Friday Night Beauties and Beasts #2

Gentleman seeks conservative gal who doesn't mind spending a night home in the jungle, er house, playing Canasta for two. Must be comfortable with body hair and banana breath. Tall brunettes who love hats preferred.

More Monster Matrimony

To accompany the Mighty Bongo's last post on Gemora and I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE here's a nice complement of ephemera from the film.

Gorilla Induced Guffaws

Most cinematic gorilla appearances fall into one of three categories: Horror, Adventure and Comedy. Charles Gemora certainly gives his alumni a good run at the title of World's Funniest Gorilla Man (though I would have to have photo finish to determine the winner with Barrows in the race - Addam's Family anyone!?). Charlie regularly appeared in funny flicks throughout his career and his talents at evoking a guffaw or two often shined in some pedestrian attempts at humor. With his mischievous nature, superb grip on body language and timing, and gorilla suits that emphasized naturalism, Gemora created a body of work that supercedes the dated nature of the material. Although WHO KILLED DOC ROBBIN? has lost much of it's sizzle (and is deplorably racist in a few scenes), this still is a cute reminder that Charlie could always make em' laugh.


MORE on that last still with Gemora and fellow G-men, Art Miles and Emil Van Horn soon. Our resident Gorilla Man, The Mighty Bongo has chatted with Bob Burns and confirmed the source as THE LOST TRIBE, an entry into the Weismuller Jungle Jim films. Bongo's investigations leave me even more puzzled - but more of that in detail as time permits.
Stay tuned.

Gorilla Gang Goes Amuck!

Now here's the stuff that mysteries are made of! This still is among the images that Charlie's daughter, Diana, had sent along to me a few years ago. Initially I had dismissed the image as possibly belonging to another performer's film but when checking out the image for posting this evening, I have surmised that it is Charlie in the foreground. I cannot for the life of me, figure out what film it may have come from. The suit appears to be the same one used for the Abbot and Costello flick AFRICA SCREAMS(1949), so it would peg the appearance from the early fifties. What I find terribly odd, and a little exciting (for a gorilla geek) is the ape to left of our possible Gemora. Call me crazy, but I will be damned if that isn't Emil Van Horn; the arm extensions and signature mug are hard to confuse with other major Gorilla Men. I spent the day in the sun so perhaps my brain might be cooked but I also think the gorilla facing the opposite direction next to 'Emil' has a profile that makes me think of the suit worn by Art Miles!

Perhaps I should sleep on it and see if I am seeing Gorilla Men where there are none tomorrow. Maybe our resident Gorilla Man himself, The Mighty Bongo, can shed light on this furry conundrum!

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.

GORILLA VS BELA

I have such mixed feelings about RUE MORGUE - I love Lugosi without refrain, he can do no wrong, even in a somewhat muddled rendition of the classic Poe tale but the butchery of Gemora's role as Erik the ape is painful to watch. Ludicrous inserts of a real chimpanzee was substituted for all of Gemora's suit closeups. Why it was thought to be necessary when Gemora's talents in INGAGI(1930) had fooled audiences into believing the ape was the real deal just 2 years earlier, I cannot fathom. I will simply have to soothe my savage emotions with this wonderful still of our two stars having a difference of opinion. Unfortunately, this gem surpassed $100 on Ebay some time ago and I had to let slip through my fingers.

THE MAGNIFICENCE OF THE MONSTER

ORIGINALLY POSTED 3-8-2010

I love this still of Charlie from THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL - I find it astonishing that this suit was created almost fifty years before Baker's penultimate work on GORILLAS IN THE MIST. Gemora's suit and performance had a natural quality that none of his contemporaries could match.
Enjoy!

GORILLA MEN OF MARS

ORIGINALLY POSTED 2-27-2010

I was perusing the CLASSIC HORROR MESSAGE BOARDS and stumbled across a request for some pics of the Martian from George Pal's THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953). Most persons who even know the name Charles Gemora probably are aware of him for him connection to the classic sci-fi film.  Charlie not only built the uniquely alien Alien, but he also played him in the film with the assistance of his young daughter Diana. I was happy to receive some great scans from Diana a while back and here a host of shots of the unfinished beastie and a wonderful pic of Charles getting under the skin of the extraterrestrial invader.
You can read a detailed account of how the iconic creature came to life at Diana's site here.
Enjoy!

