Bride of the Gorilla (1951) User Reviews

Spooky Z grade horror film surprisingly enjoyable in spite of its disastrous reputation.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 4 March 2014]

Here comes the groom awaiting his doom....and there goes the bride with no place to hide...

In watching this science fiction film of the voodoo kind, I was actually very surprised how much I enjoyed it after not having seen it in over 10 years. I got past my film snobbishness and upped the rating from "2" to "5" because even though one capsule book on film reviews called it one of the top films to be on everybody's worst list, I found it extremely enjoyable. The critic referred to it as a plethora of non-actors at their worst, but even ones I sometimes sneer at myself (Lon Chaney Jr.) gave sincere performances here that surprised me with their simplicity and believability.

The Maria Ouspenskaya like Gisela Werbisek is the servant to plantation owner Paul Cavanaugh and when she witnesses his foreman Raymond Burr arrange his "accidental" death, she plots her revenge which takes place on the day Burr marries Cavanaugh's beautiful younger widow, Barbara Payton. This turns him into a feared monster who in the form of a gorilla terrifies the natives as it brutally kills other wild animals and makes them wonder if human beings will be next. As this creature takes over Burr's personality, his marriage to Payton crumbles with his desire to remain in the jungle as she longs to escape it. Lawman Chaney and Cavanaugh's doctor (Tom Conway) suspect something is amiss with Burr, and in short order, all is revealed.

Chaney, who in his Universal leading roles bothered me with his attempts to be a leading man, narrates the film simply. This is actually quite eerie in spots, especially the shot of Werbisek placing poisonous leaves on the eyes of the deceased Cavanaugh as she vows her vengeance on Burr. Don't expect the usually one-dimensional villain performance from Burr; The motives are understandable and as the tensions arise in the early scenes between Burr and Cavanaugh, you know that evil is afoot more in just the monstrous character Burr eventually becomes. Burr actually looks more like a romantic leading man here than normal, his handsome face very distinguished even if he shows a hefty build in a few shots. Payton is very appealing as the bleach-blonde femme fatal and also gets much dimension in her characterization of the younger wife who comes to resent her older husband (Cavanaugh) for spending more time reading the bible than with her.

Although obviously made on the cheap, the photography actually is pretty good and the dialog (at least not until the end) never so over the top that you laugh at it. Perhaps this gets more of a ribbing because of its rather campy title, the presence of Burr in a romantic lead, film noir vixen Payton as a mostly noble woman and the hideously evil woman which Gisela Werbisek plays, glaring through her giant bush baby like eyes with the evil of a Disney villainess.

Lon Chaney dances a mediocre jungle-boogie!

[Coventry · 4/10 · 12 June 2006]

Certainly not a bad little low budget film, this "Bride of the Gorilla", but nothing special, neither, and not memorable enough to be ranked among the meaningful Sci-Fi efforts of its time. Director Curt Siodmak was an eminent scriptwriter during the 1930's and 1940's and delivered stories for some true genre classics ("I walked with a Zombie", "The Wolf Man") but, as a director, he obviously lacked the required competences. "Bride of the Gorilla" is similar to the aforementioned "The Wolf Man" in story and atmosphere, but the film looks a lot more amateurish and pitiful. Both handle about cursed men that turn into large animals at night, but the titular gorilla doesn't look half as threatening as the werewolf, even though the film got released a whole decade later. During a cheesy opening speech, actor Lon Chaney tries to convince us that the jungle is an ominous place and hiding many mysteries, but actually there's no real mystery in the plot. It's just handles about a plantation manager who's jealous at his older colleague for having such a beautiful young wife and he kills him. A native woman witnesses his crime and puts a spell on Barney that causes him to transform into a hideously big gorilla at night... Or maybe she just wants him to believe he's turning into a hideously big gorilla…Lon Chaney himself plays the police commissioner charged with the murder investigation while Raymond Burr (who starred in about a thousand Perry Mason TV-movies) portrays the greedy plantation manager/nightly gorilla. Siodmak attempts to make the film look like a supernatural thriller – is it or is it not all just happening in Barney's head? – fail miserably and it causes way too much talking and too few jungle-action. Several of the jungle-settings are nicely pictured but the rest of the "special" effects are tacky and poorly done. Still the acting is pretty good, Barbara Payton is looking beautiful and – although very predictable – the story is strangely compelling until the very end. Weird movie, it probably voodoo-cursed me

BRIDE OF THE GORILLA (Curt Siodmak, 1951) {Edited Version} **

[Bunuel1976 · 4/10 · 23 January 2010]

