George Barrows : Behind the scenes !

Hello again Gorilla gang !

 Just back from the old vault with a treasure trove of Gorilla Goodies

Featuring our old friend George Barrows.

At one time George was the busiest monkey in the movies, and he has the list of credits to prove it!

So enjoy this glimpse into Hollywood Gorilla History !

Tarzan...The Ape...Men ?!?!?

Hiya gorilla gang.
Through our friends at Ape Suit Cinema, I now have this bit of ape-ish awesomeness to share with you !
On September 1st, 1975, Los Angeles was invaded by not one, but five cinematic  ape men, to celebrate the 100th Birthday of Tarzan's creator Edgar Rice Burroughs !

Tarzan's in the personage of: Johnny Weissmuller...James Pierce...Denny Miller...Jock Mahoney...and Larry "Buster" Crabbe were on hand to commemorate the birth of the literary father of Tarzan.

Of course you can't have all these "Lords of the Apes" around without an ape to lord over...so enter the gorilla !

 It's not known who is in the suit, but what I can tell you is that the suit was made by the famous Western Costumes of Hollywood. This Western Costumes gorilla suit and all the others like it were used frequently in Hollywood in Low budget Jungle and adventure pictures.
The higher budget pictures would employ one of the professional gorilla men we celebrate on this humble site. The Western gorilla was sometimes used in conjunction with a pro gorilla man as an example of a fake gorilla suit, while the pro portrayed the real gorilla.
A great example of this is the 3-D classic "Gorilla at Large ".

This must have been a great time for all these jungle men, as you can't get a much more select fraternity. They all look like they're having a great time...even the gorilla is smiling !...sort of...

E-Gors Gorilla Goodies....Tarzan and Munchkin Monkey!!!

Here is a great example of some of the cool photos our grave-digging friend E-Gor has unearthed .
This is very interesting, because all of the apes are "little People".
It has been autographed to E-Gor by Clarence Swensen, who is the ape performer kneeling to the left of Johnny Sheffield in the front row, in that gathering.
Clarence is best remembered as one of the Munchkin gaurds in the classic, "Wizard of Oz".

Also VERY interesting is that the photo was original autographed TO Clarence by Tarzan himself, Johnny Weissmuller!

TIPPY TOES

I have tried three times to watch MARK OF THE GORILLA (1951) and I have yet to make it through without snoozing! It's by no means a terrible film but not one to excite the mind of a sleepy, old curmudgeon who has to watch gorilla suit flicks after the missus has gone to bed. I have a particular fondness for films that have the gorilla suit itself as a plot point. Rascally white men, in full simian regalia, are using the fear of the great ape to intimidate and harass African locals to do something dastardly that I forget because I keep nodding off. Naturally our hero Jungle Jim is not deterred. I was familiar with Weissmuller from the Tarzan films but I was unprepared for his decidedly unimpressive line delivery. When pressed to utter poly-syllabic words he seems to fall a little flat. I certainly prefer, "Me Tarzan, you Jane."
This still recently arrived at the Gorilla Den and features the sneaky tip-toeing of Steve Calvert.

LADIES IN FUR

ORIGINALLY POSTED 8-26-2008

The previous post about furry faced femmes started my brain a tingling with the usual flurry of ridiculous ponderings (Don't bother looking - that one didn't make the cut!). It struck me that they are precious few films that feature a gorilla of the opposite sex. Typically one would be safe to assume the angry ape would have to be male but there are a handful of movies where the sex of the onscreen beast is most certainly female. Here's a breakdown of ones that leap to mind, though my wife claims I don't pay enough attention to her, so it's certainly plausible a girly gorilla or two might have been overlooked (POTA and Zera aside).

TARZAN
Pick your version of the film but every origin tale contains the pivotal point of Lord Greystoke's adoptive ape mother's death.

Elmo Lincoln discovers his ape mother dead.

CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN
It doesn't take Evelyn Ankers long to notice that her animal tamer beau's ape appears to fancy him, but when the gorilla undergoes surgical transformation into a smoking hot woman, things get even stranger.

The lovely Aquanetta and her simian former self.

BRIDE AND THE BEAST
It's brief and perhaps somewhat of a spoiler so if you want the specific details, highlight and read further. This Ed Wood film is an odd yarn about a newlywed bride that was once an ape herself, revealed in a hypnotically induced flashback. Another unique aspect of the ape femme is the white or possibly blond fur, a trait shared with only a handful of other cinema simians.

That cozy Angora sweater is much more than comfortable and stylish - it's also subtext

KING KONG LIVES
Kong with boobs - it's a truly disturbing sight. Doubly disturbing considering that there's a fella inside the suit. The King doesn't seem to mind though. I have yet to upgrade from my VHS copy of this turkey and I had no luck finding a screen grab of the lady in question. Words can't do her justice.

You would think a little action would have mellowed him somewhat.

QUEEN KONG
Did I already mention an ape suit with breasts is disturbing? There's no mistaking Queen Kong's features in this awful British comedy that switches up the genders of the source materials lead characters. Looking back to my original post and review of the film, I am astounded I covered it in so much detail.

The only thing more distracting then her chest is the way she coifs that fur.

One final reminder that filmmakers should just steer clear of gorilla gals.