It's that time of year again gang !
As we all know, Mad Magazine legend Don Martin created National Gorilla Suit Day originally as a skit in Mad....Never realizing it would catch on as a real, honest ta gosh holiday !
Now anyone who owns, or can borrow, or rent a gorilla suit can participate !
Or if you can't get a gorilla suit, you can coat yourself in glue and roll on the floor of a barbershop and celebrate too !
The thing is to go out into the world, and do something...anything...in a gorilla suit !
Go to a party, hang at a bar, go shopping, yard work, whatever gorilla suits your fancy !
Just be SAFE in what you do ! no driving or anything dangerous wearing a suit ...play safe, and have fun !
That's what Don Martin had in mind when he came up with it, and fun is the name of the game !
Here are some shots of Movie Monster making Monkey Man Chris Walas and myself celebrating last year....So take photos of yourselves doing your gorilla thing !
You can send your photos to Hollywoodgorillamen@gmail.com and see them right here !
The dreaded " Catfightus Interuptus" attacks ! Hey !, Watch it with that fighting staff lady ! All right !, I warned you ! Up you go !
Are you enjoying the view up there ?
Awwww crap ! That's not fair !
Guess what gorilla gang..... your old buddy Bongo is back as Satan the gorilla in the next TWO exciting chapters of "Nyoka the Jungle Girl" !
The last Chapter"Return of Nyoka the jungle Girl" left off with Nyoka about to be sacrificed beneath descending blade of a giant pendulum ! With time running out, Nyoka struggles furiously against the chains that bind her courtesy of the villainous Crimson Skull. She has managed to free her legs , and hands, but is bound tight by a metal collar around her neck. The deadly blade begins its final descent, Nyoka lets loose a bloodcurdling scream, and THEN?? To be continued next chapter ! Drat and double drat ! Darned cliffhangers !
Old Bongo has a tendancy to wax nostalgic about things like this, so I'll let the good folks at cultretro about this next thrilling chapter !
[ Statuesque beauty Nicola Rae returns as daring jungle heroine Nyoka Gordon as she once again battles the maniacal Crimson Skull for possession of the mystical Amulet of Vultura! When our heroine disrupts the villain's scheme to control the gorilla Satan, the Crimson Skull conspires to use the Amulet to resurrect Queen Vultura herself (the classic villainess from the original 1940's serial). The Skull requires a new host body for Vultura's evil spirit and he sets out to capture and use Nyoka Gordon for this nefarious purpose, but our intrepid adventuress isn't going to make it easy for him. An epic jungle chase ensues as heroine and villain exchange ambushes, punches, kicks and gunfire... all building to our big finale featuring Nyoka versus the Crimson Skull on horseback racing through the jungle! This chapter (as with ALL serials) begins with opening title cards that explain everything you need to know to jump right into the story and enjoy this film even if you have not yet seen the others. Serial fans are gonna LOVE IT! And if you're new to the cliffhanger genre... you'll love it too!!! Nyoka the Jungle Girl Rides Again is fast, exciting, sexy and fun... it's everything you love about comic book and serial adventures brought to life by micro-budget film mavericks Bill Black and JohnJG! Special Notes: We didn't want to make a sequel to our 2009 release The Return of Nyoka the Jungle Girl unless we thought we had a chance of making the next installment even bigger and better than the first. When the opportunity to film our serial heroine ON A HORSE fell into place, we knew this was exactly what we needed to kick things up to an all new level of excitement and adventure. Star Nicola Rae puts her stage combat training to good use and really takes her lumps in this one with an impressive display of physical acting that would make Davey Sharpe proud. We had her jumping out of trees in high-heeled boots, riding horseback, rolling head-over-heels on the ground and throwing kicks and punches like a world-class serial queen. Pierce Knightley also "rides again" and delivers the over-the-top goods as Nyoka's nemesis The Crimson Skull. You can't have a Nyoka serial without Satan the Gorilla and he is once again brought to life by professional gorilla man Chris Casteel. Erik Matthews joins the cast as the under-appreciated henchman Hunt Reardon. And introducing Autumn Sage as Rulah, a mysterious and enigmatic new adventuress with swashbuckling charm and ferocious fighting skills. Directors Bill Black and JohnJG channel the serials of old to create an all new thrill-a-minute adventure for one of cinemas most enduring action heroines. Don't miss it!]
Wow, what can I add to that ? This was a really fun project for everyone involved. We filmed on one of the coldest days of the year ( for Florida) so poor Nicola was literaly freezing her butt off, in her skimpy outfit.