The cast and crew of this cheap horror potboiler are more interesting than anything that occurs throughout the movie itself; we have Barbara Payton, Raymond Burr, Lon Chaney Jr., Tom Conway, Paul Cavanaugh and Woody Strode in front of the camera and writer-director Curt Siodmak, cinematographer Charles Van Enger, editorial supervisor Francis D. Lyon and production assistant Herman Cohen behind it. The ill-fated Payton turns the head of virtually every male she comes in contact with deep in the African jungle where she lives on husband Cavanaugh's plantation: doctor Conway secretly desires her while hot-headed foreman Burr's approach is, quite literally, more hands-on. On the other hand, Chaney is (surprisingly enough) the laid-back but knowing authoritarian figure and Strode is a native police official. The plot is very simple but, frankly, does not make a whole lot of sense: after a particularly agitated dinner complete with thunderstorm, Burr and Cavanaugh (art imitating life – more on that later) come to blows in the garden over their affection for Payton and, conveniently for Burr, a large snake just happens to be crawling near where Cavanaugh hits the ground! Witnessing the event from behind the bushes, Payton's enigmatic maid (a native witch, no less), for some inexplicable reason, puts a curse on Burr (who has in the meantime married Payton) that periodically turns him into a gorilla...starting from his very wedding day (when his hand briefly turns hirsute)! Consequently, Burr takes to losing himself in the jungle for days on end – even if the ape creature itself is barely glimpsed throughout the film. It must be said, however, that the version that I watched ran for just 56 minutes when the 'official' length is elsewhere given as either 66, 70 or 76!! Therefore, the film feels understandably rushed and disjointed if never less than campily enjoyable as it culminates in the gorilla's subjectively-shot chasing of Payton in the jungle, with the former being itself pursued by the gun-toting Chaney and Conway. To get back to the film's tragic blonde leading lady for a minute: after a promising start in movies next to such Hollywood legends as James Cagney and Gary Cooper – in, respectively, KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE and DALLAS (both 1950) – her career soon nose-dived into B (and lesser) grade territory thanks to her own 'colorful' off-screen antics: her most notorious misdemeanor was being the cause of a much-publicized bar-room brawl between suave husband Franchot Tone and brutish former lover Tom Neal which ended with the former in a coma and Payton actually deserting him for the latter shortly thereafter!! But that was not all: nymphomaniac Payton also boasted that Woody Strode was among her conquests (a controversial issue at the time); short-lived husband Tone, having caught Payton's infidelities on camera, spread the damning photographic evidence around Hollywood and this virtually served to end her days as a starlet – her last film appearance being Edgar G. Ulmer's MURDER IS MY BEAT (1955) which I happen to have in my "Unwatched Movies" pile. The last 12 years of her tumultuous life were spent on Skid Row in the throes of booze, drugs, prostitution, beatings, arrests and even a stabbing – before, eventually, dying in 1967 in her parents' home at the young age of 39!

Simian Soap Opera

[BaronBl00d · 20 November 2004]

Beautiful Barbara Payton is married to a much older man who has little time for her. What is a blonde, buxom girl to do? Well, no secret here that she has an affair with the foreman of her husband's plantation, Raymond Burr, who gives a performance worthwhile yet plays a guy with which you will have virtually no sympathy. Things get nasty in the jungle: Barb's husband is killed and Ray marries her. Yet, a native old woman seeks revenge on Burr by poisoning him so that he will turn into some jungle demon...a big gorilla. On his track is none other than Commissioner Tarro - Lon Chaney Jr. playing a native-turned-educated policeman from the jungle land. Chaney isn't really bad, just unbelievable in his role. Curt Siodmak directed this film and wrote the script. Siodmak was the writer of Universal's classic The Wolfman. In both pictures we have an average man turn into a beast at night. In both pictures we have transformation scenes - grand ones in The Wolfman and pitifully cheap ones in this production. Chaney also is in both films. Siodmak really does a less-than-average job behind the camera. My guess is budgetary constraints really held his hand in check. This is a very cheaply made film. The jungle house looks fine, but jungle scenes look less than real. Siodmak does have a few nicely shot scenes, particularly as the lens becomes a character walking into the jungle. What about the gorilla? No Jack Pierce here. In fact the gorilla maybe makes three appearances and none of them very substantial. The film has a lot of talking, Raymond Burr brooding a lot, and Chaney lecturing us on the "laws of the jungle." Payton does a decent job, but let's face it. She is there for one reason only. And Evelyn Ankers she is not! Character actor Tom Conway rounds out the leads, giving another one of his wooden but amiable performances.

It's short and not boring.

[13Funbags · 3/10 · 3 May 2017]

This movie is weird.The whole time you are expecting it to get really good any second, but it never does.It has the look and feel of a good movie but it falls flat.We only see the gorilla as a reflection in the water.Everyone who sees it describes it as a monster that is a mixture of several animals, no one ever even mentions that it's ape-like.Like in many other movies, everyone who lives in the jungle is white,even the local police.That's almost as annoying as pretending it's dark out when it's clearly daylight, which this movie also does.While not actually a good movie, this film has a rare quality for the genre, it's not boring.If you were interested enough to find this review, you won't hate this movie.

