Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Jackson Booth-Millard
I had already seen the 1998 Disney remake with Charlize Theron and Bill Paxton, so I had a rough idea what to expect with this black and white original version, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack (King Kong). Basically in 1937 Tanganyika Territory, Africa, eight-year- old Jill Young (Lora Lee Michel) lives with her father John Young (Regis Toomey) on his ranch, she and two Africans come across an orphaned baby gorilla, Jill really wants a pet, her father allows her to care for for the gorilla. Twelve years later, talkative and persuasive promoter Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) with his sidekick, Oklahoma cowboy Gregg (Ben Johnson), are on a trip to Africa looking for new animal attractions to headline O'Hara's new Hollywood nightclub. They capture several lions and prepare to leave, but then out of the blue they see a huge 12 foot gorilla, they try to capture the creature, but are stopped when now teenage Jill Young (Terry Moore) rescues them from the beast harming them. Jill explains about her connection with the gorilla, named Joseph "Joe" Young , Gregg is smitten with ill, while Max seduces her with the thought of a fancy life, fame and fortune if she signs a contract for her and Joe to come with them and become the star attraction of his nightclub. A short time later, back in Hollywood, the nightclub opens and Joe makes his stage debut, with Jill by his side to keep him calm, the audience reaction is staggering and Joe's popularity grows, but the high life is not quite what Jill pictured. Jill realises that Joe is unhappy and asks Max to arrange her return to Africa, he does persuade to stay a little longer in show business, but three alcoholic customers give booze to Joe, causing him to rage and break out of his holding cage in a violent temper. Joe is sentenced by the justice to be destroyed, Jill, Max and Gregg do everything possible to find him before the authorities, it comes to a point when Joe reaches an orphanage that gets set on fire, he rescues some of the children and appears to be harmed, but in the end he is safe and sound, and returns to Africa with Jane, and Gregg joins them, they send a goodbye message to Max. Also starring Frank McHugh as Windy, Douglas Fowley as Jones, Denis Green as Crawford, Paul Guilfoyle as Smith and Nestor Paiva as Brown. The story is a obviously a variation on the King Kong tale, made much more schmaltzy, but it does have the fantastic work of stop- motion animation genius Ray Harryhausen to create the giant gorilla and his movements, all in all I prefer the remake, but this classic original is an alright fantasy adventure. It won the Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects. Worth watching!
Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . seldom has been more truthfully depicted on the big screen than in 1949's MIGHTY JOE YOUNG. Seduced by limelight, applause, and booze, this "Gorilla Ironman" (G.I.) Joe does ALL of the work and is given NONE of the profits. Hollywood's infamous accounting methods subject him to abject poverty in an appalling condition of solitary confinement. His career is on track to be shorter than James Dean's, River Phoenix', or Heath Ledger's, as a judge orders his summary execution by firing squad at his first hint of Union Activism. Always the Rich Man's stooges, the L.A. cops are only too happy to oblige The Man. But before these murderers-by-proxy can carry out their ghastly orders, G.I. Joe detours from his escape-back-to-Africa route to rescue a handful of young girls from a burning orphanage--the only thing preventing his liquidation by the Oppressors' Tools. A few years later John Garfield (GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT), Dalton Trumbo, and the rest of the "Hollywood Ten" martyrs would NOT fare so well!
Claudio Carvalho
In Africa, the girl Jill Young trades a baby gorilla with two natives and raises the animal. Twelve years later, the talkative and persuasive promoter Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) organizes a safari to Africa with the Oklahoma cowboy Gregg (Ben Johnson) to bring attractions to his new night-club in Hollywood. They capture several lions and out of blue, they see a huge gorilla nearby their camping and they try to capture the animal. However, the teenager Jill Young (Terry Moore) stops the men that intended to kill her gorilla. Max seduces Jill with a fancy life in Hollywood and she signs a contract with him where the gorilla Joseph "Joe" Young would be the lead attraction. Soon she realizes that her dream is a nightmare to Joe and she asks Max to return to Africa. However he persuades her to stay a little longer in the show business. But when three alcoholic costumers give booze to Joe, the gorilla destroys the spot and is sentenced by the justice to be sacrificed. Will Jill, Gregg and Max succeed in saving Joe?"Mighty Joe Young" is a surprisingly excellent movie, with a story that entwines drama, romance and adventure and with awesome special effects for a 1949 movie. I bought this DVD a couple of years ago, but I was expecting a lame rip-off of King Kong based on the awful Brazilian title. However, the plot is engaging, with lots of emotions and many plot points and Joe's runaway is spectacular. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Monstro de um Mundo Perdido" ("Monster of a Lost World")
froberts73
Same people as my favorite movie, "King Kong" which I've probably seen about 25 times, both the edited and, later, the unedited version. Same people and a lot of the same situations, but with different - er - feelings.Kong was bigger and meaner. MJY is smaller and, for the most part, much friendlier. Both had their crushes, Kong carting a screaming Fay Wray about, and Joe carting a happy Terry Moore.Quick note - let's dismiss "Son of Kong" which was a Kong bomb.Both apes were better off where they were before folks carted them to what we laughingly refer to as civilization. Joe's encounter with a red-tinged burning orphanage was excellent, and I like the fact that Joe had a sense of humor. Dig those expressions from the back of the truck when the meanie cops were chasing him.Speaking of mean, the three drunks who got Joe drunk were well-known, and very convincing character actors from that era. And, that entire nightclub scene was well done.All in all, "Mighty Joe Young" is exciting and fun family entertainment. By the way, he was nowhere near as mean-looking as the picture on the box but, then again, such things are always exaggerated.Kong will remain my fave, though. Technically, it was excellent when you consider the year it was made and the painstaking one-step-at-a time method.And, trivia buffs, "King Kong" opened at New York City's two biggest theaters at the same time, Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy. I forgot which theater I saw it at, but I will never forget the thrills it bought.As for Joe, see and really enjoy. And, checking out Terry Moore is rather painless.
