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Mighty Joe Young (1949)
13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Fun, fast-moving with fantastic special effects, 21 noviembre 2000
Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) de United States
Great film about an oversize gorilla (about 10-11 feet), its owner (Terry Moore) and what happens when an unscrupulous promoter Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) lures them from Africa to America to become a hit. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way--the story is nothing new; Terry Moore and Ben Johnson are among the worst actors I've ever seen and there's zero lack of characterization among the humans. But when Joe Young appears all is forgiven. He looks great, moves realistically and has incredible facial motions. You can tell exactly what he's thinking by his expressions! Also, the scenes where he's grappling with humans, horses, lions look extremely realistic--that's saying a lot for a film that's over 50 years old! A fun family film. Try to see restored prints--there's a final sequence involving a burning building in which the whole reel is tinted red--very nicely done.
11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
If you Enjoyed King Kong (1933), You'll Like This, 23 diciembre 2006
Author: ccthemovieman-1 de Lockport, NY, United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
"Mighty Joe Young" was a very entertaining film with a surprising amount of action. In fact, the last third to last half of this film is just about non-stop. it reminded me of King Kong, of course with a big age being brought to New York City for display and then things going haywire. This movie, however, has a happier ending than "Kong," although it doesn't look like that will be the case near the end. It turns to be a very suspenseful movie in that last 30 minutes, especially.
Even though this was an early Ray Harryhausen special-effects effort (and he's interviewed in two features on the DVD), it still looks pretty hokey in spots. But in 1949, this must have been pretty cool. Hey, to be fair, some parts are decently realistic if you aren't too critical. One thing: they are fun to watch!
The only weak point was the acting. A very young-looking Ben Johnson sounded wooden and Robert Armstrong overacted. Terry Moore, as Mighty Joe's guardian, so to speak, was so-so.
What made this movie better-than-average was the injection of some humor into this adventure story. Humor, and a bit of sentimentality as Mighty Joe is humanized to a degree. The big ape was funny while sitting in the back of a speeding truck eluding the police, and at the very of the movie he made most viewers laugh.
This movie is much better now that it's on DVD. The transfer is excellent; a nice picture. Near the end, with the big orphanage fire, the black-and-white scenes are tinted. Overall, if you liked the 1933 version of King Kong, you'll like this. A lot of the same people were responsible for both films. This is pure entertainment, which is why I gave it '9' stars.
10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely Charming!, 15 julio 2000
Author: BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) de NC
Of all the great ape films, this one made by the same folks that brought us King Kong and Son of Kong has to be the most charming. The story is simple enough about a young girl that raises a gorilla from infancy in the wilds of Africa to be wooed and wowed by an American showman looking for acts in Africa. The showman sees her gorilla and the way she can make it listen and do tricks...and soon both beast and beauty are off to the US to star in a night club act of all things. Terry Moore is a real cutie portraying the girl. The showman is played by...well who else but the same man responsible for bringing King Kong to New York City 16 years earlier...Robert Armstrong. The rest of the cast is adequate with Nestor Paiva in a small but crucial role standing out. The real star, however, is the ape itself and the special effects centered around it. This gorilla is brutish yet humane. He is playful and yet serious and somber at times. Willis O'Brien has done it again with the effects and his stop motion animation, with a great deal of improvement since Kong. The best thing about this movie is its heart, and the heart shown between the young girl and her pet/child. Some scenes are very striking in the film. One that stands out the most is the introduction of Mighty Joe Young in the night club with Terry Moore playing the piano. It looks like Busby Berkley choreographed it. Another very powerful scene involves Joe with an orphanage on fire. The scene is tremendous and even tinted red. Very impressive for its release. A True Classic!
7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Worthy Follow-Up to King Kong!, 29 septiembre 1999
Author: walt whizzer (audiohead78@yahoo.com) de Georgia, USA
A wonderfully entertaining slant on "King Kong" by Kong's creators, Cooper and Schoedsack (along with John Ford). Much better than Kong's 1934 sequel, "Son of Kong", which was hurriedly made. The creators put a lot of thought and effort into this worthy follow-up and it shows. More superb special effects from Willis O'Brien as technical director, featuring the budding talents of protege, Ray Harryhausen.