Not particularly good or inspiring, but it was actually better than the title suggests

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 14 July 2007]

As a cheap time-passer, this isn't nearly as bad a film as the title suggests. You'd think that during the entire film, some guy would run around in a gorilla suit because of some evil curse or scientific mumbo-jumbo. However, exactly what happens to nasty old Raymond Burr in the film isn't so simple or tacky. It seems that an old witch DID place a spell on him but instead of him running amok in a cheesy gorilla suit, he was cursed to believe he was a gorilla and see himself as a gorilla while he actually was still quite human. This had the effect of both screwing up his life and convincing everyone around him that he needed to be institutionalized. The ending is cleverly done and it's not a bad plot idea as long as you are willing to sit back and enjoy the film without thinking or expecting great art.

Oddly, perhaps Raymond Burr became a bit type-cast because of this film, as only three years later he appeared in the 3-D film GORILLA AT LARGE.

Pleasant enough bit of jungle hokum

[Red-Barracuda · 5/10 · 22 January 2015]

In this entertaining horror flick we have a love triangle in an Amazonian rubber plantation resulting in a womanising steward murdering his boss. This leads to a voodoo practicing, loyal servant of the unfortunate dead man to use black magic to turn his killer into a sukaras (were-ape to you or me).

I suppose this movie combined that popular staple of the 40's – the jungle film – within a traditional horror film narrative, while still managing to include that other 40's cinematic obsession, a man in a gorilla suit. You'd have to say that it's not the most inspired concoction and one that may have actually been a little dated by the early 50's when sci-fi was all the rage. But from today's perspective it works quite well and the jungle setting gives it something a bit different for what is effectively a horror film, albeit one that I seriously doubt was ever scary to anyone ever. Whatever the case, it features one of the regulars of the genre, Lon Chaney Jr., as a police commissioner. It's not an especially memorable role and is at best peripheral to the overall story. While there is nothing to get particularly excited about here, this one is a perfectly enjoyable time-filler in a Tuesday afternoon kind of way. And there's nothing wrong with that at the end of the day.

Low-budgeted B-movie with chills, thrills and good but wasted cast

[ma-cortes · 4/10 · 10 March 2022]

Typical and run-of-the-mill monster movie in the Fifties style. Very mediocre terror movie with some scenes fun to watch . On a remote and deep location, in a South American jungle rubber plantation , a foreman called Barney Chavez (Raymond Burr) spends much time dodging working and visiting the boss' (Paul Cavanaugh) wife , Dina Van Gelder (Barbara Payton) , whom he tells he would like to take away from her husband. When her hubby , the chief Klass Von Gelder dies from suspicious circumstances Barney deceives his jealous lover Larina (Carol Varga) but the housemaid Larina Gisela Werbisek) uses weird magic to cast a spell on Barney , who's plagued by a strange voodoo curse . Barney starts transforming before his own eyes into a Gorilla and family physician Dr. Viet (Tom Conway) sees that the man is laboring under something he believes is poison . Then an enormous being on the loose begins to become evil and escapes around the lush jungle , killing here and there . When investigating the rampage of an ancient and mythological being called Sukara , local constable Taro (Lon Chaney, Jr.) realizes that Barney is missing at night coinciding with ravaging animal killings on the jungle and he and Dr. Viet work to get to the bottom of the mystery . Along the way, Barney suffers long lapses of memory loss, and continues to see himself as a Gorilla causing wreak havoc . Her clothes torn away, screaming in terror!.Her marriage vows were more than fulfilled!.A Blonde Beauty and a Savage Beast... alone in the Jungle!

Routine and regular monster movie about habitual issue concerning an enormous , unfriendly , stalking and very anger gorilla. This is a cheap , humdrum and monotonous production, written director Curt Siodmak himself , being spoiled by suffering from lousy interpretations and an embarrassing lack of imagination . Fakey special effects might have been decent in the Fifties or Sixties , but they just don't cut it today. T Here only stands out Raymond Burr who travels to jungle where he meets a wife , a plantation and a curse in this African twist on the werwolf legend , replacing him with a gorilla . In fact , there appears Lon Chaney Jr ,though he doesn't takes his Wolf Man usual role , but a local police officer on the trail a strange creature on the loose . Raymond Burr physical changes are amusing to watch , while turning nightly into a rampaging gorilla . And gorgeous Barbara Payton (who acted in important films as ¨Dallas¨, ¨Only the valiant¨, ¨Drums in the Deep South¨, ¨Kiss Tomorrow goodbye¨, ¨The Great Jesse James Raid¨) , she performed one of the saddest stories from dark chronicle Hollywood . Attractive blonde sexpot and her life eventually disintegrated , mostly for her own doings . She was the subject of a spread in Confidential Magazine in the early 1950s when then fiancé Franchot Tone allegedly caught in bed with Guy Madison . Tone later married her , despite of the indiscretion , in addition she had a tempestuous relationship with Tom Neal . But happened the downfall , her once enticing countenance now blotchy and once sensational figure now bloated , Barbara sank deeper into the bottle and had several brushes with law , among them public boozy , bad checks and ultimate prostitution . The 39 years former star was found on the bathroom floor . They're well accompanied by a nice secondary cast , such as : Tom Conway, Lon Chaney, Paul Cavanagh, Gisela Werbisek , Carol Varga and Woody Strode.

