorilla’s focus turned to
fighting the black one again as both have sticks.
Too Bad
Those Are Lightsabers Because This Movie Would Be Over And I Would Never Have
To Review This Film
Also,
don’t ask me who was in the black gorilla costume because again, that is
unknown.
Only
The Shadow Knows
During
this fight, Steve is able to get away and Steve then got to the trading post. Mr.
Morgan, Mr. Stacey, and Hutton decide that it still may be possible to help
those people in the cave so they go to do so, leaving Steve and Ruth behind. Ruth
has Steve sit down so she can tend to his wounds. Then, we cut to more shots of
animals (and of course my stupid jokes about them).
Apparently,
Zebra Ass Isn’t That Bad
I’m
Gonna See How Long I Can Last Upside Down Before The Blood Gets To My Brain
Yep….Less
Than A Minute, I Have A Headache
Back
with Steve and Ruth, we find out it is the next morning and Mr. Collins looks a
lot better than yesterday. Suddenly, a village woman is frantic as a child went
missing.
Ruth
decides to go look for the kid (with a rifle) and leaves Steve behind with the
village woman because he is in no condition to help here. Unfortunately for
Ruth, she runs into the white gorilla. She tries shooting at the white gorilla,
but you know what the old days think of women so she misses and quickly becomes
a damsel in distress, but not before screaming.
Well,
You’re No Carter….But I Can Make It Work With You
Oh
God….Bestiality!!! I Can’t Look…
Steve
immediately shows up and shoots the white gorilla dead.
Steve finds
Ruth unharmed and goes to take her back to the trading post. He wakes her up
there and she thanks him for saving her. Steve tells her he killed the white
gorilla and we find out that the missing child wandered back to the village not
long after she left. The three men come back and say there were only tigers and
bones, so no signs of Bradford, Phyllis, the rest of Bradford’s team, Kimpo,
Kimpo’s mom, or the Tiger Tribe. I’m sure in the silent series Perils Of The
Jungle, all the white people were rescued somehow, but for here, my guess is
the Tiger Tribe found out about the whole act and fed them all to the tigers
for their betrayal. They are happy to hear that the white gorilla is dead. Mr.
Stacey, Ruth, and Hutton all decide they best be going home and Steve decides
to go with them as he is tired of being in the jungle, leaving only Mr. Morgan
behind in the trading post. Steve then says that the jungle belongs to the
natives and the animals that are here. He is also almost sorry he had to kill
that white gorilla.
Speaking
of the white gorilla, narration tells us that the big black gorilla found the
white gorilla’s body and despite them being enemies, the black gorilla is
actually sorry to see the white gorilla dead. We can tell this as he decides to
grabs some tree branches (and leaves) and bury the white gorilla under them.
Rest In Peace, You Ugly Bastard.
And
with that, the film ends.
According
to the director Harry Fraser, the movie actually did well as an exploitable
attraction as it was an independent production (with no major or minor studio
involvement). He admits it was a terrible film, but a profitable one so has no
regrets with the film. Ray Corrigan would use the same costume for another
movie that same year in White Pongo. Years later, the suit would be brought out
for Jerry Warren’s 1956 movie Man Beast, about the Abominable Snowman. Because
of those independent channels the movie was released through, no one really had
the rights to the movie so it ended up being a movie in the public domain so if
I wanted to, I could post the whole movie in this induction.
As far
as the cast and director go, Harry Fraser would direct a few more movies and
then retire since he had been directing movies and serials since the 1920s,
with his last movie (Chained For Life) being in 1952. Francis Ford (who played
Mr. Stacey) was mostly a character actor, but is more known as the older
brother and mentor to legendary director John Ford. George J. Lewis (who played
Hutton) would go on to be Zorro’s father Don Alejandro De La Vega in the 50s
Zorro series.
Ray
Corrigan (who was the narrator, Steve Collins, and the white gorilla) would also do more movies and since he was
also a stunt man, would dawn more monster costumes. But the bigger thing for
Ray was while on a hunting trip with Clark Gable, he came upon the idea of
purchasing a piece of land in Simi Valley, and much Iverson Movie Ranch, he
would create Corriganville, a whole movie set town that would be used in
several westerns like Fort Apache, The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, The
Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin, and Casey Jones. The town would then be sold to Bob
Hope in 1966. A parcel was then made into a housing subdivision called Hopetown.
It was then used for motorcycle racing and movies were still filmed there until
two fires in the 1970s destroyed most of the ranch. Today, the remains of the
western town set is known Corriganville Park and you could actually go to it to
see some of the remaining landmarks. And it is still used in shows and movies
like Star Trek and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
With
this being a 1945 movie, you can correctly guess that everyone involved in this
movie is no longer with us. Harey Belmour (who was Phyllis’ father in the
archive footage) died 9 years before this film came out in 1936 at the age of
54. Francis Ford (who played Mr. Stacey) died in 1953 at the age of 72. Charles
King (who played Mr. Morgan) left this mortal coil in 1957 at the age of 62 due
to cirrhosis of the liver. Milburn Morante (who played a character named Joe
Marks) left this mortal coil in 1964 at the age of 76. Budd Buster (who played
Carter) passed away in 1965 at the age of 74 after suffering a heart attack.
Frank Merrill (who played Bradford in the archive footage) passed away in 1966
at the age of 72. Harry L. Fraser (the director) died in 1974 at the age of 85.
Bobby Nelson (who played Kimpo) died in 1974 at the age of 52. Ray Corrigan
(who played the narrator, the white gorilla, and Steve Collins) passed away in
1976 at the age of 74 from a heart attack. Eugenia Gilbert (who played Phyllis
in the archive footage) passed away in 1978 at the age of 76 from heart
failure. Walter Maly (who played a character named Stephens in the archive
footage) died in 1978 at the age of 82. Frank D. Hutter (who played a character
named Renee in the archive footage) left this mortal coil in 1983 at the age of
91. George J. Lewis (who was Hutton) left this mortal coil in 1995 at the age
of 91 after suffering a stroke. And sadly, some of these people like Albert
Smith (who played Lou Hanley in the archive footage) are completely unknown as
to what happened to them.
So I
guess it is time for my final thoughts on this film. As a movie, it is not that
good and without my riffing, easily bored me. However, going back to inducting
it with my riffing, this was actually kind of fun and an easy induction to get
through. In fact, I can almost say that with a lot of black and white films. It
is definitely a movie of the time and there really is nothing that could be
better or worse about the movie other than actually not using archive footage
so your actors standing there watching this, don’t look like assholes for doing
nothing when real danger is happening. The gorilla costumes were obviously very
fake, but they were more expressive than if you actually got an actual gorilla
to do the part (and it is safer for the actor). So if you want to watch it, go
ahead…but I would recommend you try and riff the movie because otherwise, you
might find yourself bored.
So with
that film out of the way, it is now time to do films that I have picked to be
inducted this summer and this first one is not going to be a film I like, but
there is a very good reason I am doing it. You see, there were a few times I
was requested to do this movie and at the time, I said I had already inducted
it. However, I have learned two years ago that I had not inducted this film in
any way and might have actually confused watching someone else reviewing the
movie (as well as when I inducted that crappy Ultraviolet movie) with me
inducting this film. So it is a make good for past mistakes of my own and that
film is.
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