Gorilla at Large/Mystery on Monster Island (1954)

Disc 1: GORILLA AT LARGE (1954) Disc 2: Mystery on Monster Island (1981)

"Gorilla at Large": Preposterous and Irresistible!

I am the world's biggest 3-D movie nut. As 3-D movies of the golden era go, "Gorilla at Large" does not command the same respect "House of Wax," "Kiss Me Kate," "Hondo," and others do. But for entertainment value, it's a real contender.

Take the cast: where else would you expect to find Cameron Mitchell, Lee J. Cobb, Raymond Burr, Anne Bancroft, and Lee Marvin sharing the screen with George Barrows in a gorilla suit? Nowhere!

And take the setting: the long-gone Nu-Pike amusement park in Long Beach, California. The scenes shot on location, though fleeting, offer a trip through time to a bygone era. Picture Walt Disney strolling through here for ideas on what to do-- and what not to do-- in the project he was then building down in Anaheim! (I notice there are no live gorillas at Disneyland. Coincidence?)

And, while you won't be getting stereoscopic 3-D on this disc, the colors are every bit as lively and vivid as the archival prints screened at recent 3-D Film Expos in Hollywood.

As for "Mystery on Monster Island," I haven't watched it. Perhaps you and I both would do well to consider it an unrequested bonus. November 12, 2008

uneven double feature redeemed by top-rate "Gorilla"

Like the other reviewers here, I really only bought this set because I dearly wanted GORILLA AT LARGE. Honestly, the less said about MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND (1981) the better. Well, at least it stars Peter Cushing but the movie is a complete snooze. Better stick to men in ape suits and Anne Bancroft prancing about in a sexy trapeze outfit.

...which leads us back to GORILLA AT LARGE...

Filmed at the height of the 3-D craze, GORILLA AT LARGE (1954) isn't a horror film as much as it is a mystery crime thriller. Fox contract players Cameron Mitchell and Anne Bancroft star and add lots of extra gloss to this tawdry tale of a series of murders in a circus. The setting is a circus called the Garden of Evil, where the star attraction is Goliath, a gorilla (and played very obviously by a man wearing a chimp suit). Anne Bancroft is Mlle. Laverne, a trapeze artist whose whole act revolves around swinging above Goliath's enclosure. When a series of grisly murders start taking place, all fingers point to Goliath, but things are never what they appear to be, especially in a seedy dive like the Garden of Evil...

Anne Bancroft, paying off her 20th Century-Fox starlet commitments, gives a splendid performance. She's matched every step of the way by co-stars Raymond Burr, Cameron Mitchell and Lee J. Cobb. Co-produced by Panoramic Productions, GORILLA AT LARGE is lots of fun. Extra features include an animated photo gallery, a brief B&W trailer and the original 'Intermission' titlecard.

It's a pity that the only way we can get GORILLA AT LARGE is by buying the hopelessly hokey MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND as well, but just be glad this classic gem has finally surfaced on DVD. May 18, 2008

WAS THIS HORROR?

I ENJOYED THE GORILLA AT LARGE. I CAN'T SAY IT WAS REALLY HORROR. MORE OF A THRILLER DRAMA. PICTURE QUALITY WAS GOOD AND SO WAS SOUND.
THE OTHER MOVIE WAS STUPID.I DID NOT EVEN WATCH IT ALL. IBOUGHT BECOUSE OF PETER CUSHING. HE WAS ONLY IN IT FOR A MINUTE. SO I CAN NOT RECOMEND THIS ONE. November 9, 2007

Good to see these movies again...

Midnight Movie Madness continues with great stuff from the past. The movie
mystery on Monster Island is so well preserved that it looks like it was
just recently made. Saw this movie as a kid, and one of the characters is
as stupid as i remember him...but was well worth seeing this movie again.
Nice to see Peter Cushing again...Enjoy September 20, 2007

GORILLA AT LARGE.....

This review is for "Gorilla at Large", the reason I bought this disc. In 1954, the 3-D craze was at its' peak--especially with horror films and this included the gorilla movie as scare factor. 1954 saw "Phantom of the Rue Morgue" and "Gorilla at Large" pawing their way into theaters in 3-D and Technicolor, with better than average budgets. "Gorilla at Large" is set in a seedy carnival around a lurid sideshow called "The Garden of Evil" where beautiful trapeze star Mlle. LaVerne ( a young and beautiful Anne Bancroft paying her starlet dues) swings seductively over a gorilla pit where mankiller ape Goliath reaches for her, threatening to yank her down at any moment. LaVerne's troubled and hot-tempered husband (a stoic Raymond Burr) jealously oversees her act and LaVerne. He also manages the carnival. Two problematic things occur: a hunky new stuntman for LaVerne ( a young, hunky Cameron Mitchell) for a dangerous new thrill in her act and a brutal murder. The murder shuts the carnival down and brings in a hardnosed cop (Lee J. Cobb). Everyone suspects Goliath and his sinister trainer when another murder occurs. But there's more than meets the eye in the "Garden of Evil". This is a well made, enjoyable thriller with two gorillas. One a stunt man in a bad gorilla suit and the other being Goliath. The stunt man is supposed to step in at key moments in LaVerne's act when the ape gets too close to thrill the audience. The carnival atmosphere is colorful, lurid and vivid. The acting is above par as is the cast---a young Lee Marvin has a comedy relief role as a dumb lanky cop. The 3-D effects are noticable with Goliath and the dizzying carnival rides. And there's a wonderful scene where Goliath goes on a rampage through the deserted carnival one night inadvertantly setting off the rides, causing the whole park to come alive like a haunted fairgrounds. Later, he reaches through a window for a screaming Bancroft as she lies seductively clad in a sexy negligee. The cheesecake factor with Bancroft is rampant throughout. This IS a beauty and the beast tale afterall but one with a twist---it's also a murder mystery. Who's committing the murders Goliath or someone in the stunt suit? And will Goliath finally have at the teasing seductress LaVerne? See this for cheesy but fun 50's thrills and watch as soon-to-be-stars pay their dues in a gorilla movie. "Gorilla at Large" is a genuine time capsule from the 3-D 50's complete with a better than average cast, in gorgeous Technicolor and preserved in a nice print on this disc. Worth owning for old Hollywood star watchers. Enjoy. And don't make Goliath mad.... September 17, 2007

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