Mighty Joe Young (1949)

As I've said many times before, here's another movie I knew of for many, many years before I actually saw it, having read about it when I was a little kid in elementary school in the old Crestwood House monsters book on King Kong, which also talked about other movies featuring giant apes. The title was enough to catch my attention, as I can remember both myself and Mom, who often read these books with me, thinking to ourselves, "What?!", and the same went for the little plot summary of the title character being a large gorilla who was brought over from Africa to be featured in a Hollywood nightclub. I also remember a single photograph from the climax, showing Joe climbing a tree while carrying a little girl he saved from the burning orphanage in his hand. But, that was all I saw of the movie until I was in my teens (there was one night when I was still in elementary school that I came close to seeing it, as TNT was showing a triple feature of it, the original King Kong, and The Son of Kong, albeit all in colorized form; I watched the entire second half of King Kong and saw the first little bit of Son, but I got tired and went to bed, so I missed Mighty Joe Young completely). By that point, I'd seen and quite enjoyed the 1998 remake (I saw it in the theater when I was on Christmas break that year), but I actually didn't give seeing the original much thought until I happened to catch it on Turner Classic Movies one Saturday. I can remember enjoying it that first time, although the climax was a little off-putting in a couple of ways, and thinking that Joe himself was a cool character, but it wasn't until I got the DVD for Christmas in 2005 (as part of a pack that, fittingly, had both King Kong and The Son of Kong) and rewatched it there that I truly began to appreciate what a marvelous movie it is. I've watched that same DVD a number of times over the years and now, I can safely say that I absolutely adore this flick. Along with the original King Kong, which it's just slightly under in my opinion, it has to be one of the absolute best of its kind. With likable characters, great stop-motion animation by the young Ray Harryhausen, an exciting music score, and a very brisk pace that makes its 93-minute running time fly by, it's as close to a perfect movie as you're likely to ever get.

While living with her father on his ranch in Africa, little Jill Young meets two natives carrying a basket containing a baby gorilla. Absolutely taken with the little creature, Jill trades various items, including her father's large flashlight, for the young ape, whom she names Joe. When her father comes home and finds what's happened, he's completely taken aback. Though he says they can't keep Joe, he does end up allowing her to keep him around, albeit with the warning that, some day, he'll grow into an enormous, powerful, and dangerous animal. Twelve years later, Max O'Hara, a New York promoter and entrepreneur, plans a trip to Africa to capture animals for a nightclub he's planning to open in Hollywood. Accompanying him is Gregg Johnson, an out of work rodeo rider who simply wanted to see Africa, and whose lassoing skills come in handy for capturing a number of large lions for the club. But, at the tail end of the six-month expedition, they get a major surprise when Joe, having now grown to an enormous height of twelve feet, wanders into their campsite and ends up releasing one of the caged lions. O'Hara, seeing a prime attraction for his club, orders for Joe to be captured, but the large ape easily escapes the men who try to lasso him and nearly throws O'Hara off a ridge, when Jill appears and talks him down. Angrily telling them to leave, Jill goes back to the ranch with Joe, but O'Hara is undeterred, now seeing her as the key to getting Joe to Hollywood. After he, Gregg, and their safari guide, Crawford, show up at the ranch and get a chance to explain themselves, O'Hara makes his plea with Jill, who now owns and operates it, as her father died recently. He promises her and Joe nothing but fame and fortune, and the impressionable young woman eagerly agrees to the deal. Sure enough, when O'Hara's nightclub opens, it and Joe are a big smash, and his and Jill's popularity grows over the ensuing weeks. However, both of them begin to get homesick, especially Joe, who has to be locked up in a cage when he's not performing. Following a particularly humiliating act during the seventeenth week, Jill and Gregg become determined to get Joe back to Africa, but when, thanks to three drunks who sneak backstage, he goes on an intoxicated rampage and wrecks the club, a judge decrees he's to be shot. However, Gregg and O'Hara have a plan to ensure Joe escapes to his home.

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Though not a King Kong movie in and of itself, Mighty Joe Young often gets lumped in with both the original 1933 classic and The Son of Kong because, like both of those films, it's a fantasy adventure about a giant ape courtesy of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Specifically, Cooper, who produced the movie along with legendary filmmaker John Ford, his filmmaking partner at this point, came up with the story, and Schoedsack's wife, Ruth Rose, turned it into a screenplay, identical to the way things went on King Kong. As he'd done on many of the films he made with Cooper, whom, by this point, he hadn't worked with since 1935's The Last Days of Pompeii, Schoedsack was the actual director of the film (it was also the first movie he'd directed period since 1940's Dr. Cyclops, a Technicolor science fiction film about a mad scientist who shrinks down a group of people in his jungle laboratory). However, he was virtually blind while doing so, as his eyes had been damaged during a high-altitude camera test during World War II, and as a result, Mighty Joe Young would prove to be his final film, save for when he and Rose worked with Cooper one last time on 1952's This is Cinerama.

Though she enjoys her life in Africa, living with her father on his ranch, little Jill Young (Lora Lee Michel) sometimes gets rather lonely, seeing as how her mother has died, her father is always busy during the day, and there's no one else around for her to play with. This is what spurs her to buy the baby gorilla she names Joe. At first, she thinks about getting her dad to buy the gorilla, but when she remembers he's down in the fields, Jill decides to do the trade herself, grabbing what little money she has, along with some bead necklaces, one of her toys, and her father's large flashlight (which she admits doesn't belong to her but figures her father might not mind). The flashlight is the clincher and Jill gets the little gorilla, whom she immediately names and hides in her father's bedroom when he comes home. Naturally, when he finds Joe hiding under the covers, he's taken aback, and while he doesn't get angry with her, he still doesn't know what to think of what she's done. Though he says she can't have a gorilla for a pet, she does end up keeping and raising Joe, confident they'll always be friends, despite her father's warnings that Joe will become a huge, dangerous animal when he grows up.

Twelve years later, when the story proper begins, Jill (Terry Moore) has grown from an adorable, precocious little girl into a lovely, headstrong, and fearless young woman. She rushes in to stop Joe when he threatens to throw Max O'Hara to his death, making him put him down, and stands up to Gregg Johnson, telling him and the others to go away and leave both her and Joe alone. When Gregg shows up at the ranch later on to tell her of O'Hara's business proposition, Jill, having calmed down, is more willing to listen, revealing to Gregg that her father died six months earlier and she now runs the place herself. She admits Joe is her only real friend and lets it slip that, as beautiful as the place, it can get a bit lonesome there. When a rather skittish O'Hara and Crawford show up, Jill insists she won't let Joe hurt them, but makes them leave their guns at the gate. Talking with the very energetic and persuasive O'Hara, Jill is immediately taken with the idea of experiencing the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, despite Gregg and Crawford's objections that O'Hara isn't giving her time to properly think it over. After she shows just how much sway she has over Joe, talking him down when he threatens to attack the men with a large rock, O'Hara very quickly persuades her to sign the contract, and with that, she and Joe make their debut at his nightclub, where she plays the piano while he lifts it and the platform it's standing on over his head. While they're fairly content and curious about what's going on for the first little bit of their time in Hollywood, as the weeks pass, the two of them start to miss Africa, with Jill learning the downside of fame, as she's constantly mobbed by fans and spectators. By the tenth week, she decides she's had enough, especially when she sees how utterly miserable Joe is from having to live in a big cage, and she and Gregg confront O'Hara about it. Jill tells him she's not ungrateful but, contract or not, neither she nor Joe can, "Live in a cage." O'Hara seems to acquiesce, but he talks her into not leaving right away, under the pretense that he has to find a new act to take her and Joe's place.

Cut to seven weeks later, and Jill and Joe are still performing at the nightclub, with the absolute last straw being a humiliating routine where Jill has to act as an organ grinder and Joe the monkey, which leads to them being mocked by the crowd. Jill becomes so angry at the audience's treatment of Joe that she yells at them to stop, and while she's later having dinner with Gregg, she becomes determined to leave once and for all. Gregg, in turn, promises to help her go through with it this time, and on top

of that, she expresses her personal feelings for him, saying she wants him to go back with her. Unfortunately, their happiness is spoiled when Joe goes on a drunken rampage through the club, causing a lot of damage, and she's able to calm him down and get him back in his cage, the court decides he must be euthanized. Needless to say, Jill is absolutely devastated, and when she goes back to Joe's cage in order to see him one last time, she breaks down crying when she tells him how she and Gregg were planning on

taking him back to Africa. But later, she learns of O'Hara's scheme to sneak Joe out and get him back home safely. Despite some hiccups in the plan, she and Gregg manage to elude the police for the most part, until they come upon a burning orphanage. Being the good Samaritans they are, they stop to help the caretakers evacuate the children, only to get trapped atop the burning building and escape only with Joe's help. Jill also has Joe go back to rescue a little girl who got left behind, an act of heroism that ensures his life will be spared. At the end of the movie, it's revealed Jill and Gregg are living happily together at the ranch in Africa, along with Joe.

