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Showing posts from November 16, 2014

The Gorilla (1939) - Allan Dwan

Horror comedies are always a tough nut to crack. They usually never do very well. It's really tough to mix two genres and do it well. It's even harder when one of those genres is horror. The Gorilla is an example of the two styles cancelling each-other out. It comes to the table with the usual brand of comedy that was running rampant at the time. Fast-paced, high-wit comedy that did really well... back then. The horror is even worse. It's has forced tension and a not-very-scary antagonist. The all-star cast is completely lost in the crap. Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, and Anita Louise are just a few names. Not to mention the b-list comedy troupe The Ritz Brothers, who were apparently mistreated by the production. They really exploited Lugosi too. Using his popularity as Dracula they believed that just merely his presence could illicit fear. It doesn't. A very wealthy old man (Lionel Atwill) is threatened by a killer going by the name of "The Gorilla". He hi