Mighty Joe Young (1949) - film review

Impresario Max O’Hara sets out for Africa in search of new attractions for his New York night club.  He can hardly believe his good fortune when he comes across a large gorilla, Joe Young, which obeys every command given to it by its owner, Jill.   Promising fame and wealth, O’Hara persuades Jill to come with her pet gorilla to New York, where they will be the star attraction at his night club.   All too soon, Jill realises she has made a mistake.  She knows that Joe is miserable with his new life and longs for his home in Africa.  One evening, Joe escapes from his cage and creates pandemonium in the nightclub.  When the authorities decide to shoot Joe, Jill makes a desperate attempt to save her beloved gorilla...

RKO’s third and final ape-themed movie showcasing the talents of effects master Willis O’Brien is little more than a revamped version of the studio’s earlier King Kong (1933), although it is so liberally coated with saccharine and whimsy that you would hardly notice it.   In contrast to the monstrosities seen in King Kong and Son of Kong, the ape protagonist this time is little more than an overgrown gorilla but, as the film demonstrates, size isn’t everything.   Charisma is what counts, and Joe Young has that in abandance (which is more than can be said for his human co-stars).

Although much pacier than the preceding Kong movies, Mighty Joe Young is lumbered with a plot that piles contrivance on top of contrivance and ultimately becomes so silly and mawkish that you can almost hear the original Kong spinning in his grave.  RKO executive Merian Cooper had planned to make a sequel in which Mighty Joe would team up with Tarzan, but this was abandoned when the film bombed at the box office.

This is the film that won Willis O’Brien his one and only Oscar, for his remarkable effects work.  Here, O’Brien was assisted by Ray Harryhausen, who greatly admired his techniques and would use them with great success in his own films.  1998 saw the release of a so-so remake of Mighty Joe Young, directed by Ron Underwood.

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