Gregg Johnson (Ben Johnson) may not be that deep of a character but he's so likable, friendly, and affable that it doesn't matter in the long run. An out of work rodeo rider, he goes to Max O'Hara out of the hope that he'll take him with him to Africa, a place he's always wanted to visit. Initially, the distracted and frustrated O'Hara is unable to give Gregg the time of day, but his playing around with his lasso gets him an idea for good publicity and he decides to bring along Gregg, as well as some of his other cowboy friends, to lasso lions for him. However, they both get more than they bargained for when Joe wanders into their camp and Gregg and his friends try to lasso him. Gregg comes close to shooting Joe when he threatens to throw O'Hara over a ridge but Jill shows up and stops him, as well as makes Joe put O'Hara down. Seeing firsthand the control she has over Joe, O'Hara sends Gregg to Jill's ranch to break the ice formally. With his easygoing manner and rustic charm, Gregg easily manages to get on Jill's good side and he also admires the beauty of the area. Seeing how good of a life she has going for her there, Gregg can't help but advise Jill to think more carefully about O'Hara's offer, suggesting she may not like it in Hollywood, and also tells O'Hara to quit trying to rush her. When Joe shows up and threatens the men, Gregg stands his ground, preparing to use a chair as a shield, while O'Hara and Crawford run for it. He then, once again, sees how deftly Jill can make Joe do what she says, and by the time they've traveled to Hollywood, Gregg has managed to become friendly with him as well, to the point where he also listens to him. Because of this closeness with Joe, Gregg doesn't like having to keep him in a cage, and he easily understands Jill's growing sense of claustrophobia and homesickness. When Jill decides she wants to go back to Africa with Joe, Gregg aids her in confronting O'Hara about it, telling him his contract with Jill is no good, given that she's underage, but he's unable to prevent him from talking her into staying for a while longer, which ends up being another seven weeks. This time, when Jill becomes determined to go back to Africa, Gregg promises to keep O'Hara from talking her out of it, adding that he'll watch until her boat is out of sight. But then, he gets a surprise when Jill says she wants him to come back with her, and while he's initially taken aback by this, he can't deny he wouldn't mind doing so, leading to them kissing.

But then, they return to the nightclub to find that Joe has all but destroyed the place. Hearing the police coming and knowing they'll shoot Joe, Gregg and O'Hara do what they can to stall them while Jill gets Joe back in his cage. Despite this, a court order decrees Joe is to be shot, but Gregg and O'Hara hatch a plot to get him back to Africa through the services of a captain who promises not to set sail until 6:00 that morning. While O'Hara gives the policemen who come to shoot Joe the

runaround, Gregg and Jill drive a cargo van carrying the ape across the countryside, having to switch over to a covered truck at one point. Eventually, they come across the burning orphanage and stop to help the caretakers get the children out, only to become trapped at the top of the building themselves. Gregg really proves to be quite a hero here, lowering the children down to the ground with his rope, and with Joe's help, all of them manage to escape the flames. By the end of the movie, Gregg, Jill, and Joe have made it back to Africa and are living happily together on Jill's ranch.

Another obvious connection between this film and King Kong is the presence of Robert Armstrong, who basically recreates his famous role as Carl Denham here in Max O'Hara. Even though O'Hara is an entrepreneur and nightclub owner rather than a movie director, he has that same sort of bigger than life, showman type of personality. When you first see him in his New York office, he's talking fast, giving out orders to various employees about the construction of his Hollywood nightclub, asking about his steamship tickets to Africa, and arguing with his press agent, Windy, about his inability to get front page coverage for his trip, as well as his decision to go in the first place when there are plenty of animal acts around, looking for work. Although he's initially too frazzled and distracted to even read Gregg Johnson's letter of introduction after he walks into his office, Gregg does give him the idea to bring along cowboys to lasso lions. During his time in Africa, he sends back farfetched accounts of misadventures he gets into, including one about him how he escaped from a tribe of "pygmy cannibals." When it gets close to the date when he's to return to the United States, O'Hara wonders if he's overlooked anything that could bring even more sensation to his club, when Joe shows up. Though Crawford tries to shoot Joe, O'Hara stops him, telling Gregg and his boys to lasso him. During the ensuing action, O'Hara is busy dealing with an obstinate, ornery horse, and when he finally manages to mount him and ride off, he gets grabbed and pulled up onto a ledge by Joe, who threatens to throw him to his death. Fortunately for him, Jill shows up and talks Joe down, but despite this frightening experience, O'Hara becomes dead-set on using Jill as a means of getting Joe into his club. After Gregg breaks the ice for them, O'Hara talks with Jill about going to Hollywood to be a big star, promising her fame, fortune, nice clothes, and such. He presses her into signing a contract, and becomes irked when Gregg and Crawford try to talk him down from forcing her into making a rash decision. When he, again, sees how Jill is able to keep Joe in line, he pushes even harder, convincing her to sign the contract.

Come the opening night for his club, the Golden Safari, O'Hara is coy with both the press and the public, advertising a special guest, "Mr. Joseph Young of Africa," before introducing both Jill and Joe to the audience in a very elaborate manner, all while he's dressed in a typical safari outfit. As expected, Joe becomes a big success for O'Hara, so much so that he's oblivious to the growing restlessness and unhappiness in both him and Jill. When Jill comes to him and tells him she wants

out, he's taken aback, telling her he kept his promise to make her rich and famous, and when she says neither she nor Joe can live in a cage, he tells her to, "Talk sense." O'Hara does appear to relent, but he asks Jill not to walk out on him immediately, saying he's got to find a new act to take her and Joe's place, which leads to them staying on for another seven weeks. Moreover, he talks her into agreeing to this particularly disgraceful organ grinder act,

which leads to both her and Joe being mocked and mistreated by the audience. However, despite these last couple of callous moves, O'Hara still proves himself to be a decent guy. First, when these drunken assholes ruin a cigarette girl's products by pouring water on them, O'Hara assures her it's okay and tells them the price of the cigarettes is going to be on their check. Second, following Joe's rampage through the nightclub, O'Hara and Gregg work together to keep the police out until Jill gets Joe back in his cage. And, most significantly,

O'Hara, realizing it'll be his fault if Joe is killed, comes up with the plan to get him back to Africa. He does everything from faking a heart attack and leaving a phony map to lead them astray to switching vehicles and driving the van himself in order to create a diversion. Even when the police grab him, he does everything he can to stop them, from trying to mess up their shots while firing at Joe to refusing to help when their car gets stuck in the thick dirt on a back-road. Eventually, Joe's heroism at the orphanage ensures he'll be allowed to go home safely, which O'Hara tells Jill. Some time later, O'Hara is back in New York, putting together some new acts, when he receives a film from Gregg, Jill, and Joe, showing that they're living happily back in Africa, much to his relief.

Other notable characters in the film include Windy (Frank McHugh), O'Hara's often harried and aggravated press agent who argues with him about his plan to go to Africa, saying he can find all the animal acts and lions he wants in both New York and Hollywood. He's especially flabbergasted when O'Hara tells him of his plans to take Gregg Johnson and his cowboy friends over there in order to lasso lions, wondering if Africa is going to survive O'Hara. And when O'Hara returns with Joe,

Windy has the unenviable task of keeping the exact identity of "Mr. Joseph Young" a secret from the very anxious and rabid reporters. He's also not impressed with O'Hara's insisting he's creating a new "dignified, restrained, artistic" image for himself, mocking him for such a proclamation. But, despite his frustrations, Windy helps O'Hara in his plot to get Joe out of the country before he can be shot, and at the end of the movie, he shows him the film of Jill, Gregg, and Joe living happily on Jill's ranch. Also along for the ride during O'Hara's trip to Africa is Crawford (Denis Green), a British hunter who acts as his safari guide. While not as frustrated as Windy, he still realizes what an over-the-top and downright ridiculous character O'Hara is, commenting on how unusual his planned nightclub will be and the extravagance of the stories he's been sending back to the U.S. When O'Hara tells him of his being attacked by "pygmy cannibals," Crawford incredulously asks, "Did you really? Was that today?," and when O'Hara goes into even more ridiculous detail on it, he says, "Did I ever tell you about the mad elephant that seized me in his trunk and flung me one half mile? I went back afterwards and measured it." Crawford then hears Joe roaring before he actually appears and, recognizing the sound, runs to get a rifle, intending to shoot him. O'Hara, however, stops him, saying he wants Joe lassoed, ignoring Crawford's yelling, "You can't lasso a gorilla!" After their disastrous attempt to do so, Crawford joins Gregg and O'Hara in their trek to meet Jill formally at her ranch. There, he, like Gregg, makes it clear he feels O'Hara is pushing Jill into a rash decision, but he doesn't get to press his case long before Joe shows up again, sending him running. While Crawford is never seen again after that, you learn that he took the film of them at the end of the movie.

There's no real villain to be found here, just temporary antagonists, like the policemen hired to shoot Joe and, especially, Jones (Douglas Fowley), Smith (Paul Guilfoyle), and Brown (Nestor Paiva), the three drunken dickheads who cause all the trouble in the first place. They already prove themselves to be really obnoxious when, during the organ grinder act, Brown throws a bottle at Joe, hitting him in the head, and then, dumps water on a cigarette girl's wares when she resists his advances, but after O'Hara threatens to throw them out and tells them they'll be paying for those cigarettes, they decide to go backstage and have some fun with Joe. They each bring a bottle of whiskey with them and, after showing him how to do it, get Joe badly drunk. Though they find it funny at first, they get mad when he drinks all of their liquor and leave them nothing. When Joe motions that he wants more, Brown, continuing to prove himself to be the most loathsome of the trio, decides to get back at him by burning his hand with a lighter. This enrages Joe and he smashes out of his cage and goes on a destructive rampage in the nightclub. While Jones and Smith hightail it out of there early on, Brown gets caught up in the craziness and is nearly mauled to death by one of the lions that gets loose in the chaos. Fortunately for him, Joe comes to his rescue, but Brown shows no gratitude whatsoever, as he tells O'Hara, Gregg, and Jill while stumbling out, "That ape tried to kill me."