The motion picture was badly directed by exiled writer/filmmaker German Curt Siodmak . One of Siodmak's first film-writing assignments was the screenplay for the German sci-fi picture "Floating Platform 1 Does Not Answer", based on his own novel. Curt and brother Robert Siodmak started in the film business writing German inter-titles for Mack Sennett comedies. In 1928 he wrote scripts for movies for the first time; his idea for the script for People on Sunday (1930) constituted the first directorial success for his brother Robert Siodmak. Compelled to leave Germany after Adolf Hitler and the Nazis took power, Siodmak went to work as a screenwriter in England and then moved to Hollywood in 1937. He got a job at Universal through his director-friend Joe May, helping write the script for May's The Invisible Man Returns (1940) . It was at Universal where Siodmak became identified with science-fiction and horror; especially with movies like The invisible women (1940) and The wolf Man (1941). Landed a worldwide success with his novel "Donovan's Brain" in 1942, which was filmed four times over the next 20 years. Siodmak directed a few films such as : Ski Fever , The Devil's Messenger , Demon Street , Tales of Frankenstein , Love Slaves of the Amazons , Curucu, Beast of the Amazon, The magnetic monster. His final significant genre credit was for Terence Fisher's German production Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace . Bride of the Gorilla(1951) rating : 4.5/10 . Below average.

Wow

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 3 November 2023]

Edward G. Robinson Jr. Was originally in this movie but was fired by the producers after his arrest for writing a bad check for $138 to the Laguna Beach Garage.

Director and writer Curt Siodmak had already written The Ape, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and I Walked With a Zombie before making this his first directed effort. He had ten days to make it.

Deep in the Latin American jungles - a bad place to be if you stay too long - plantation manager Barney Chavez (Raymond Burr) has murdered his boss and stolen away his wife Dina Van Gelder (Barbara Payton). Bad news for them: Al-Long (Gisela Werbisek), a witch, has seen the crime and cursed Chaves to transform every night into a gorilla. A cop by the name on Taro (Lon Chaney Jr.) puts the murder of the rich man and all the gorilla killings together. The natives believe Sukura, a demon, is the killer. And as for Dina, Barney seems way too into going out alone amongst the wildlife at night when he should be in bed with her. By the end, Lon Chaney shoots a weregorilla and Burr sees his own reflection before he dies, which feels like the reverse roles for what we should be watching.

Speaking of bad checks, Payton got arrested for that, plus had a reputation as a drinking party scene girl before she even started acting. Even after rehab, her parents would indulge in heavy drinking with her. Two years after this movie, Payton was paid $1,000 for her autobiography, I Am Not Ashamed. It had unflattering photographs of her and she discussed how she was homeless and had been beaten while a call girl. She'd die in 1967 at the age of 39 of heart and liver failure. Her parents died of alcoholism a few years later.

Woody Strode is in this as a cop. He'd have an affair with Payton, which would have caused a big uproar in 1951.

"The jungle's my house, it belongs to me."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 18 March 2006]

I can't bring myself to call this a bad film. Going by the title of course, I was expecting a huge helping of cheese to go with the story, but there was something intriguing to this tale of black magic and mystical animals. You'll have to get past the casting of Raymond Burr as a Spanish plantation worker, but that's really no worse than Warner Oland or Boris Karloff playing Chinese detectives. Lon Chaney, who's had his share of physical transformations is on hand as Police Commissioner Taro, investigating the death of the plantation owner, Klaas Van Gelder (Paul Cavanagh). Brought down by the timely coincidence of Barney Chavez' infatuation with Dina Van Gelder (Barbara Payton) and the appearance of a poisonous snake, Taro believes there's more here than meets the eye.

The Van Gelder's servant Al-long (Gisela Werbisek) doesn't go for Barney's indiscretions, and puts her mystical talents to work casting a spell on him. Now here's what makes the film interesting for me. Instead of turning Barney into an ape, her voodoo curse makes him think he's turning into one. That psychological angle is played out throughout the film. As Barney begins to find himself at home in the jungle, his perceptions become ever sharper as he finds other jungle inhabitants afraid of him. The other workers on the Van Gelder plantation fear a "succarat", a legendary demon at work.

The one time the film breaks continuity comes near the end when Barney is shown picking up the body of the fainted Dina. It's done in full ape guise, whereas most other scenes referencing his gorilla delusion show him seeing himself as an ape or turning into one. Interestingly, no other person ever saw Barney as a monkey man.