STILL GORILLA

ORIGINALLY POSTED 5-14-2009
As promised, more silent gorilla thrills with a still from 1927's THE GORILLA. The shot itself is somewhat lacking, with the fearsome beast slouching and blankly staring at the lens. I have seen other images from the same sitting that are more theatrical than this one, however, I appreciate the opportunity for a nice full frontal gander at this suit.

GORILLA THRILLA

ORIGINALLY POSTED 5-11-2009

I have a number of early items from THE GORILLA I am planning on posting in the coming days. This still purports to depict a screening of the silent thriller at the Monkey House of the Pittsburgh  Zoo - damned if I know whether or not the scenario is genuine but shouldn't there be a screen in front of the trio that constitutes the audience? I assume the shot is somewhat tongue in cheek but pretty weak for my modern sensibilities.
I love the bold graphics of the accompanying poster and the suggestion the titular hairy bugger is one gigantic, ugly bastard.
Now I'm pumped to buy a ticket!

MEAN LOOKIN' MONKEY MAN

ORIGINALLY POSTED 5-9-2009

Gorgeous George, Kotsonaros was not. This Greek wrestling dynamo has one major ape-man credit from THE WIZARD (1927) but I have a sense there may have been others. The still perfectly illustrates that George had one mean mug and made for a striking heavy.
More about George Kotsonaros.

THE UNHOLY THREE

ORIGINALLY POSTED 1-8-2009

Chaney finally speaks in the 1930 remake of the successful silent of the same name. The original outing featured an aged chimp and an undersized set but the talkie employed the services of Charles Gemora as the murderous ape who figures in the conclusion of the film.
The clip below aptly illustrates that Lon's pipes were more than up the task of engaging the ears of film audiences.

THE GORILLA (1930)

ORIGINALLY POSTED 11-09-2008



Still from the lost 1930 remake of 1927's THE GORILLA, itself a remake of a stage production of the same name, also remade again in 1939 with Bela Lugosi.
And people complain that modern Hollywood has no original ideas...

THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHON DRAKE

ORIGINALLY POSTED 10-19-2008



Charles Gemora not only tromped about the silver screen for 20 years as a gorilla but also worked behind the camera in set design and special effects. Though the film may not have been the most stellar thriller, one of the flick's more sensational aspects, the decapitated and shrunken heads, were the handiwork of Gemora. The photo below features Charlie in his home with Boris Karloff from the neck up and a few friends.

SHAGGY

ORIGINALLY POSTED  8-11-2008

On the subject of CONGO BILL (1948), the suit used in the film has no identifiable gorilla man attached to the role that I know of. I have yet to see the serial so perhaps seeing the fellow in action may lend a clue but it is entirely reasonable that it may have been an extra or stunt man under the fur.....and dear lord!, what fur! CONGO BILL's ape has the distinction of shaggiest fella in the lineup. I am hard pressed to point to another suit with such ample, billowing, tresses. A joke about a bear and rabbit comes to mind but I'm too cultured to draw a correlation ;-)

ON THE ROAD

ORIGINALLY POSTED 8-1-2008



Gorilla Men will be on the road for the holiday weekend and back on Monday. I leave you with a still from the British flick MORGAN! (1966). I have yet to view this film but the NY TIMES review is leading me to believe I might enjoy it ;-) The TIMES also has a trailer for the film which doesn't appear to be available on YouTube - check out the link.

Morgan has a thing for gorillas. He dotes upon them. He collects all sorts of simian paraphernalia, and evidently he paints pictures with simian motifs that are popular with the London art set. So strong, indeed, is his involvement that he even looks a little bit like an ape, with his prognathous jaw, his shaggy hairdo, and his Irish sweater that hangs to his knees.


Most significant is the fact that Morgan has dreams and fantasies. He visions himself as a gorilla swinging freely and happily in the trees. He even mixes his passion for gorillas with an enthusiasm for Marxist politics. Once, while visiting the grave of Karl Marx with his Cockney mum, he sees the bust of Marx turn into the head of an ape.