Merian C. Cooper was someone who really knew how to get the most out of every movie he made, having them look and sound better than most other movies of their time (I've always said that King Kong feels like it was made twenty years later than it really was), and Mighty Joe Young is no exception. First off, as you should've already gathered from the screenshots, the movie's black-and-white photography, courtesy of J. Roy Hunt, is positively gorgeous, especially when you watch it on Blu-Ray. The cinematography and lighting are

all about sheer spectacle and they work wonderfully to make the movie come off as a bigger-than-life fantasy, be it in the bright sunshine of Africa, under the spotlights of the Golden Safari nightclub, or even the somewhat more noir-like lighting of the sequence on the city streets when they're trying to escape. Speaking of the photography, you're in for a big surprise when you get to the climax with the burning orphanage, as it has a red-orange filter placed over it to give the fire

more of an impact. When I first saw the movie on Turner Classic Movies, my mind virtually got whiplash from that, as I was not expecting it whatsoever (I actually didn't like it initially, because it came off as jarring, but now, I've grown to appreciate it). Though this was the way the sequence was presented in 1949, I believe it was in standard black-and-white on the VHS releases, while the TCM airings marked the first time the filter had been seen since its original theatrical release, with all home media releases since then following suit.

Also like King Kong, the film was shot almost entirely at the RKO studio, and while you can tell that little of it was actually done on location, the use of beautiful matte paintings in conjunction with practical sets to give the scenes in Africa a much bigger scope and more depth easily make up for it. A lot of it hearkens back to the paintings used to create Kong's Island, in that it looks like what you'd imagine Africa to be after reading about it in storybooks: a lush, fanciful jungle, with lots of vines and waterfalls, far

removed from the much more arid terrain you typically do find in Africa. Set-wise, while the interiors of O'Hara's Manhattan office, the inside and outside of the Young ranch, and the streets and back-roads in and around Hollywood during the climax serve their purpose, the most notable one is the interior of the Golden Safari nightclub. The place is a true knockout, decorated to look like a jungle, with fake trees and vines dotting the place, containing orchestra sections meant to resemble tree-houses with the vines connecting them all; bars behind

which are thick, glassed sections housing the lions O'Hara caught on his safari (yeah, try getting away with that in real life, especially nowadays; that is a lawsuit just waiting to happen); an enormous, chandelier-like structure hanging over the tables; and a huge stage, the curtain of which is made to look like a big, wooden gate, while behind it is a big area where Joe is introduced and performs his routines on various sets. It's especially impressive when you realize it's created almost entirely through visual effects, as I'll get into later. Also, all throughout the place, you have waiters and performers dressed up in

native costumes, including one dancer who, I think in the context of the movie, anyway, is wearing a fake torso meant to look like those native women who wear a ridiculous number of big rings around their neck. But, as glamorous, as the ballroom looks, downstairs is more like a prison, as it's where Joe is kept in an enormous cage when he's not performing. It's a really ugly, featureless place that has an air of sheer unpleasantness about it, making it a small wonder why Joe becomes depressed while having to stay down there.

While the movie had an enormous budget for its special effects, it had to cut some corners to compensate for it and the way they did that was to use stock footage in certain moments. The most traditional form of stock footage used comes in the form of the establishing shots of New York, particularly the one of Times Square, which was taken in the mid-20's (if you look in the lower right-hand corner, you can see a marquee for Grass, one of the "natural dramas" Cooper and Schoedsack shot back then). A more unique

example comes in the form of some of the footage of the cowboys in Africa, which was originally shot for an unmade, initial version of The Valley of Gwangi, decades before Ray Harryhausen would ultimately make that movie himself. During that same sequence, stock footage of African wildlife is used as the backdrop for the stop-motion footage of Joe, though it results in some of the movie's least effective shots. And finally, it's very obvious that all of the material of Joe as a baby was shot separately from the actors, as they're never onscreen with him and that footage is of a lower quality, but it was actually shot for the movie by a unit Cooper sent to Africa. Plus, this is a very rare instance of any movie, of that time or otherwise, using footage of an actual gorilla, even if it was just a baby.

Besides being less than half his size, the major difference between Joe himself and King Kong is that Joe is much less monstrous. While there is definitely a pathos to be had with Kong in all of his incarnations, in the original 1933 film, he's still mainly portrayed as a savage beast who terrorizes the inhabitants of his island and ferociously kills anyone and anything that gets in his way; Joe, on the other hand, while still having a violent temper and being potentially dangerous, has a soft side due to his having been raised by Jill. He initially wanders into O'Hara's camp out of curiosity and only becomes angry when the lion inside the cage he inspects bites his fingers. After that, the cowboys chase after and attempt to rope him, making him angrier and angrier, culminating in the moment where he grabs O'Hara and threatens to throw him to his death. It's only through Jill's intervention that Joe instead lowers and drops O'Hara to the ground, and even then, he proves to be quite stubborn and has to be told several times before he complies. The same thing happens later on when he sees Jill talking with O'Hara, Gregg, and Crawford at the ranch. Enraged at the sight of them, he threatens to throw a big rock, with Jill, again, having to calm him down and order him to drop it. When Jill whistles Beautiful Dreamer, a melody Joe has liked since he was a baby, he becomes very docile and even playful, happily taking and eating a couple of bananas Jill tosses to him before walking away, as she orders him to. Despite this initial instance of hostility, Joe grows to genuinely like Gregg, to the point where he's said to listen to him just as well as he does Jill, and proves to be quite amicable when they bring him to Hollywood. When he's initially introduced at the Golden Safari, Joe is quite curious about his surroundings as he holds the platform housing Jill playing a piano over his head, and when he plays a game of tug of war with ten strong men, it's so not a challenge for him that he's more bemused and even bored than anything else. At one point, he even tries to hand Jill the rope, only to become angry when the two men left yank it when he's not ready. And after he defeats them, he plays with the last one left, dunking him in the water several times and letting him box him, only to pick him up and throw him into a table.

However, this initial bit of fun and games doesn't last, as Joe becomes more and more depressed the longer he stays in Hollywood, forced to live in a cage in the nightclub's lower area. By the tenth week, he's stopped eating and is obviously feeling claustrophobic, the sight of which so upsets Jill that she decides she wants to take him back to Africa. But, of course, O'Hara's fast-talking leads to them staying almost another two months, wherein they're forced to do the very embarrassing and humiliating organ grinder act where the audience

tosses big, plate-sized "coins" at Joe in the hopes he'll pick up one up so the corresponding table will win a prize. However, the audience cruelly decides to deliberately pelt Joe with the coins, until both he and Jill decide they've had enough. Joe is already fairly irate about this, but gets especially mad when he's beaned in the head with a bottle, putting a definite end to the performance. Later, when he's down in his cage, the three drunks find him. At first, he ignores them, but when they continue prodding

until they have his attention, they give him a bottle and, after they show him how to drink it, he guzzles it down. Liking it, he motions for more and drinks the rest of their booze, to the point where they go from being amused to becoming irritated that they don't have anything to drink. It comes to a head when Brown burns Joe's hand with a cigarette lighter out of revenge, enraging and prompting him to smash out of his cage and chase them up into the club. There, he goes on a drunken rampage while

chasing after Brown, tearing the place apart and letting loose the lions being kept in the place, which then attack, forcing him to defend himself. Eventually, Jill arrives on the scene with Gregg and manages to stop Joe's rampage and get him back down to his cage. Unfortunately, this rampage looks as if it's doomed Joe, as he's ordered to be shot, and just when it looked as if were finally going to get to go home. 

But then comes O'Hara's plan where they sneak Joe out of the club and into a large van before the policemen arrive to shoot him. The plan initially goes off without a hitch, until a vagrant tries to sneak a ride in the back of the van when they stop at a gas station and gets the shock of his life when he sees Joe. This gets the police on their trail, forcing them to quickly switch vehicles, moving Joe to a big, covered truck. Joe has more of a view on the action there, watching the police as they chase them, and also having to

help get the truck out of some thick dirt when they're forced to drive on a back-road. There's a funny moment after that where, as they drive away while the police car gets stuck in the dirt, Joe, who's been looking out the back of the truck, roaring and sneering at the police as they shoot at them, sits on the edge of the truck's back and spits. When they arrive at the burning orphanage and Gregg and Jill go in to help, only to get trapped on the top floor, Joe, seeing what's going on,

climbs a large tree next to the building, gets on the burning roof, smashes through the wall of the attic where they're trapped, and helps Jill, while Gregg saves two little kids. But then, they see there's a little straggler still on the roof and Jill sends Joe back up to save her. Joe proves himself to be quite heroic here, grabbing the little girl and trying to bring her down, when the tree itself catches fire and he has to climb back up. He dodges and shields the little girl from the flames until the tree

collapses to the ground, where he lets the girl go. But then, a section of the house's wall falls and Joe has to quickly run in, grab the girl, and shield her from getting crushed. Though Joe takes quite a beating from this, it ensures his life will be spared, and he's allowed to be sent back to Africa and live out the rest of his days with Jill and Gregg.

As with King Kong and The Son of Kong, the special effects for Mighty Joe Young were overseen by the legendary Willis O'Brien, whose main job on the film was to figure out how to solve the many technical challenges it presented. Most of the actual animation, however, was the work of a young Ray Harryhausen, who'd been a fan and friend of O'Brien's for some time and had done animation work on producer George Pal's series of Puppetoons shorts over in Europe. This would prove to be his first major film work and would

serve as a glimpse of the greatness he would achieve in the following years. Through his animation, Harryhausen really manages to give Joe a true personality and attitude, not just with his very expressive face but also through gestures such as his pounding the ground with his fist whenever he's angered, which Harryhausen took from a moment in King Kong. Also, while Joe was allowed to have some comedic moments, such as that instance where he spits while riding in the

back of the truck and his hiccuping while rampaging through the nightclub, Harryhausen made sure to still have him walk and act like a gorilla. In an interview with the Chiodo Brothers on the DVD, he specifically states that he wanted to avoid the overly comedic and silly moments from The Son of Kong, which he described as "hogwash." And speaking of King Kong, Joe's roars and growls are the exact same sound effects Murray Spivack created for Kong himself, right down to the "love grunts."