Barney manages to leave two damsels in distress by the end of the story. Right up until he marries Dina, he's been having a fling with Mrs. Van Gelder's personal servant Larina (Carol Varga); this guy gets around. I was waiting for Larina to follow up her little temper tantrum when Dina was getting ready to leave the plantation, but nothing ever came of that. For her part, Barbara Payton's talents were accentuated with very close fitting blouses and numerous shots in profile.

If you take a minute to watch the opening scene again after viewing the movie, you'll wonder why it was handled that way. With the voice over narration of Lon Chaney, the screen scans the remains of the Van Gelder home in utter destruction, as if it was hit by a bomb. There's really no reason why the demise of Chavez would have resulted in that chaos, especially since the Van Gelder home had a willing buyer when the newlyweds first decided to head to Paris. Perhaps it was the jungle's way of bringing Barney Chavez to justice.

Another waste of time!

[RodrigAndrisan · 2/10 · 29 August 2021]

A totally incredible and embarrassing story, as if designed for stupid children. However, the actors and the director worked hard, doing what they could best. The result, however, is deplorable.

Bride of the Gorilla

[kynolan97 · 8/10 · 13 May 2011]

For being such an old movie, "Bride of the Gorilla" has good special effects that help make great scenes! In the film the jungle looks like a real, large, and living jungle, which really makes the movie.

After watching this movie i really understood the "magic" of the jungle and how staying out there can make people go crazy! The beautiful Barbara Payton did a terrific job

with her character, and the love she shows for her husband, even though

he turns crazy, is the typical 1950's "love" relationship. This movie is

good, but sad in the end. It's a definite MUST SEE!

Not good but not as bad as its reputation suggests.

[jemkat · 6/10 · 21 June 2008]

In my movie reference books this movie is variously described as a "bomb" or recommended as a suitable choice for inclusion in the 100 worst movies of all time. Nevertheless, I have no qualms in saying that it is not that bad, and was quite happy to sit for 65 minutes (the short running time probably helps) and see it through until the end.

To begin with Curt Siodmak's story is interesting enough (as are many of his screen writing efforts), and has more than a touch of complex moral ambiguity. His direction here however has very little flair and tends to be on the perfunctory side. The low budget is a major constraint, and for the most part the film tends to be on the flat side visually, with unimpressive jungle scenes and minimal interior set pieces of the kind typical for a low budget production.

The cast (described in one reference book as 4 non-actors) are actually all competent, and Raymond Burr, in fact, is quite good in the part, managing to impart a human dimension to what could have been merely an unsympathetic villain. In fact it is interesting to actually analyse how much of the films dramatic load actually rests on his shoulders.

Rumble in the jungle

[lastliberal · 4/10 · 11 March 2008]

It is a story as old as man. The jealousy for another man's wife and possessions. There are even commandments against it.

In this story, Raymond Burr ("Perry Mason", "Ironside") is the manager of a runner plantation who lusts after the owners wife and feels that he isn't treated with respect. The wife, the starlet Barbara Payton, who was trying to make a comeback after a string of sordid affairs, was lusting after Burr, who killed her husband, Paul Cavanagh.

But, lurking about was a strange woman, the housekeeper (Gisela Werbisek) who sees everything, and who was capable of some voodoo to avenge the wronged, which also included another young woman (Carol Varga) to whom Burr also professed love.

Burr is poisoned and becomes , or thinks he becomes, a gorilla. Payton will have to mate with Kong if she ever wants her marriage consummated, as he goes into the jungle every night.

The end is predictable. But, the stirring question of this film is why Payton would ever be afraid. With those sharply pointed missiles jutting out from her chest, no animal could get near her to do harm.

Odd, almost surreal, jungle madness

[cinema_universe · 20 July 2001]

O.K., so this is not a critical classic. In fact, it's oddball, low-budget nonsense. But you have to admit, it's great fun to watch. It's so strange that it forces you to watch it to the very end, just so you can be sure you are not making an error about the preposterous plot you're seeing. It's campy madness and I'de recommend it to anyone interested in the obscure. You will find yourself wondering: How did they ever get Raymond Burr to take such a role?

At Least There Was Perry Mason to Fall Back On

[Hitchcoc · 5/10 · 15 April 2006]

Yes, this is really a talky movie. It takes forever. People are constantly signing papers, doing day to day things. Contrary to some of the previous writers, I do feel a little bad for the Raymond Burr character. He isn't very lovable, but he does take the young woman away from a pointless marriage to a Bible thumping man who offers her nothing. Now, how did they get together. He, of course, hits the man and then a snake bites him, but a nasty old woman uses her knowledge of jungle potions to poison to exact revenge. Burr then begins a longing for the jungle and transforms into an ape man. His new wife continues to support him, despite the fact that he is cruel and possessed. There is one scene where they profess their love for one another and you know that the ultimate consequence is on its way. It's always fun to see Lon Chaney, the Wolf Man, as a sheriff. In a way, he was afflicted with much the same problem as Burr's character at a previous time. One of the sad things is that he really doesn't understand what has happened to him. He is basically transformed and has no options. We can only feel pity for him and his bride. With a little tweaking, a little more budget (the jungle scenes are atrocious), this could have been a lot better film.

