''The Gorilla'' is a three-act play written by Ralph Spence.

Donald Gallaher Donald Gallaher (June 25, 1895 – August 14, 1961) was an American actor who appeared in 25 films between 1903 and 1949. He also directed five films, including '' Temple Tower'' (1930). His name is sometimes misspelled "Gallagher". Early years ...

produced it on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, where it opened at the Selwyn Theatre on April 28, 1925. The play was a success and ran on Broadway for 257 performances. A production opened in London at the New Oxford Theatre on June 30, 1925, and ran for 134 performances. The play was a parody of popular theatrical mysteries such as '' The Bat'' and '' The Cat and the Canary''. Its advertisements claimed it "outbats ".

Plot

Alice Denby visits her uncle, Cyrus Stevens, at his old, dark mansion on Long Island. She brings along Arthur Madsen, who has written a mystery play about a criminal called "The Gorilla". Alice asks her uncle to consider investing in the play. As he begins to read it, elements from Arthur's play begin to appear in the house. Detectives arrive looking for The Gorilla. The lights go out suddenly at midnight. A gorilla (an ape, not the criminal) escapes from captivity and carries Alice away. In a

twist ending Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

, the strange happenings on stage are revealed to be the imagined events of Arthur's play within the play.

Adaptations

''The Gorilla'' was adapted as a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

of the same name in 1927, and was filmed again in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

and 1939, the latter as a vehicle for

The Ritz Brothers The Ritz Brothers were an American family comedy act who performed extensively on stage, in nightclubs and in films from 1925 to the late 1960s. A fourth brother, George, acted as their manager. Early life The four brothers were born to Austria ...

, but containing

Patsy Kelly Patsy Kelly (born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly; January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of short comedy films produced by Hal R ...

's favorite of her performances, in which she acted opposite

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

. The play also served as source material for the 1937

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

comedy ''

Sh! The Octopus ''Sh! The Octopus'' is a 1937 comedy-mystery film produced by Warner Bros., directed by William McGann and starring Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins and Marcia Ralston. While contract players Herbert and Jenkins frequently appeared in the same pictu ...

'' starring

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

and Allen Jenkins, with the gorilla converted to an octopus.

References

Works cited

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorilla 1925 plays American plays adapted into films Broadway plays Comedy-drama plays Mystery fiction