Joe is not the only part of the movie created through stop-motion, as there are numerous times where the actors and real animals he interacts with are replaced with puppets. This mainly happens in the big action sequences, such as the roping scene, Joe's battle with the lions during his rampage in the nightclub, and the climax at the burning orphanage, but there are also many moments where Jill is replaced with a stop-motion puppet during her interactions with Joe (a notable example is in some shots of Joe holding her and the grand piano above

his head during their debut performance at the club). Stop-motion vehicles are used in some shots during the chase scene, mainly for interactions with Joe and when the vehicles have to do something too expensive and risky for live-action, like their skirting along the back-roads in one part. A stop-motion version of the van is also used in the shot of it heading towards the miniature of the orphanage in its establishing shot. Speaking of that miniature, it's very well-detailed and believable as a building that's burning away, with some shots looking as if they could have easily been done in live-action.

Not only is the stop-motion great but so are the optical and matting effects used to put Joe into the live-action sets and among the actors, many of which are the same techniques they used on King Kong: rear and front-protection, matting of both miniature and full-scale elements, and hand-offs from real actors to stop-motion puppets and vice versa. The first time you see the full-grown Joe, when he wanders into the camp and messes around with a caged lion, is a prime example of the technical sophistication on display here, as you see

Joe on a miniature set, knocking about a cage wherein front-projection footage of an actual lion can be seen, all while a small stream flows naturally in the foreground. Moreover, after Joe has turned the cage over and smashed it open, you see a stop-motion version of the lion climb out and drop behind the cage, replaced by footage of the actual lion running away behind it. Just as impressive, if not more so, is the scene afterward where the cowboys try to lasso Joe. While the juxtaposition of the stop-motion animation with the

rear-projection footage of the real cowboys isn't 100% seamless, as there are some shots that look a bit wonky, it's still pretty amazing, especially in how Harryhausen and company sometimes add in quick shots of stop-motion cowboys and horses to make the frame feel more full. One moment where Joe grabs a rope thrown at him and pulls on it, causing the horse to rear up and the cowboy to fall to the ground, looks downright amazing, especially in the lead off from the rope in the actual footage to the miniature

rope being pulled by the model of Joe. (As good as it does look, Harryhausen would perfect this type of scene twenty years later in The Valley of Gwangi.) Just as impressive is a moment where he charges at a live action cowboy and horse and, when he tumbles, the horse falls over and runs, after which Joe grabs and holds a miniature version of the cowboy upside down.

The meshing together of Joe with the real actors, namely Terry Moore, especially in scenes at the nightclub and during the burning orphanage, is done so well that there are moments where you could easily forget that they're not reacting to or even looking at anything. Joe's rampage through the nightclub is especially cool to watch on a technical level, as there are zoom-ins and pans with the camera during moments when miniature footage is interacting with live-action stuff, which you didn't typically see in such cases back then. It

really gets good when Joe smashes open the lions' habitat and grabs one of them and throws it through the glass, before tearing off a section of the decor and throwing it at another part of the glass, breaking it in stop-motion while live-action lions are running behind it. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, the Golden Safari is a technical feat in and of itself, as it's really just a couple of sets that are enhanced with cool-looking matte paintings. As

great as this stuff is, it's no wonder it won an Oscar for its Visual Effects at the 1950 Academy Awards, with Merian C. Cooper himself personally giving the award to Willis O'Brien (it's a shame, then, that O'Brien's fortunes didn't improve afterward, and that the movie was a financial disappointment).

So, are there any negatives I have with the film? The only one I can really think of is that, from a storytelling standpoint, the burning orphanage really comes out of nowhere. It's still a spectacular, well put together, and downright exciting climax, but it's jarring for them to go from trying to get to the harbor as fast as they can to stopping to help the people at this orphanage. Granted, I'm glad they did, as it's what they should do, but I wish this climax was tied in more with the escape, as in the 1998 remake. And, while we're on the subject, I do

wish that, like with the boy on the Ferris wheel in the remake, Joe had taken the initiative to save the little girl trapped on the burning building himself. He still comes off as heroic in the end, as he risks life and limb to save the girl and very nearly gets killed in the process, but I think it would have been more of a cheer moment if he'd started climbing the tree again without having to be told to do so by Jill. But, aside from that, this movie is well-made, taut, and entertaining from beginning to end that I wouldn't want to change anything else.

When the movie opens, we're introduced to little Jill Young, who sees two African natives walking by the gate to her father's ranch, carrying a wicker basket. Speaking to them in Swahili, she makes them stop so she can look inside the basket. Smiling at what's inside, she asks them if they would sell it, and when they don't respond, she asks in Swahili, but still gets no response. They nearly walk off, but she stops them, saying she'll get her father to buy it. Seeming to understand her gestures, they set

the basket down on the ground, as she runs back through the gate. She runs into one of the servants and asks where her father is, only to remember he's down in the fields and figures she'll have to buy what's in the basket herself. Running into his bedroom, she grabs what little money she can, along with some trinkets like beaded necklaces and some of her toys, and gathers them together in a white blanket. Rushing back out, she spies her father's large flashlight hanging on the wall and says,

"Doesn't belong to me. Oh, well. Maybe father won't mind," before taking it down from the wall and placing it in with everything else. Heading back outside where the two men are waiting, she, again, speaks to them in Swahili, but when they still don't understand, she decides she can make them get the picture. Motioning with her hands, she says, "I have fine things. You trade with me for that," pointing at the basket, which rattles slightly. Understanding, they decide to see what she has, but they're not impressed by her smattering of coins

and the beads. And when she gives one of the men her toy and has him open it, he's not amused when a little doll pops up at him with a loud squeak. This almost prompts them to walk off, but when she shows them the flashlight, they're taken with it and decide to make the trade. Jill is ecstatic, but also realizes she's doing something very naughty, since it doesn't belong to her. Regardless, she gives them the flashlight, and happily opens up the basket, when she hears her father calling to her from nearby. She quickly asks the men to leave, as the

little animal inside the basket, a baby gorilla, climbs out. Turning and looking at him, Jill is immediately smitten, saying he's better than a dog. Coming up with the name Joe, she again hears her father call for her and scoops up the gorilla, carrying him inside. As her father makes his way out of the jungle, Jill runs into his bedroom and puts Joe under the covers, excited about the surprise she's about to give him.

Mr. Young finds the discarded basket in front of the gate and Jill's doll lying just behind it. Calling for her, he picks the stuff up and heads inside where, when he goes to hang up his canteen, he sees his flashlight isn't hanging on the wall like it should be; at the same time, Jill finishes hiding Joe in the bed and hides behind some curtains in a corner of the room. He walks into the bedroom and notices something rustling underneath the covers, Drawing his firearm, he creeps towards the bed,

yanks back the cover and sheets, and is startled to see Joe lying there. Re-holstering his gun, he calls for Jill, who comes out from behind the curtains, giggling, and asks him if he's surprised. He's doubly stunned to learn she's named the gorilla, and when she tells him where she got him, he's at a loss for words, especially when she admits she used his big flashlight as part of the trade. To that, she says, "That makes him partly yours too, doesn't it?" He, in turn, says, "I have worries enough trying to run

this farm. I'm sorry, but you can't keep him. I will not raise a gorilla." But then, in a dissolve, Joe is seen drinking some milk from a bottle, when Jill winds up a piano-shaped music box, which plays Beautiful Dreamer, a song she says is his favorite. When the subject of Joe's growing up is mentioned, Mr. Young tells Jill that he understands how she's lonely sometimes, before adding, "Baby, please try to realize that the time will come when we can't keep Joe any longer... When he grows up, he'll be dangerous. I know it seems impossible to you now,

but that helpless little baby will be ten times stronger than any man in the world. He'll weigh seven-eight hundred pounds. He'll be a huge, fierce, dangerous gorilla." Jill, however, has paid little attention to what her father has been saying and shushes him, as Joe has fallen asleep.

After a fast-forwarding of twelve years, wherein the characters of Gregg Johnson and Max O'Hara are introduced, the next major scene happens at the tail end of their expedition to Africa, which has lasted six months. Having managed to capture some large lions, they plan to return home soon. O'Hara and his guide, Crawford, are talking inside a tent, having some tea, and Gregg joins them. Having just said he's reaching a point where nothing will surprise him, Crawford is distracted

when he hears an animal roar outside. Initially, he shirks it off, thinking he just imagined it, but when he hears it again, he's shocked, as he knows what type of animal he's hearing, even though they're nowhere near that kind of habitat. He runs out of the tent, yelling for one of the native servants, Ali, to bring him his gun. Outside, the other workers run off in a panic and the horses start bucking and neighing crazily. O'Hara and Gregg rush outside as well, where they're swamped by the panicking

natives. As they run to see what's got them so spooked, Crawford runs into trouble when Ali runs off in fear with his rifle, forcing him to grab another one from his tent. Gregg and O'Hara finally see what's going on: Joe, in all his twelve-foot glory, is standing next to one of the lion cages, roaring and beating his chest. He becomes curious at the cage, walking up behind it and tapping his hand on its roof, angering the lion inside. He even beats on the roof with his fists, before coming

around and looking in the cage at the lion. The lion lunges at him, causing him to jump back and then pound the ground in anger. Undeterred, he reaches over from behind the cage and grabs the rim of the roof, only for the lion to bite his fingers. He yelps at this and then takes a challenging stance, while Gregg and O'Hara rush to fetch the cowboys. Joe pounds the ground again and then pushes the back of the cage again and again until it topples over onto the ground. O'Hara stops Crawford from shooting Joe, telling the cowboys to rope him

instead, while Joe smashes and tears apart the wood backing of the cage. The lion climbs out and runs off, with Joe chasing after him, climbing over the cage and falling to the ground, before grabbing and lobbing a rock at him. As the cowboys saddle up and chase after Joe, O'Hara gets into a struggle with Crawford, who tries to rest his rifle from his hands, as well as yells at the cowboys that it's impossible to rope a gorilla. O'Hara ends up getting left behind, as he can't find his own horse, and when he tries to saddle up a horse tied to a tree, he proves to be anything but cooperative, running from and bucking at O'Hara at every opportunity.