Work is Work

[view_and_review · 3/10 · 29 June 2022]

With a name like "Bride of the Gorilla" you can't expect much. I didn't. I only watched it because I read that Barbara Payton fell so far from grace she had to take a role in "Bride of the Gorilla," so I just had to see how bad the movie was. And oh yeah, it was free.

"Bride of the Gorilla" was as bad as it sounds. The cinematic quality was poor and the acting was abysmal. Even Raymond Burr, an established veteran actor by this point, was off his game.

The movie takes place in the Amazon forest. Barney Chavez (Raymond Burr) works for a wealthy old man named Klaas Van Gelder (Paul Cavanagh) and he's in love with Van Gelder's wife, Dina (Barbara Payton). There's another girl in the picture, Larina (Carol Varga). Barney broke her heart which led her grandmother to put a curse on him making him imagine that he was a gorilla.

The movie is barely over an hour long, so there's not much to be garnered from it. It's too bad that Barbara and Raymond even had to take such roles, but I guess work is work.

Free on Tubi.

A woman finds out too late that her husband actually is a beast!

[Aaron1375 · 4/10 · 10 June 2020]

The movie features Lon Chaney and Raymond Burr and a monstrous gorilla! Too bad it mainly features people deciding on when to sell, a wedding and lots of stock footage. A film where they literally do not bother really showing you a clear shot of the beast the man becomes with the exception of one scene where it is seen in reflection. Definitely no great transformations in this film that is interesting for a bit, but then becomes repetitious and boring as you never see any kills, but you do see plenty of the bride talking to her doctor.

The story has a woman and older man who are married, living in a south American jungle on some sort of plantation. Never clear what the heck they are doing as it is apparently dangerous enough for people to die. Well, a man who works for the older man named Barney and played by Raymond Burr is in love with the older man's wife and also apparently had a fling with one of the local girls. He kills the older man, by punching him out as a snake appears and it takes out the older man. An elderly woman, and I think mother to the girl spurned witnesses this. Barney marries the woman who was married and whose late husband is probably not even cold yet, but their marriage takes an odd turn as the elderly woman gives Barney a poison that turns him into a gorilla and makes him obsessed with the jungle!

Some of the stuff going on in the movie is interesting, but a lot of it is so outlandish. It is obvious Barney killed the old man, but it most certainly was not premeditated like the one chief of police says as Barney just took advantage of a poisonous snake. I also find it rather hard to believe that not one, but two super attractive women were super into Raymond Burr!

So, not that great as it gets worse as it progresses. You expect to see the monster more near the tail end of the film, but we do not really witness it during the final scene other than it carrying the bride. It is funny how Barney was being interrogated and kept denying the charges because Burr would later become super defense attorney Perry Mason. Still, in a horror movie about a person turning into a gorilla, I expect to see more gorilla! It would be like if in a film about a werewolf all you ever see of the beast are newspaper headlines!

Bungle in the Jungle

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 21 February 2010]

"Raymond Burr stars as Barney Chavez, a plantation manager working deep in the South American jungle. Barney has a yen for the beautiful wife of his employer, and decides to murder the old man to have her for himself. Unfortunately for Barney, a native sorcerer witnesses the crime, and puts a curse on him that transforms him by night into a murderous gorilla," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

In one of her best roles, witchy Giselle Werbisek is a hoot as the native sorcerer.

"Bride of the Gorilla" is one of those classic "so-bad-it's-good" movies that is not truly awful because it's awfully entertaining. Burly Raymond Burr (later "Perry Mason") is perfectly wretched as a man discovering his "inner jungle" feelings due to the presence of pointed blonde Barbara Payton (as Dina). Understandably, Lon Chaney (as Taro) suspects lycanthropy may be involved. He should know.

***** Bride of the Gorilla (10/51) Curt Siodmak ~ Raymond Burr, Barbara Payton, Lon Chaney, Tom Conway

Bored of the gorilla

[Bezenby · 3/10 · 23 September 2014]

Great title, eh? Kind of conjures up rampaging Gorrilas protecting blonde dames from nasty explorers, thinly veiled bestiality, and a great jungle adventure for all, eh? Eh? Well, prepare to be disappointed.

