''Bride of the Gorilla'' is a 1951 horror B-movie film written and directed by

Curt Siodmak Curt Siodmak (August 10, 1902 – September 2, 2000) was a German-American novelist and screenwriter. He is known for his work in the horror and science fiction film genres, with such films as '' The Wolf Man'' and '' Donovan's Brain'' (the l ...

starring

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

, Barbara Payton and

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...

Plot

Deep in the

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n jungles,

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

manager Barney Chavez (Burr) kills his elderly employer in order to get to his beautiful wife Dina Van Gelder (Payton). However, old native witch Al-Long (Gisela Werbisek) witnesses the crime and puts a curse on Barney, who soon after finds himself turning nightly into a rampaging gorilla-like beast. When a wise but superstitious police commissioner Taro (Chaney) is brought in to investigate the plantation owner's death and a rash of strange animal killings, he begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. Taro interviews local farmers who have seen the bloodthirsty animal; they identify it as the "'' Sukara''," a mythical jungle demon resembling a

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

. Meanwhile, Dina is also becoming suspicious of Barney, who seems to be more in love with the jungle than with her. She follows him one night into the jungle, only to be attacked by the feral Barney. Taro and his friend Dr. Viet (Conway) follow her screams in the jungle and shoot Barney. Before he dies, Barney peers into his reflection from a pond and sees ''sukara'' staring back at him.

Cast

as Barney Chavez * Barbara Payton as Dina Van Gelder *

as Police Commissioner Taro (credited as Lon Chaney) *

as Dr. Viet * Gisela Werbisek as Al-Long (credited as Giselle Werbisek) * Carol Varga as Larina *

Paul Cavanagh William Grigs Atkinson (8 December 1888 – 15 March 1964), known professionally as Paul Cavanagh, was an English film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1928 and 1959. Life and career Cavanagh was born in Felling, ...

as Klaas Van Gelder *

Paul Maxey Paul Regan Maxey (March 15, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American actor. Born in Wheaton, Illinois, the rotund Maxey played character roles in films from 1937, notably as the composer Victor Herbert in ''Till the Clouds Roll By'' (1946) ...

as Van Heusen *

Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 – December 31, 1994) was an American athlete and actor. He was a decathlete and football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League in the postwar era. Aft ...

as Nedo (Policeman) * Felippa Rock as Stella Van Heusen *

Moyna Macgill Moyna Macgill (born Charlotte Lillian McIldowie; 10 December 1895 – 25 November 1975) was an Irish actress from Belfast and the mother of actress Angela Lansbury and producers Edgar and Bruce Lansbury. In 2020, she was listed at number 35 on ...

as Mrs. Van Heusen *

Steve Calvert Steve Calvert (born William Seeger; June 28, 1916, Peoria, Illinois – died March 5, 1991, Los Angeles County, California) was a prolific gorilla suit performer in many Hollywood films and television shows from the late 1940s through the 1950s. H ...

as Gorilla (uncredited)

Production

Barbara Payton-Raymond Burr in Bride of the Gorilla still

The film was shot in 10 days.

Edward G. Robinson Jr. Edward G. "Manny" Robinson Jr. (March 19, 1933 – February 26, 1974) was an American actor. He was the son of actor Edward G. Robinson and his wife Gladys Lloyd. Life and career Edward G. Robinson Jr. appeared in 23 films and television seri ...

was originally cast in the film but was fired by the producers after his arrest for writing a bad check for $138 to the Laguna Beach Garage. The gorilla of the movie's title only appears in the last few minutes of the film. The film's working title was ''The Face in the Water''.

considered switching the roles of

and

, but because of Chaney's deteriorating appearance, the idea was dropped.

References

External links

* * * {{Curt Siodmak Jack Broder Productions Inc. films 1951 horror films 1951 films American science fiction horror films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Films with screenplays by Curt Siodmak Films directed by Curt Siodmak 1950s science fiction horror films Films about curses Films set in jungles Films set in South America Films about shapeshifting Bigfoot films Films about gorillas Films scored by Raoul Kraushaar 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links