While Joe walks past some elephants in a marsh (that's one of the visual effects shots I mentioned earlier that doesn't hold up at all), the cowboys are hot on his trail, save for O'Hara, who's still having trouble with his own horse, whom he managed to saddle, only for him to buck it off. Walking near a clearing full of zebras, Joe spots the cowboys as they assemble nearby and gallop after him; meanwhile, O'Hara finally manages to mount his horse, although he rides off in an unruly manner.

The cowboys catch up to Joe by a large, rocky cliff and circle him. One of them gets too close and Joe knocks him off his horse, picks him up, and throws him, flinging him into a tree, which he then roughly rolls out of. Two other cowboys ride up to Joe and manage to lasso his head, followed by another one, which he partially catches in his mouth. Joe easily breaks that one with his teeth, then uses it to pull one of the cowboys off his horse before snapping another's rope. One still has him roped from

behind, and another comes in to assist, but Joe causes his horse to rear up and buck him off. He then loops the lasso from around his head and pulls the rope until it snaps, sending that cowboy in retreat. Another cowboy comes at him from the front but he catches his rope when he throws at him and pulls both him and his horse to the ground. The horse quickly runs for it and so does the cowboy when Joe lunges for him. Joe then chases after a cowboy who rides past him and grabs him, pulling

both him and the horse over, but also causing Joe himself to tumble. The cowboy tries to crawl away but Joe gets to his feet, grabs him by one of his legs, and holds him upside down. He puts him down to swipe at a couple of horses, one with a rider and another without, that run past him, pounding the ground when he misses. Other cowboys ride by and lasso him, but he breaks one rope and yanks two more off their horses. One cowboy dismounts and rips off a section of tree branch, while another lassos Joe's head from

behind, just as he picks up one of the riders who got thrown. As he struggles to free himself, swiping as the cowboy who's lassoed him rides by, the one on the ground strikes him from behind with the branch. Joe manages to pull the lasso off him and then turns around to face the man clubbing him. He drops his club and runs for cover behind a large rock. Joe rushes and tries to attack the man as he hides, but instead chases after some others who ride past him.

He manages to reach and pull one directly off his horse as he rides by. As Gregg arrives on the scene, Joe picks up a large rock and tosses it at the cowboy, who's cornered up against the side of the large, stone cliff. It hits the cliff right above him, and as he struggles to get up and to his feet, Joe throws another rock, this one hitting the ground right in front of him. The cowboy runs off, and as O'Hara finally heads for the scene of the action, unable to control his horse, Joe climbs up to the

ridge up above. He pounds his chest and roars, when he sees O'Hara coming. He crouches down and waits, and when O'Hara rides by, Joe grabs him and lifts him up off his horse, causing him to yell in terror. He hoists him up, as O'Hara yells for help. The now grown Jill Young makes her first appearance when she enters the scene and sees what's happening. Joe holds O'Hara up over his head, threatening to throw him over the ridge, when Gregg rides and dismounts underneath him.

Grabbing his rifle, he's about to shoot, when Jill runs up and tells him not to. She yells at Joe, telling him not to hurt O'Hara and ordering him to drop him back down. Joe does what she says, lowering O'Hara down the side of the cliff and dropping him to the ground. With the crisis over, Jill confronts Gregg, insisting that Joe would never hurt anyone if they'd treated him right, and says that anything within five miles of her ranch is her property. Angrily exclaiming, "You keep off it, you big bullies!", she then walks up onto a small

outcropping below Joe. She yells for him to lift her up and, after some prompting, he reaches down, takes her hands, and lifts her up onto his ridge. He snarls and growls at the men down below, as well as gestures in a threatening manner, but Jill tells him to forget about them and he follow her back to the ranch. By this point, O'Hara has recovered his senses and is shocked that he saw both a large gorilla and a lovely young woman. Getting to his feet, he frantically tells Gregg to find out where she lives, as he wants to talk to her.

Some time later, Gregg does find Jill's ranch and, after getting some resistance from one of the servants at the gate, manages to talk with Jill and explain himself, as well as tell her that O'Hara wants to talk with her. After some casual small talk between Gregg and Jill, O'Hara and Crawford, who are hiding behind a nearby tree, are allowed to come out. O'Hara, looking around nervously for any sign of Joe, formally introduces himself and Crawford to Jill, saying he has plans to discuss

with her. Jill allows them in, but makes them leave their guns at the gate, which they do, although O'Hara does it very reluctantly. Later, O'Hara tells Jill of his plans for her and Joe over lunch, and excitedly tries to get her to sign a contract, but both Gregg and Crawford criticize him for rushing her into such a big decision. O'Hara becomes irate over this and goes on a rant, accusing them of calling him a crook. He's so worked up that he doesn't see Joe roam over to the fence. Crawford, however,

does, and tries to warn O'Hara, as Joe is clearly not happy about their being there, especially with O'Hara yelling. Realizing he can't get O'Hara to pay attention, Crawford runs off in a panic, just as Joe storms over to the gate and lets out a loud roar. O'Hara runs off immediately, while Gregg jumps up and prepares to use his chair as a shield. Joe picks up a large rock and threatens to throw it, but Jill yells at him to drop it, telling him to relax. Joe does gradually calm down and puts the rock on the ground, though he still doesn't like the men being

there. Jill looks at Gregg, who admits he's scared of Joe too but doesn't want him to know it, and she suggests he can become friendly with him. As O'Hara watches from nearby, Jill calms the still agitated Joe completely by whistling Beautiful Dreamer. Hearing that, he gets back down on all fours and grunts more calmly. She picks up a banana from the table and tells him he'll have to be good if he wants it. He reaches for it and she tosses it to him. He catches it in his big hand and eats it. He does the same with another she

tosses to him and, minding what she says, walks off. Having seen this, O'Hara now knows for sure that he needs to sign Jill up. He rushes over to her and pushes her into signing the contract, exclaiming, "You don't wanna waste your life out in the woods like this! Let me show you what the real world is like!"

The film transitions to the exterior of O'Hara's nightclub, the Golden Safari, with a marquee stating that it stars "Mr. Joseph Young of Africa." We're given plenty of time to soak in how amazing this place looks, with even the area up front where guests check their reservations being decked out like a jungle. The main ballroom is shown in a long camera pan, with dancers dressed up in stereotypical native guard jumping around and pounding on drums up on the stage, more

dancers/drummers revealing themselves to be camouflaged as fake plants along the edge of the stage before dancing amid the patrons, and someone dressed up with a fake torso of a woman with a number of large rings around her neck dancing backwards into the center of the place as well. Several customers walk up to the bar, behind which is an environment with real lions sealed off with some thick safety glass, which the bartender assures the customers is enough to keep them from

getting loose. (At one point in this scene, you see a woman who tells her spouse, "Lions are just darling! I simply love them!"; that woman is Irene Ryan, who would go on to play Granny in The Beverly Hillbillies.) Another patron jokes that the lions may need a drink and drunkenly offers to give them one. The bartender is then asked by some bigwigs who Mr. Joseph Young is but he says he has no idea. Meanwhile, in his office, O'Hara is being asked the same question by members of the press, but he tells them to go out front in the audience and

see for themselves. After Windy shows the men out, he tells O'Hara he's tired of keeping the secret, saying they didn't use to do things this way. O'Hara, who's dressed in a typical safari uniform, says, "Windy, you are looking at the new Max O'Hara: dignified, restrained, artistic," before putting his hat on and sneering, "Classy! Go on out front and you might learn something." Windy isn't impressed and mocks O'Hara before leaving the office. Gregg then comes in to tell O'Hara that Joe is all set.

Down in the main ballroom, a fanfare sounds, the lights go down, and a member of the band up in one of the treehouse-like structures introduces O'Hara, who walks out onto the stage in the center of a large spotlight. He removes his hat and takes a bow as the audience applauds. He then tells them, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Golden Safari. I know you have all read of my exciting adventures in darkest Africa, but I have never given out the story of the most wonderful

experience of all. That was the moment when I first met, face to face, the gentleman I am about to introduce you to. But first, you must meet his lifelong friend." The large gate-like curtain behind him rises to reveal Jill, wearing a lovely dress and standing beside a grand piano. O'Hara walks over to her, takes her right hand, and tells the audience, "It is my privilege to introduce this charming, young lady." The audience applauds and she curtsies towards them. "It is she alone who can

completely control the amazing power of the personage whose name appears in lights outside." Jill takes her seat at the piano, as O'Hara tells the audience, "This tune is an especial favorite of Mr. Joseph Young." She begins playing Beautiful Dreamer, as the audience murmurs among themselves, not sure what to make of what they're seeing, while Jill looks a little self-conscious. Windy, who's sitting at a table with some of the reporters, has to ensure them O'Hara hasn't completely flipped his lid. O'Hara then proclaims, "Ladies and

gentlemen, Mr. Joseph Young of Africa!", and walks off the stage. The orchestra starts playing Beautiful Dreamer as well, when the piano and the platform it's sitting on appears to float up in the air. A spotlight then illuminates Joe, who's holding it all up from below, and the audience reacts immediately, exclaiming in amazement, with some people almost ready to get up and leave at the sight of the large gorilla. But, as the performance goes on and the song continues, everyone calms down and starts to get into it, as Joe is slowly rotated on

the stage while still holding up Jill and the piano, looking around and grunting curiously. When the song concludes, the audience applauds very enthusiastically and Jill stands up and curtsies to them again, as Joe keeps looking at them and everything else around him, before the curtain goes down.