Perry Mason plays a guy called Bonny Chevez, manager of a warehouse at a plantation in some jungle, and Bonny's a bit of a fanny rat. He's already dumped the servant girl after sweet talking her into the sack, and now he's set his sights on seemingly brain dead and despondent plantation owner wife Dinah. Now, Dinah's much older husband isn't daft. He's got an old lady (who's a witch and mother of the servant girl) keeping an eye on things, and once he gets wind of Bonny putting the moves on his wife, he fires him during dinner.

However, Bonny's done enough ground work to woo Dinah, so she's all prepared to run off with him. That night, Bonny gets a hold of the plantation owner and manages to get him killed by snake bite (He punches the guy in the stomach and the guy just lies there until the snake bites him). Soon enough, Bonny's now running the plantation and married to Dinah. Bonny doesn't realise it, but the witch is just about to put a curse on Bonny that's cause him to think (or turn into, I'm not really sure) a gorilla and run off into the jungle.

Here's where the film throws an torrent of missed opportunities at you. We've got Bonny either turning into or thinking he's a gorilla, which includes his hands turning from white to black before getting all hairy (what are they implying?), but no real gorilla action at all! I mean, you've got Lon Chaney Jr in here as a cop after Bonny for the murder of the old guy, but nothing really happens until the last couple of minutes, and even then you don't get to see much. Put it this way, Bonny kills more people when he's not a gorilla, and that's one person.

Woody Strode's only in this for about three minutes, then completely disappears.

If you really have to see all these gorilla/ape based films, which is a bit of a minefield to be honest to begin with, I'd put this one at the bottom of your list. For a good (hilarious) ape film, watch Bela Lugosi's The Ape Man. That's a good un.

Far more "Bride" than "Gorilla"

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 19 October 2006]

Don't be deceived by the prominent billing of Lon Chaney Jr or the advertising that stresses all the horror in this little yarn. In point of fact, Mr Chaney is confined to a rather small role. He's neither our heroine's husband nor lover. He's not even the gorilla! Mr Chaney stays firmly on the right side of the law for once, while Raymond Burr in his usual confidently cool, surly, self-assured manner enacts the title role opposite the legendary Barbara Payton (here looking extremely attractive, thanks to flattering photography and most seductive—if rather inappropriate by jungle standards—costumes. She speaks her lines with more than adequate conviction too).

Tom Conway walks through his part with his usual, blandly smooth impeccability, whilst Carol Varga's eye-catching native girl gives Barbara a fair run in the beauty stakes. Woody Strode is also on hand as a policeman who has a key scene with a black-robed, rather sinister servant-lady.

As a director, Mr Siodmak takes great care that every word of the marking-time hokey dialogue he has contrived for his script, be clearly and distinctly heard. His actors are coached to speak carefully and to enunciate with great deliberation so that not one time- consuming cliché be lost. In other respects too, Siodmak's handling has not a great deal to recommend it. Even at 65 minutes, the pacing appears remarkably slow, even tired, listless, dull. Except for a few shots of the camera tracking subjectively through the undergrowth and the jaws of the gorilla flashing momentarily right in front of the lens, Siodmak does little to capture audience interest in his tale. He focuses more of his attention on the bride than the gorilla—which is fine for us Barbara Payton fans, but may leave horror and fantasy devotees feeling rather short-changed.

All told, from a horror perspective Bride of the Gorilla turns out as a tame and tedious affair that signally fails to deliver the frights and the terror promised by its script and its advertising. We see only a few flashes of the gorilla (an obvious impersonation by a stuntman in the same well-used monkey suit the costume company has been renting out for twenty years) and there's no impressive special effects work either. Most of the movie perambulates around three or four sets and was obviously lensed on an extremely tight budget. (In fact, it was reportedly shot in ten days).

Bride does have one other important factor (aside from Miss Payton), in its favor, however. It was superbly photographed by Charles Van Enger. If you love glossy photography, Bride of the Gorilla is your meat.

The Case of the Lesser Wolf Man

[ksimkutch · 3/10 · 6 May 2017]

This was meant to be an intentionally unapologetic rip-off of "The Wolf Man" made a mere decade earlier starring Lon Chaney Jr. who also appears here and inexplicably so. "Bride of the Gorilla" which holds no production value or any values at all was apparently shot in one week and I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that writer/director Curt Siodmak wrote the screenplay on his way to it's set first day of shooting.

Plotwise very much like in "The Wolf Man" we have a love story, black magic, gypsies, paranoid locals who believe in folklore, and an ancient curse that can turn people into voracious beasts.

Plantation worker Barney Chavez (Perry Maso...Raymond Burr) is having an affair with his boss's (Paul Cavanagh as Klaas Van Gelder) blonde bombshell of a wife (discount Marilyn Mo...Barbara Payton). Thanks to that the boss and his employee don't get along so swimmingly and during a swift scuffle Chavez kills Van Gelder without realizing gypsy Al- Long (Gisela Werbisek) witnessed it all and in-turn she curses him. Afterwards Chavez marries Mrs. Van Gelder but every night he turns into a terrifying havoc causing gorilla which is never shown on screen except by the end when Police Commissioner Taro (Chaney) and Dr. Viet (Tom Conway) hunt him down.