THE IVORY APE of my dreams

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 01-15-2007

If I ever submitted myself to a penetrating and thorough psychoanalysis regarding my obsession with gorilla suits and simian pop culture in general, I have a gut instinct that there is one film from my childhood that had a reverberating impact on me.
KING KONG?
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG?
Uh, not quite....I was referring to THE IVORY APE.


Airing when I was only about 7 years old, I can't remember whether I saw it when the film premiered on the ABC Friday Night Movie or some time after. Regardless of exactly when I saw the made-for-TV production, when I began seeking out gorilla suit information, I rediscovered the film. I have yet to actually see the movie again (it is my gorilla suit "White Whale",as it were) but I have hunted tirelessly for any related photos and a copy of the title. I know it had a VHS release, yet in about a year of item watching, none have surfaced on Ebay.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to procure a promotional ABC still that pointedly reminded me that we see the world through very different eyes when we are kids. I recall the wild, white ape as a fearsome beast, innocent but brutal - this fellow looks like a Gund stuffy! Still, the silly bugger holds a special place in my furry heart and I will continue to gather whatever I can from the film.

The film is outlined in the ABC PR attachment that was glued to the still:

Steven Keats and Cindy Pickett have both devoted their lives to the protection of wild animals, but the fabled albino gorilla creates a special problem when a savage mob stalks the innocent animal for both profit and revenge in "The Ivory Ape".

Pretty snappy eh? Well, maybe not, but the film also stars the always interesting Jack Palance as a flinty hunter who captured the Ivory Ape in Africa but must hunt him again when he escapes from the boat transporting him to the USA.
The movie was an odd live action product of the Rankin Bass studio, best known for all those charming Christmas stop motion programs such as RUDOLPH, THE RED NOSED REINDEER and FROSTY THE SNOWMAN. Shot in Bermuda, the film still has a presence in local history and is often mentioned in travel and historical websites.

From Bermuda-online.org:

1980 - Bermudian film and television producer Arthur Rankin Jr. cast Jack Palance in a 1980 made-for-TV film shot entirely on location in Bermuda. Palance specialized in playing villains during his five-decade Hollywood career which began in the early 1950s with Attila the Hun. He spent several weeks in Bermuda cast against type as the hero in Mr. Rankin's made-for-television movie The Ivory Ape. It was written and produced by Mr. Rankin and aired on prime time on the ABC television network. The film featured such local performers as Grace Rawlins, Charles Jeffers, Marlene B. Landy, Jane Bainbridge, John Lough and George Rushe in supporting roles. Palance starred in the film as Bermuda-based big game hunter Marc Kazarian. The plot focuses on a hunt for a rare albino gorilla, recently captured in Africa, which escapes from a freighter bound for New York that's forced to dock on the island during a storm. In a nod to the classic Empire State Building climax of 1931's King Kong, the albino ape is finally tracked to the steeple of Holy Trinity Church, Harrington Sound. The gorilla is killed by a trigger-happy Bermudian before Palance's Kazarian character - who has turned his back on his former career as a hunter can save the animal, a female which has just given birth.

I am a little confused about Rankin's apparently Bermudian origins, as I have seen him elsewhere described as American and his birthplace given as New York.

We all have cinematic guilty pleasures but I can't even categorize this film as one yet! As with many gorilla suit films, this elusive beast is all the more desirable because of it's scarcity. Goodness knows, if I ever track it down, I will be wondering why I wanted to see it so badly once the credits roll.

But until then, if you happen to catch wind of a copy or pic available - WRITE ME!!!!!

UPDATE FEBRUARY 18-2010


Please don't write me! I finally have in my possession, my most avidly persued film of the past decade - let's just say the thrill of the hunt FAR exceeded the thrill of viewing it. It's incredible how our youthful impressions are so drastically different from our adult, mature critique of the same material. I have great satisfaction that this rare gorilla suit film now rests among other classics of the genre but I won't be spinning this disc on a monthly basis. I will upload a whack of screen caps to Flickr sometime soon and perhaps write in greater detail about my thoughts about the film in the future. If you wish to add this gem to your cinematic treasure chest you can purchase it here at SUPER STRANGE VIDEO.