Later, the curtain rises up again to show two fake ridges, with a pool of water in between them and a group of ten men standing on the one to the left. O'Hara tells the audience he's combed the country to find them, proceeding to introduce each one of them, and when he does, each man shows just how strong he is: Sammy Stein, who snaps a chain in half; Killer Karl Davis, who bends a crowbar; Rasputin, the Mad Russian, who breaks a pair of handcuffs he's locked in; Bomber Kulky,

who lifts an enormous dumbbell over his head with one hand; Slammin' Sammy Menacker, who rips a thick book apart; Max the Iron Man, who bends a steel spike; Wee Willie Davis, who bends a metal bar on the back of his neck; Man Mountain Dean, who bends around a horseshoe; the Swedish Angel, who cracks a big chunk of wood over his head; and Primo Carnera, who flexes his muscles, popping off iron bands on either of his arms. Their demonstrations done, the audience applauds and

O'Hara talks them up as prime examples of manliness, asking, "Is there one creature in all the world powerful enough to overcome that combination? That is the question to which we seek an answer. That is the test we are about to make." As he talks, Jill leads Joe out onto the ridge behind him, and he, in turn, looks down at O'Hara and playfully swipes at and then rubs the top of his head. O'Hara grows uncomfortable and runs off when lets out a loud groan, while the audience laughs. Jill then gives Joe the rope and he takes it,

although he's not sure exactly what he's supposed to do. The strongmen pick up their half of the rope, with Primo Carnera placing a loop at the end around himself, and start pulling. While they pull with all their might, Joe just looks down at the rope sliding through his hands in bemusement, as Jill implores him to pull. He starts pulling and, with little effort, drags the strongmen towards the edge of the ridge, where they tumble into the water one by one. At one point, Joe looks at Jill in confusion, but goes back to pulling when she implores him, dragging more of the men into the water. One of them tries to escape his fate by climbing along the rope, but when Joe pulls harder, he does fall, along with three more men. 

By this point, only Carnera and the Swedish Angel are left, and Joe drops the rope, seemingly out of boredom. Jill tells him to pick it up and he does, only to try to hand it to her. But then, the two men left suddenly yank the rope, twisting him around harshly. Now mad, Joe pounds the ground and, seeing them laughing and pointing at him, makes more of an effort and pulls, easily dragging them both into the water. As the audience laughs and cheers, Joe decides to have

some fun with Carnera, grabbing and pulling him up by the rope, before dunking him back down in the water. He does it a couple of times before hoisting him up onto the ridge. Despite this, Carnera actually tries to box Joe, but Joe acts playful towards him, brushing off his punches and swiping him on the side of the chin. He then grabs Carnera, lifts him up over his head, and throws him into the audience, where he crashes right through a table where four people are sitting. While everyone

laughs and cheers, Joe swipes in the air at Carnera, who limps away, as a replacement table is brought in, and the curtain comes down to applause. After the show, Gregg leads Joe to his cage and he walks in without any trouble, although he obviously doesn't like it. Closing the door and locking it, Gregg, seeing how unhappy Joe is about it, tells him, "I don't like it any more than you do, but I reckon that's the way it's gonna be." Following that, O'Hara catches Gregg and Jill as they prepare to head out. O'Hara tells Jill he's

made her famous, as he said he would, and when she asks, "How long do you think you'll want us?", he obliviously answers, "Don't you worry about that. Your contract's good. You and Joe will be working for me from now on." He then walks off and when she and Gregg head out, she notes how it sounds like they'll be there a long time, which Gregg concurs with.

Ten weeks later, and Joe is as popular an attraction in Hollywood as ever. Jill, by extension, is also popular, to the point where she's mobbed by fans while walking along the sidewalk, as they either ask for autographs, want to know about Joe, or even ask for free passes to the show. Meanwhile, Gregg sees firsthand just how depressed Joe himself is, as he pushes a bowl of food meant for him off the table in his cage. Gregg comments, "Lost your appetite, haven't you? Guess I have

too." Joe gets up and looks out the barred window behind him, watching a trash-man fill up some garbage cans, before turning around and giving an expression that clearly says the walls are closing in on him. Gregg can only comment, "Poor old Joe. I don't blame you." Jill then arrives and immediately asks about Joe. When Gregg tells her he's refusing to eat, she laments, "I was so stupid. I never realized he'd have to live in a cage... My poor Joe. He's so unhappy. That sign outside, I

know just how he feels. Ten weeks? It seems like ten years." She breaks down crying and Gregg comforts her by taking her to talk with O'Hara, saying, "We've had enough of this." Joe, who's still feeling down inside the cage, watches them walk away. Upstairs in his office, Jill flat-out tells O'Hara that she and Joe are going back to Africa, and when O'Hara brings up the contract she signed, Gregg tells him it's no good, as she's underage. O'Hara tells her, "Look, honey, you can't do this to me. You're throwing away good money. You're

breaking my heart. I'm a square guy. I told you I'd make you a star, that you'd have beautiful clothes. Well, look at you. You're famous. You're all dressed up. I kept my promise, didn't I?" Jill tries to make her case, saying she doesn't find all this glitz and glamour to be as great as he does, but he doesn't see what she's talking about. Jill then tells him, "We're not going to kill Joe!", and O'Hara appears to get the message. But, he asks her to wait until he finds another act to take her and Joe's place, and when she agrees, he takes her out to lunch to show there's no "hard feelings." He goes on about how everything will turn out fine and that he'd be the last person to try to keep her around against her will.

Cut to seven weeks later and she and Joe are still performing at the club. This is the scene where they're forced to do the organ grinder routine, with the curtain rising to reveal them on the stage with a backdrop of a small village behind them. Jill is dressed up in an unflattering costume, turning the lever on the organ, while Joe has a silly little hat on his head and a cup in his hand. The waiters are bring large, plate-sized plastic coins to the various tables, with one explaining it's, "Big money for the big monkey." As the music dies

down, the leader of the band up in one of the treehouses tells the audience to start throwing their money when it starts up again, explaining that if Joe picks up a specific table's lucky number, it means free champagne. The music starts playing the typical organ grinder music but, as everyone tosses their fake money at Joe, who does what he's meant to, holding the large cup out in his hand, he's visibly recoiling, as the cruel patrons are trying to hit him with the fake money. He endures it for a little bit before putting the cup down on the floor,

with Jill telling him to take off his hat. Joe slams the hat onto the floor, as the onslaught of plastic discs continues and as Gregg watches shamefully from backstage. Although he continues to tolerate it without getting mad, that changes when one of the drunks at one table in particular throws a bottle at him, which gets him right in the head. He starts roaring angrily at the laughing and jeering crowd, and Jill herself gets fed up, pushing over the organ and yelling at everyone to stop. When Joe punches

the floor, Gregg can tell he's about to get out of hand and tells the person behind him to lower the curtain. As the audience goes on laughing as the regular music comes back on, the three drunks, Jones, Smith, and Brown, argue about who got the lucky number, noting that Joe never picked it up, with Jones adding that O'Hara stopped it so he wouldn't have to give away any champagne. Brown then harasses a cigarette girl who walks by their table, and when she resists his advances, he cruelly

pours some water onto the cigarettes in her box. She frets about having to pay for them, but O'Hara, who saw the whole thing, tells her it's okay and then warns the men, "Listen, you guys. Cut out the rough stuff or I'll throw you to the lions. The kid's cigarettes will be on your check. Enjoy yourselves, 'gentlemen.'" When he walks away, the drunks initially decide to leave the place, but Smith comes up with the idea of "buying a drink for the big monkey." The three of them each take a bottle and sneak off to find Joe.

Elsewhere, Jill and Gregg are at a Chinese restaurant, although Jill has no appetite over what she and Joe were put through. At the moment, the drunks find Joe locked up in his cage, looking as depressed as ever. They get his attention, with Brown offering him a bottle of whiskey, saying it's good stuff that will make him feel better. He takes a swig of it as Joe watches and then offers it to him. At first, Joe doesn't go for it, but when Brown keeps prodding, he takes the bottle and sits down with it. The men are amused when they see Joe

doesn't know what he's supposed to do and Jones shows him how to chug it again. This time, Joe catches on and drinks the whole bottle down, much to their amusement. He drops the bottle, which breaks on the floor, and motions for more. He's given another and they continue to laugh as he eagerly downs that one as well. When he dizzily rises up, having to grab the bars to balance himself, they remark on the hangover he's going to have. Back at the restaurant, Jill has decided to take Joe home again and Gregg promises to make

sure O'Hara doesn't talk her out of it this time. Moreover, Jill tells Gregg she would prefer it if he went back with them, much to his surprise. Quietly exclaiming, "Great day in the morning," he takes her and kisses her, when the waiter brings the check but quickly leaves when he sees he's interrupted an intimate moment. By this point, Joe is thoroughly drunk, and the men's amusement has turned to aggravation over his having downed all their liquor. Again, he staggers to his feet, letting

out a loud hiccup, and, to their shock, motions for more. Brown, who's trying to light a cigarette, uses the lighter to burn Joe's hand. He immediately recoils and yells in pain, which quickly turns to anger, as he grabs and pulls on the bars before beating on them, sending the men running in a panic. Joe rips through the bars and throws a big, bent and crushed section of it at them. One of them gets caught underneath the bars but he scrambles out from under them and joins his friends in

escaping up the stairs. They run out into the ballroom, which is now full of dancing patrons who laugh at them as they trip and fall over each in a panic, trying to escape. While Brown is so drunk and frazzled that he starts climbing up one of the rope ladders leading to a treehouse, the other two bolt for the door.