Meanwhile,I was quite comfortable in 45 lbs of latex, fur, and padding ! This was quite a contrast to the first film, when it was over 100 degrees and I was dying in the suit !
I was happy about the lower temps because I was able to focus more on having fun with the character, and the subtle nuances involved rather than just trying to survive.
I think the fun we had shows through on film , as everyone really had a blast making it.
One of the fun coincidences among gorilla men is the fact, that by virtue of their skill with "Body English", they are also sought after to bring life to a variety of fantastic creatures !
Many of the gorilla greats of bygone days, have ventured not only to other Earthly animals, but extraterrestial ones as well!
This is me as the Solopticus in "Ghost of Garganta".
This is the digitally animated still from "The Amazing Colossal Woman".
Here is Bill Blacks winning entry as he appeared in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland.
Through the efforts of my furry co-horts, we've been menaced by robots, horny gorillas , popcorn munching elephantine aliens, martians, and wiggly, rubbery, monster menaces of every description.
To get the ball rolling, I'll delve into a monstrous monkey man I know like the back of my hand, yours truly,The Mighty Bongo, AKA, Chris Casteel. I've played Gorillas , in the films of micro budget filmmaker Bill Black for several years. Through our working relationship, Bill became aware of my skill as a special effects guy and creature designer. As such, Bill pressed me into service for his epic tribute to 50's drive in classics, " Ghost of Garganta", a follow up to his "Amazing Colossal Woman" starring 6' beauty, Brenna Barry.
My first task was to construct a 1/9th scale model ( from scratch) of a milk tanker truck, that the 60' tall giantess would pick up and drink from. Bill also tasked me to create a ghostly make-up on Brenna, for her first appearance as a ghost. After the day's shooting Bill asked if I would take a look at a photo of a creature he had created at 16 years old for a contest Famous Monsters magazine had sponsored. Bill was one of the 10 finalists in the contest with his one eyed creation, the Solopticus ! As a finalist, Bill had photos of himself,and his creation published in Famous Monsters #18( July1962 issue). He also was the winner of a whopping $10 dollar prize !
The poor Solopticus had deteriorated many years ago and was gone forever save the photos Bill had taken. Bill used stills of the Solopticus in the Amazing Colossal Woman with digital manipulation to provide motion to it, but now wanted to improve it by having a new head made using professional techniques.
I sculpted the new head on on a life cast of myself, and when completed the beastie had not only a mouth that could move, but a fully functional cable controlled single eye!
Since Bill like the way I could "express myself" with body language, he had me act as the Solopticus in the film. This was really fun as I got to act out my part in front of a green screen, with my spacecraft interior to be added later.( The spacecraft, and all the other CGI effects were brilliantly created by John Gotschall)
After filming, I did a recording session to give voice to this vile invader from the stars !
So having played this space menace, I get to join the ranks of all the gorilla guys who got to invade the Earth.
Ghost of Garganta, Amazing Colossal Woman, and all the Nyoka films I've been in as Satan the gorilla ( plus a whole lot more !) can be purchased at cultretro.com.
Gorilla suit "Beauty and Beast" photos are far from rare but this shot of Ray "Crash" Corrigan in his earliest suit stands out as a particularly odd and unique image of the Cowboy apeman. While Emil Van Horn migrated from the silver screen to the stripper's stage and back again throughout his career, I can think of no other Gorilla Man who cavorted about with scantily dressed erotic dancers. Our resident g-man The Mighty Bongo discussed the shocking still with Bob Burns who recalled seeing the image years ago. Bob felt confident that it is a pastiche of a Corrigan still and some studio elements - he expressed the unlikelihood that Ray would be involved in a risque topless shoot. Ever the sharp eyed ape, Bongo noted the proportional differences between gorilla and gal. With Ray approximately 6'6" in his suit, the lovely lass would measure about 4'6". Bongo also remarked that the eyes have been accentuated with a little white and a tasteful helping of drool was added to the gruesome grimace.
Regardless of the photos dubious origins, it remains a salacious and disturbing tableau, indicative of the twisted undercurrents of the psyche of years past.