6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Kong with a heart!, 2 enero 2006
Author: hondo551 de United States
I remember seeing Mighty Joe Young before I ever saw King Kong, and for the longest time I preferred it to Kong because it seemed newer, with better effects, and more familiar actors, while Kong seemed older and a little creakier with a less familiar cast of characters. Over the years I've come to appreciate both as great movies, the same basic story or premise, but with a slightly different spin, one as a grand thrilling epic, and one as a heartwarming story with laughs and thrills. Where Kong is the tragic violent figure meeting his fate for the love of a woman, Joe Young is a warm cuddly teddy bear of a creature trying to stave off that wild beast that lives inside of him for the affection of a woman. Where Kong wouldn't expend a drop of sweat helping a human, except for Ann Darrow, Joe Young appears more than human in that he would sacrifice himself to save the children and adults in an orphanage engulfed in flames. And although Robert Armstrong doesn't play the same character in both movies, just the same type of character, it's kind of nice to see him learn from his mistakes in the previous film and early on in this one so that he can make a determined effort to have this story end differently. While King Kong may have been a grand slam out of the park, Mighty Joe Young still comes out as a solid home run.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Nice Film For Everyone, 1 mayo 2005
Author: skallisjr de Tampa, FL United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
When this first came out, I saw it on the Silver Screen. It's been described before, and the closest thing to a really nasty person are the cops who want to dispose of Joe.
This is an MGM film: Misunderstood Gorilla Movie. As presented to the audience, he's neither a menace nor a bad sort.
Possible minor spoiler: The introduction of Joe in the nightclub was a memorable scene. The girl plays Joe's favorite song at the piano on a stage, and as the song continues, the piano and stage rise smoothly until they reach a significant height, and then the lights come up: Joe is holding up girl, piano, and stage. This is one of my favorite scenes in the film.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Great story, great effects., 3 octubre 2000
Author: Chessack de USA
Thanksgiving just can't be Thanksgiving without Mighty Joe Young. From as far back as I can remember, until about 10 years ago, WOR, channel 9 in New York City, played a King Kong festival on Thanksgiving day, and then a Godzilla festival on Friday, dubbing it "Monster Weekend." Of the 3 "ape movies" played back-to-back (King Kong, Son of Kong, and Mighty Joe Young), this was far and away the best. There were several reasons for it. (1) Mighty Joe Young has the best special effects of all the ape movies (and, truth be known, far better than those of most of the Godzillas -- which were filmed 10-20 years later!). (2) Mighty Joe Young has the best story. It's about a little girl who adopts a young gorilla in Africa on her family's plantation, and she grows up with it. The gorilla turns out to be the largest in the world (but nowhere near the size of Kong). Joe is affectionate with his "sister", and very protective of her, and the animators gave him a wonderful range of facial expressions and emotions. (3) Mighty Joe Young has the best climax, and the best ending.
All told, Mighty Joe Young is a terriffic movie. It was light years ahead of its time in so many ways, including special effects. It is well worth the time to see it.
My score: 8/10
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Something to Jump up and down about...., 29 octubre 2000
Author: gazzo-2 de United States
Kong Jr by way of Abbot and Costello I guess, with better F/X and a good sense of humour to boot...really a good flick, Ben Johnson is early in his career and still pretty good, Terry Moore is a cutie who exudes a natural rapport with the camera, with alotta can-do in her character.
Guys like Armstrong, McHugh and Paiva have been down this row before, interesting to see big parts by Granny of the Beverly Hillbillies(Irene Ryan) and Ellen Corby(Grandma Walton) in the same film too.
You have to like it, though a couple times I did find the patronizing ways they guys treated the women rather cringe inducing (ah don't worry Kid etc etc real bad)....that is understandable as it was 1949 that we're talking about.
But redtinted finale, Joe Young to the rescue, etc...can't go wrong.
*** outta ****, good stuff!
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Worthy successor to KING KONG, 7 marzo 2001
Author: Matthew Ignoffo (mermatt@webtv.net) de Eatontown, NJ, USA
From many of the same folks who gave us the classic KING KONG, we have Joseph Young of Africa.
The FX are great, especially considering that this film was done long before razzle-dazzle computer work. The movie is an interesting, amusing, and touching variation on KING KONG but stands up as a strong, entertaining film in its own right. Robert Armstrong is once again the big showman who has to knock the public dead. In this case, nobody dies, but the public is still impressed.
It's interesting to note the different reactions of the theater audiences when Kong was first displayed and when Joe is first seen on stage. Perhaps the audiences were actually getting more sophisticated in 1949, and the difference could be an interesting comment by the movie makers on how jaded people were getting by 1949.
In any event, Joe Young is definitely worth seeing.
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A Wonderful Film, 1 mayo 2003
Author: Brian Washington (Sargebri@att.net) de Los Angeles, California
When many people bring this film up, many of them want to compare it to its predecessor King Kong. However, if they would let this film stand on its own they would see that this is a good film about a young girl and her pet gorilla. Joe is almost childlike and is even lovable. Also, the human cast is fine especially Terry Moore and Robert Armstrong in what pretty much is a repeat of his role of impresario Carl Denham in the original Kong.
But, lets not forget the special effects. Willis O'Brien and his protégé, a young Ray Harryhausen do a remarkable job with Joe. The pretty much show him as being a more rounded character than Kong and you can see the aforementioned childlike qualities they bring to him. This is definitely a great film.
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