The audience's laughing stops when Joe bursts through the entrance the men just came through, with one woman screaming and falling backwards in her chair (her scream is a recycled one of Fay Wray from King Kong). The patrons start running everywhere in a panic, while Joe looks up and sees Brown climbing the rope ladder. He climbs up after him, as the band evacuates the treehouse at the top. Reaching the spot just under the house, Joe grabs the rope bridge they're running across and swings and rips it off, sending them plummeting to the floor and

stage. He then climbs up into the treehouse, smashes through its straw ceiling, and tosses pieces of it to the ground, with several big sections landing in front of an exit. He also knocks a cello out of the house, hitting one person down below and knocking him to the ground, before tossing the piano down as well. Joe grabs a vine and swings over the evacuating audience, hitting one guy from behind and causing him to do a flip, before crashing atop a straw roof above a walkway where people are running. Hiccuping, he then starts

pounding and tearing at the roof, throwing big chunks of it amid the evacuees. He grabs the vine again, while O'Hara is shown to be caught up in the madness, futilely telling the people not to panic. Joe swings over to a roof atop the bar across from him, only to fall through the straw and smash down onto the bar and bottles. Tossing away the debris, he punches through the glass containing the lions and, when one lion snarls and swipes at him, he grabs him, slams him onto the bar, beats him, and then

tosses him, smashing him through another section of the glass. As the lions start spilling out of the glass and into the club, Joe rips a big chunk of wood out of the straw roof and throws it, smashing more of the lion habitat. Joe roars and lunges at the lions, with many of them chasing after the guests, who manage to make it to safety through a door and slam it behind them. Joe brings the roof down on top of the lions, pounds on the rubble, drags one out from under it, lifts him and slams him down on the floor, beats him, and throws him across the room, where he lands right on his neck (I hope to God that was a stuffed animal, because that hit is brutal).

Brown is shown crawling among the debris and tries to sneak away, but a lion jumps on and starts mauling him. Seeing this, Joe rushes over, grabs the lion off Brown, forces him to the floor and punches him, and finally flings him across the dance floor, where he skids among the tables and chairs. Before he knows what hit him, two lions jump on Joe's back from above, sending him tumbling across the floor, where he manages to overpower and beat on them. Another lion jumps on his back as well and he frantically reaches around and grabs at him,

before throwing him across the room and right through a table (that was clearly a real lion they dropped, which is why I made that statement earlier). Backing up against the bar, Joe looks up at the large chandelier above the floor and glances at the large fake tree next to him. He hits it with his shoulder, then pushes and pushes until it topples. Instead of hitting the chandelier, it gets snagged in the vines hanging from the ceiling and brings the entire roof in, forcing Joe to shield himself from the debris. One of the other fake trees

falls as well, and Joe is pinned to the ground by the debris. By this point, Gregg and Jill return to the club, where O'Hara tells them of Joe's rampage. Jill asks O'Hara to help her get in and the three of them push through the crowd and into the club. Inside, they meet Brown, who tells them, "That ape tried to kill me," before staggering out. Hearing the sound of police sirens and realizing they'll shoot Joe, Jill tells Gregg and O'Hara to stall them while she finds and calms Joe. While the men close the

doors, Jill reaches Joe, who's still smashing things up, and tells him to stop. When he does, she gets him to follow her, although he has trouble doing so, as he's still quite drunk. The police arrive outside and rush to the door, their rifles ready, while Gregg and O'Hara chop down one of the still standing fake trees, using it to block the entrance. However, this does nothing, as they smash through the glass, climb through, and ignore O'Hara's trying to stop them. Down below, Jill manages to get Joe back in his cage, when the sound of gunshots can be heard upstairs. Gregg rushes down and tells her they're shooting the lions, horrifying her, as she realizes they could easily come after Joe next.

In court, it's decided that Joe is too dangerous to be allowed to live and the judge breaks the news to Jill that he's to be shot, causing her to break down in tears. Later, at the closed down nightclub, Jill goes to see Joe, who's now caged behind some enormous, reinforced bars. She tells him there was nothing she could do and, reaching through the bars and stroking his hair, talks about how she and Gregg were going to take him back home to Africa, saying, "It was nice back there, wasn't it? Nobody hated us. Nobody wanted to... ki..." She

starts crying, unable to finish the last sentence, and the guard down there sends her upstairs, saying she doesn't want to be there when the policemen come to shoot Joe. Elsewhere, Schultz, the officer with the court order to do so, piles into a police car with some other cops and drive off to carry out their order (incidentally, Schultz is played by James Flavin, who appeared in King Kong as Briggs, the first mate of the Venture). In O'Hara's office, Windy assures Jill that O'Hara has a plan, and no sooner has he told her than O'Hara and

Gregg come through the door. They tell Jill they have a scheme to get Joe back to Africa, with O'Hara adding he knows it'll be his fault if Joe is killed and, "I'll get you back home if I have to go to jail for it." Gregg says that they've paid off a freighter captain to wait until 6:00 that morning to set sail. O'Hara then says he also has a plan to deal with the guard downstairs and that it's going to take split-second timing. Later, O'Hara goes downstairs, telling the guard he's come by to have one last

look at Joe. He walks up to the cage and tells Joe, "I got a lot of money tied up in you. Goodbye, Joe. I should've left you in Africa where you belong." He then turns around and heads back to the stairs, when he suddenly seizes up and moans. As the guard catches him, he tells him it's his heart and has him lead upstairs to office, where he says his medicine is. Once they've gone, Jill sneaks downstairs and starts to unlock Joe's cage, while outside, as Windy waits in his car, the

policemen arrive to shoot Joe. Up in O'Hara's office, he attempts to stall them under the pretense that he hasn't read the court order, but Schultz insists there's nothing wrong with it and that he's in a hurry. They leave to head down to the cage, with O'Hara staying behind, saying his heart can't take the strain. When they head out the door in the back of the office, O'Hara stands up and goes out the main door, intentionally dropping a piece of paper on the floor in front of it.

By this point, Jill has unlocked the cage and leads Joe out of it, while outside in the loading dock, Gregg backs a large moving van into place. When the policemen reach the cage, they're shocked to find it empty and the door leading outside locked. There, Jill and Gregg have Joe climb into the van, which one of the officers sees when he looks out the window in the cage. Gregg quickly closes the van's doors and he and Jill drive off with Joe, while the policemen rush back up to the office to put a bulletin out on the van. Out on the street,

O'Hara tells an officer left by the car that Schultz wants to see him up in his office, and when he goes through the side door, O'Hara locks it from the outside. At the same time, Windy opens the police car's hood and sabotages the engine, before he and O'Hara pile into their own car and drive off. In the office, Schultz finds O'Hara gone and, when he tries the phone, he can't get through to the operator. One of his men finds the piece of paper O'Hara dropped, a map that seems to indicate they're escaping to Las Vegas with Joe, and when

the other officer comes in, Schultz realizes the phone isn't working because the line's been cut. Figuring O'Hara tricked them, Schultz angrily throws the phone to the ground and they rush downstairs to their car. After busting through the locked door, they pile into their car, only to find it won't start. Schultz gets out and opens the hood to see the engine's been tampered with. He tells his men to find a phone and send out a general alarm. Elsewhere, O'Hara and Windy stop in an alleyway so the former can get out to see if Gregg

and Jill made it. Seeing them coming, he gets back in the car and they drive alongside the van. O'Hara climbs into the backseat and leaps out onto the side of the van, saying goodbye to Windy, before opening the door and climbing into the cab. He tells Gregg to step on it but Gregg says he needs to get some air in one of the front tires. They pull over into a gas station and Gregg tells the attendant to put some air in the left front. At that moment, a general call goes out to all local police, telling them the

van transporting Joe is on its way north to Las Vegas, much to O'Hara's relief when he hears it over his portable police scanner. But, at that moment, a vagrant tries to sneak a ride in the back of the van, only to open it and see Joe staring at him. He screams in a panic and slams the door shut; Gregg quickly drives off at the sound of it. Back at the club, Schultz and his men have fixed the engine, but Schultz, figuring the map may have been a trick,

orders his men to go south. At a police station, the vagrant is brought in, scared out of his mind, and is about to be taken to the drunk tank, when he starts babbling in a language that just happens to be that of the desk sergeant's father. Realizing what he's saying, he makes a call to headquarters and tells the captain they've got a genuine report on Joe's whereabouts.