You would think that anyone with a passion as singular as mine would have a deep and abiding affection for all things gorilla suit but the truth is, my love for the profession wanes somewhat once you look past the work of Bob Burns. With the arrival of effects wunderkind Rick Baker in the seventies , the 'gorilla suit' would eventually become indistinguishable from the real flesh and blood animal it is meant to depict. I love the film and images of Golden Age Hollywood Gorillas because of their evocations of the idea of a mighty jungle beast . Why this preamble to a review of a cheesy ribald tribute to serials of old? Bill Black's new short THE RETURN OF NYOKA THE JUNGLE GIRL not only celebrates and pokes fun at the classic Saturday matinee cliffhanger but it also features a Modern Gorilla Man, Chris Casteel, who would not look out of place alongside Gemora, Corrigan or Van Horn in his guise as The Mighty Bongo. Not to confuse names, but Bongo appears as the fearsome ape Satan, played by Emil Van Horn in the original serials.
NYOKA is naturally patterned after the classic source material with other twists thrown in, namely the appearance of the Crimson Skull who has resurrected the devil ape Satan with the mystical Amulet of Vultura (the gorilla's former master). The story unfolds with Satan on the lam and Nyoka Gordon in possession of the charmed bauble. It's not long before our comely heroine is in dire straits at the hands of the Crimson Skull and his simple minded henchmen. Fisticuffs, firefights and fearsome fur on flesh action follows!
One clear difference 50 plus years make from one incarnation of Nyoka to another - Kay Aldridge, the last jungle girl, never looked so shapely. Bill Black obviously has a penchant for well endowed women. His selection of other original offerings at Cult Retro are unmistakably cleavage oriented and I am unashamed to admit it certainly got me interested in forking over the $11.95 to download the flick. Where Black's material distinguishes itself is the execution of a simple premise with a flair, humour and style that I found surprising for what could have been a dreary retread with boobs. A major challenge faced with any tribute work, big budget or no budget, is establishing a psychological bridge to the beloved original. The usage of the classic music cues and sound effects of the 40's production immediately had me engaged - a thrifty and effective choice. The 30 minute 'Chapter' has a lively pace with a decent allotment of shots and cuts, always keeping the viewer engaged, and I also found the action and dialogue to be pretty damn snappy for a home grown effort. NYOKA features a surprising number of laughs as the cast skewer Serial touchstones like not sticking around to witness the hero/heroine done in by the death trap of the day or through the delightfully hammy delivery of their lines. Did I mention breasts yet? I'm a weak, red blooded male and I would be a damn dirty liar if I didn't admit to enjoying Nicola Rae jiggling about while tussling with the villains. What makes Nicola all the more enjoyable is her capable performance that keeps your eyes above her shoulders - most of the time. I will note however that the outtakes at the conclusion of the serial, reveal Nicola's natural, youthful charm and I hope she can further tap into that for future returns as Nyoka.
And what of the ape you say? Chris Casteel's performance as Satan feels torn from the celluloid of old. The suit appearing in NYOKA is a recent construction that looks impressive in action and the ape's visage is a curious amalgam of gorilla mugs familiar to fans, a bit of Bob Burns, a shade of Barrows, but with a personality that is singular and distinct. For me it is gratifying to see a lost art embraced and represented so effectively. Satan has a presence in NYOKA that nearly outshines his buxom co-star.
Put simply THE RETURN OF NYOKA THE JUNGLE GIRL is fun. Bill Black's home studio production bears up to repeat viewings because it's true to roots of it's premise but also has a naughty playful attitude that will beckon to me again and again. And it's got a gorilla, so there - it's just about perfect!
Where will The Mighty Bongo appear next? Well, I'm pleased to report that shooting will commence on another chapter of Nyoka later this month. I'm curious to see what Bill and his players have in store for us and wish them all the best.
You may have noticed the addition of The Mighty Bongo underneath ol' Kong on the sidebar as GORILLA MEN's official Gorilla Man - I'm thrilled to have Bongo's acceptance of this humble honour and eagerly anticipate sharing his lifelong quest to tread in the footsteps of Gemora and his brethren in posts yet to come. In the meantime download or order THE RETURN OF NYOKA THE JUNGLE GIRL - it's GORILLA MEN ape-proved.
GORILLA MEN's resident gorilla man, The Mighty Bongo has managed to sniff out a pungent slice of the aforementioned ALL MEN ARE APES. The invaluable SOMETHING WEIRD VIDEO has posted a cut on YouTube for our viewing pleasure - the ape is most certainly not Prohaska though I wonder if he would mind the shoddy treatment our amourous ape receives from his white goddess.
Happy New Year to all!
The dreaded " Catfightus Interuptus" attacks !