The acting and characters are a mixed bag - Burr comes off rather cocky so as a result when he gets cursed following Van Gelder's murder I simply thought it served him right. Seductive Payton our true main character isn't very likable either seeing how she immediately marries Chavez following Van Gelder's death and when he's starting to act fairly odd her eyes are newly set upon Dr. Viet. Chaney's casting just seems bizarre though he does deliver plus one roots for him as he's the good guy though that is a lazy man's cheap writing trick. the sets, lighting, costumes, score, and cinematography don't provide any kind of atmosphere typically found in horror but than again these aspects aren't executed that badly though average.

To be honest this picture should have been called -Gorilla of the Bride- considering of how little screen time said beast has. The only thing that prevented me from falling asleep while watching was Conway's highly rich tone of voice. At least this made him somewhat useful seeing all he does during those extremely slow and agonizing seventy minutes is to carry a torch for the now Mrs. Chavez. A colossal waste of talent and the audience's precious time.

A man, evil at heart; and commits atrocities by night, will walk as his crime suspects; his human visage taking flight.....

[marshrydrob · 8/10 · 15 October 2017]

On man, driven by an evil desire. One man, a husband; standing in his way. One woman, an entity of tradition; working black magic to make the guilty pay.....

The native police commissioner, a man torn by tradition and his civic duty (Played by Lon Chaney); is on the case. With the assistance of a doctor, the commissioner seeks a beast that walks like a man.....

In the fashion of The Wolf Man, the killer transforms into a gorilla. The evil within, dominating his humanity; in a manifestation of his primitive beast- like rages.....

Great gathering of talent, and an original story; that plays well with its surroundings.

Bride of the Gorilla, is a good movie; and will be appreciated by fans of the Wolf Man and classic horror.

Jungle Justice: Favors None But Equals All

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 20 March 2004]

******SPOILERS****** Interesting little movie about crime and justice, despite it's misleading title, that plays like a morality play about how one can't escape his crimes even in the dark and uncivilized jungle. The jungle where justice seems at first non-existent is in reality more prevalent there then in a big modern city courthouse where it can be twisted and manipulated by both the power and money of the person who stands accused.

Van Gelder Manor deep in the Amazon jungle is a rubber plantation run by the ruthless and scheming Barney Chavez, Raymond Burr. Barney feels that he can get away with anything because he's above the laws of man that he has nothing but contempt for. Smart and conniving Barney gets the owners Klass Van Gelder's, Paul Cavanagh, beautiful wife Dina, Barbara Payton, to fall in love with him thus breaking the heart of his native girlfriend Larina, Carol Varga, who Barney was stringing along until he found someone better, Dina. Knowing that Klass had a weak heart Barney provoked him into a fight one evening in the garden outside the plantation. Barney belted Klass knocking him to the ground as he let him get bitten by a poisonous snake which killed him.

Breaking Larina's heart and taking Klass Van Gelder's life, as well as his wife Dina, Barney seems to have gotten away with his crimes. Feeling he can now sell the plantation and move with Diana back to civilization and live the good and rich life which he worked so hard to get, or so Barney thought. Unknown to Barney's his crimes did not go unnoticed. The old woman who lived at the plantation Al-Long, Gisela Werbisek, saw what Barney did to both Klass and Larina and invoked, through her knowledge of the Black Arts, the jungle to bring him to justice.

Obscure little movie that has a lot more to it then you would think at first about crime justice and revenge and makes you think about it too. More penetrating and thought-provoking then many of the big budgeted films about courts and law that in many cases the criminal gets away with his or her crimes due to a technicality or a smart and skillful lawyer. There are no technicalities or lawyers in the jungle.

Good script and acting especially by Lon Cheney Jr. in a supporting role as the native police commissioner Taro. Taro's education in schooling and law books in the outside world was nothing compared to his education in what he learned from living in the jungle during the first 20 or so years of his life; the jungle that in the end did his work for him.

Argh

[BILLYBOY-10 · 1/10 · 24 September 2007]

Barbara Payton is the suppose-to-be sultry sexy young hot Chickie wife of the geezer plantation owner somewhere in a jungley back lot set at a cheap studio in Hollywood. Raymond Burr wears his working shirt with the top button undone as the hunky chunky plantation foreman who Mrs Payton is desiring to blow the joint with. There is another girl, some sort of peasant slave thing that Burr used to fool around with but he's given her the old heave ho so the obligatory squatty old voo-doo hag is conjuring up a good spell to cast on him and the Payton tramp. I watched this only part way through because its really awful, so didn't even get to see the star of the show---which I guess is a gorilla that the voo-doo hag turned someone into or whatever.....who cares. I give this one half star out of a possible ten. It's not even campy, just really bad.