On the street, Schultz and his men get the report of Joe having been spotted at the service station, which isn't far from where they are. O'Hara hears the report over his scanner and realizes they're in trouble, when Gregg has to slam on the brakes when a covered truck pulls out right in front of them. Getting out and storming over to the truck, he yells at the driver, who himself gets out and becomes irate, threatening to throw a punch. Gregg manages to knock him out easily and, when O'Hara goes to move the truck, they come up with

another idea. Just as Schultz and his men reach the gas station and learn they're on the right track, Jill has Joe move from the van to the back of the truck and hides him behind the tarp. She climbs up into the truck with Gregg and O'Hara points them to the best road to the harbor, before getting into the van and heading on down the path they were taking. Schultz and his men then spot the van and blare their sirens as they chase after it; while Jill and Gregg take another road, Joe peeking out from

the back of the truck and swiping and growling at the police. O'Hara, seeing that they're going to catch up with him, allows himself to be pulled over. When the men get out of the car and confront him, he feigns being drunk and unknowingly speeding. He gets pulled out of the cab and is forced to the back of the van. He plants himself up against the van doors, telling the officers there's nothing in it, but they rip him out of the way and, ignoring his yelling and threats, open it. When they do, they

find the truck driver, who comes to from getting knocked out and yells, "Hey, where's my truck?! Somebody stole my truck!" Angry that he's been tricked again, Schultz demands O'Hara tell him where the truck's going but he refuses, even as he's led to the police car. O'Hara suddenly lets out a yell and exclaims, "I think I'm going to have a heart attack!", and is forced into the back of the car, with Schultz yelling, "Fine! Have it in there!" The police decide to go back to the crossroad to find the truck.

Realizing he and Jill need to get off the road, Gregg turns off it when he comes upon a dirt one heading to the right across from a hamburger stand. Like he did before, Joe looks out from the back of the truck, while Gregg realizes they've made a mistake, as they come across a bridge that's condemned. He quickly swerves to the left, taking a path around it, but they don't get too far before their tires get stuck in the thick dirt. Jill quickly gets out, runs to the back, and has Joe climb out, telling him to push the truck. Joe doesn't quite

understand and gently pushes on the bed of the truck, before glancing at the stuck tires. Back down the road, the police learn from those at the hamburger stand that the truck went down the road and head that way themselves, their siren blaring. They come within sight of those at the truck and an officer in the back of the car leans out the window and fires with his rifle, despite O'Hara smacking him to try to mess up his aim. Hearing the shot and roaring at the car, Joe quickly pushes the truck loose of the dirt and climbs back in the back. Jill

gets back in the cab and they take off again, while right behind them, the police car gets stuck in the very same spot. The policemen disembark, attempting to stop the escaping truck by shooting at the tires, while Joe watches from the back of the truck, nearly falling out when it hits a bump. They fire at the truck, O'Hara doing what he can to stop them, but they end up shooting the ground around the truck as it drives out of sight. Joe looks back out the back and roars at them as they continue wasting their bullets with shooting. The truck reaches another road and the policemen attempt to push the car free, although O'Hara refuses to help them. While Joe spits at them as he's driven away, the cops try what they can to nudge their car loose.

And now, as the screen suddenly turns a reddish-orange, we get into the climax, as the burning orphanage is first shown. The truck drives past it and heads up the driveway towards it. Women are getting the kids out and Jill and Gregg drive through the gate and disembark to lend some assistance. A woman comes running out of the front door, leading some children and carrying one in her arms, telling them there are two more children trapped inside. As Gregg assists the woman, who's about to faint from smoke

inhalation, Jill runs inside and up the stairs. Gregg soon follows her, only for a section of the stairs to collapse. He runs back outside, grabs his lasso from the truck, uses it to rope a small outcropping up along the wall, and, after climbing up onto a table, starts scaling the side of the building. Jill, meanwhile, has found a bedroom, where the two stragglers are hiding inside a closet. She leads them out of the room, as Gregg reaches and enters the building through a window. He meets up with them when they climb the stairs, as the interior of

the building starts to collapse in sections. With no other choice, they rush to the roof. Joe, seeing what's going on, climbs out of the truck and pounds the ground when he realizes his friends are trapped. He rushes to the house and starts climbing a large tree next to it, while Gregg, Jill, and the children reach the attic, only to find that the door leading out onto the roof is jammed. Joe makes it up the tree and climbs onto the roof. He hears Jill calling for him and follows the sound of it to the attic, where

he sees the orphanage's entire right side collapse. Hearing Jill again, he busts open the side of the attic with his shoulder and rips away the pieces. He grabs Jill and helps her to safety by carrying her on his back, while Gregg carries the kids over to the edge of the roof and drops onto a ledge right below them. While Joe climbs down the tree with Jill, nearly falling when a branch breaks under his foot, Gregg leads the kids around the ledge, managing to get them clear as the building's middle section

falls in. He smashes open a piece of wall that covers another bedroom, grabs a cover from the bed, wraps the kids up in it, and lowers them down to the ground with his lasso. Jill falls off Joe's back but is snagged by another branch and he's able to reclaim her and climb back down to safety as the kids are lowered down by Gregg, who then climbs down himself.

A little girl is then revealed to still be up on the burning roof and both Joe and one of the women who run the orphanage see her. Watching her walk along the edge of the roof and hearing her scream and cry, Jill tells Joe to go back up for her, which he does. Gregg tries to climb back up to help him but his lasso's hold is burned off and he falls quite a drop, landing roughly on the ground. Joe heads up the tree, clearly concerned for the girl's safety himself, and scoops her up in his hand when he reaches the top. As Joe climbs down with her,

Schultz and his men arrive, still intent on shooting him. O'Hara tries to stop them but then, chunks of the rapidly disintegrating building fall right for them, forcing them to run for cover. Gregg and Jill also have to run for it, and the burning debris falls near where they were, setting the base of the tree on fire. The flames quickly spread up the trunk, forcing Joe to climb back up and head to the very top of the tree. It isn't long before he and the girl run out of space to climb and, at one point, he falls from the top, managing to grab onto the trunk again and

level himself, while still holding the girl in his one hand. A big section of wall falls out from the building and hits the tree, toppling it over. Joe roars as he and the girl fall towards the ground, but the bend in its trunk makes the tree stop in midair before it hits and both he and the girl drop down. He puts the crying girl on the ground and, as she crawls away, he tries to catch his breath. The frightened and confused girl crawls and then gets to her feet, when basically what's left of the

building's left side falls right at her. She screams and Joe immediately runs and dives for her, scooping her up and shielding her from the burning debris that rains down. He then crawls up a few feet and lets go of the girl, who's taken to safety by a woman. Jill, Gregg, and O'Hara rush to the side of Joe, who lies on the ground, injured and totally spent. While Jill laments, "My poor Joe," while rubbing his hair, O'Hara tells her, "It's all right, kid. There's nobody in the world going to shoot Joe now."

Some time later, O'Hara is back in New York, looking for more acts to capitalize on. At present, he's putting together a big water show, but when an agent outside of his office suggests he put some monkeys on a raft, he recoils at the thought of it. Walking into his actual office, he finds Windy waiting for him, having set up a projection screen and a projector on his desk. As he closes the blinds, O'Hara tells him to make it quick, but Windy assures him it's something he'll want to see. He then starts the projector, which plays a film that, to

his surprise, depicts Jill running into view. Even more surprising, a lasso comes in and snags her, showing Gregg's there too. Windy tells him they asked him to surprise him with it, adding that Crawford was the cameraman. The two of them wave and, though there's no sound to the film, they're obviously saying, "Hello, Max!", to his delight. But then, he's startled when the film cuts to a wide angle and Joe walks into view. Like she did before, Jill offers him a banana and tosses it

to him. As he peels it, Jill and Gregg embrace, leading to this exchange between O'Hara and Windy: "And they lived happily ever after." "I sure hope so." "Oh, they will. They're back home where they belong." Jill and Gregg both wave and Joe, glancing at them, does the same while eating his banana. The film ends on a lovely shot of the sky above the Young Ranch in Africa, with a caption that says, "Goodbye from Joe Young," acting as a "THE END" card.

The music score is by Roy Webb, who'd scored a lot of movies for RKO, particularly nearly all of the horror films produced there by Val Lewton in the early to mid-40's, as well as a couple of Alfred Hitchcock's films (1941's Mr. and Mrs. Smith and 1946's Notorious). While not quite as memorable as Max Steiner's score for King Kong, Webb's music greatly adds to the sense of excitement and adventure in the film, with lots of rollicking, driving, and thrilling action music (my favorite is the one that plays during Joe's rampage through the nightclub), as well as suitably lower-key music for the quieter, more emotional moments, and even some slurring notes for when Joe gets intoxicated by the drunks. The most notable piece of music in the film is Beautiful Dreamer, which becomes a sort of leitmotif for Joe, as it plays in various different versions throughout the story: a grand, orchestral version when he debuts at the Golden Safari, a very sad-sounding version when Joe becomes depressed during his virtual imprisonment there, and a happy, celebratory one at the very end of the movie, acknowledging how he's now safely back at home in Africa, where he belongs.

Mighty Joe Young is a wonderful movie all around, one that, despite all the inevitable comparisons to King Kong (of which I have a handful of throughout this review), is good enough to stand on its own merits. It has a great cast of very likable characters, a fully realized, stop-motion character in Joe himself, lots of amazing visual effects used to bring the fantasy to life, a technical sophistication about it that's uncommon in many movies of the time, many great, action-packed sequences, an exciting, thrilling music score, and a pace that makes the 93 minutes fly by. Other than an occasional wonky effects shot, the film's climax coming out of left field, and the want for Joe to be just a bit more heroic than he already is, this movie is as close to perfect as you can get and is an absolute delight. If you're a fan of both of the original King Kong movies, you've probably already seen Mighty Joe Young many times as well, but if you haven't, that's a mistake you need to correct as quickly as possible.