SYNOPSICS
Mighty Joe Young (1949) is a English,Swahili movie. Ernest B. Schoedsack has directed this movie. Terry Moore,Ben Johnson,Robert Armstrong,Mr. Joseph Young are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1949. Mighty Joe Young (1949) is considered one of the best Adventure,Drama,Fantasy,Sci-Fi movie in India and around the world.
In Africa, the girl Jill Young trades a baby gorilla with two natives and raises the animal. Twelve years later, the talkative and persuasive promoter Max O'Hara organizes a safari to Africa with the Oklahoma cowboy Gregg to bring attractions to his new night-club in Hollywood. They capture several lions and out of blue, they see a huge gorilla nearby their camping and they try to capture the animal. However, the teenager Jill Young stops the men that intended to kill her gorilla. Max seduces Jill with a fancy life in Hollywood and she signs a contract with him where the gorilla Joseph "Joe" Young would be the lead attraction. Soon she realizes that her dream is a nightmare to Joe and she asks Max to return to Africa. However he persuades her to stay a little longer in the show business. But when three alcoholic costumers give booze to Joe, the gorilla destroys the spot and is sentenced by the justice to be sacrificed. Will Jill, Gregg and Max succeed in saving Joe?
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Mighty Joe Young (1949) Reviews
Absolutely Charming!
Of all the great ape films, this one made by the same folks that brought us King Kong and Son of Kong has to be the most charming. The story is simple enough about a young girl that raises a gorilla from infancy in the wilds of Africa to be wooed and wowed by an American showman looking for acts in Africa. The showman sees her gorilla and the way she can make it listen and do tricks...and soon both beast and beauty are off to the US to star in a night club act of all things. Terry Moore is a real cutie portraying the girl. The showman is played by...well who else but the same man responsible for bringing King Kong to New York City 16 years earlier...Robert Armstrong. The rest of the cast is adequate with Nestor Paiva in a small but crucial role standing out. The real star, however, is the ape itself and the special effects centered around it. This gorilla is brutish yet humane. He is playful and yet serious and somber at times. Willis O'Brien has done it again with the effects and his stop motion animation, with a great deal of improvement since Kong. The best thing about this movie is its heart, and the heart shown between the young girl and her pet/child. Some scenes are very striking in the film. One that stands out the most is the introduction of Mighty Joe Young in the night club with Terry Moore playing the piano. It looks like Busby Berkley choreographed it. Another very powerful scene involves Joe with an orphanage on fire. The scene is tremendous and even tinted red. Very impressive for its release. A True Classic!
Worthy Follow-Up to King Kong!
A wonderfully entertaining slant on "King Kong" by Kong's creators, Cooper and Schoedsack (along with John Ford). Much better than Kong's 1934 sequel, "Son of Kong", which was hurriedly made. The creators put a lot of thought and effort into this worthy follow-up and it shows. More superb special effects from Willis O'Brien as technical director, featuring the budding talents of protege, Ray Harryhausen.
Kong with a heart!
I remember seeing Mighty Joe Young before I ever saw King Kong, and for the longest time I preferred it to Kong because it seemed newer, with better effects, and more familiar actors, while Kong seemed older and a little creakier with a less familiar cast of characters. Over the years I've come to appreciate both as great movies, the same basic story or premise, but with a slightly different spin, one as a grand thrilling epic, and one as a heartwarming story with laughs and thrills. Where Kong is the tragic violent figure meeting his fate for the love of a woman, Joe Young is a warm cuddly teddy bear of a creature trying to stave off that wild beast that lives inside of him for the affection of a woman. Where Kong wouldn't expend a drop of sweat helping a human, except for Ann Darrow, Joe Young appears more than human in that he would sacrifice himself to save the children and adults in an orphanage engulfed in flames. And although Robert Armstrong doesn't play the same character in both movies, just the same type of character, it's kind of nice to see him learn from his mistakes in the previous film and early on in this one so that he can make a determined effort to have this story end differently. While King Kong may have been a grand slam out of the park, Mighty Joe Young still comes out as a solid home run.
If you Enjoyed King Kong (1933), You'll Like This
"Mighty Joe Young" was a very entertaining film with a surprising amount of action. In fact, the last third to last half of this film is just about non-stop. it reminded me of King Kong, of course with a big age being brought to New York City for display and then things going haywire. This movie, however, has a happier ending than "Kong," although it doesn't look like that will be the case near the end. It turns to be a very suspenseful movie in that last 30 minutes, especially. Even though this was an early Ray Harryhausen special-effects effort (and he's interviewed in two features on the DVD), it still looks pretty hokey in spots. But in 1949, this must have been pretty cool. Hey, to be fair, some parts are decently realistic if you aren't too critical. One thing: they are fun to watch! The only weak point was the acting. A very young-looking Ben Johnson sounded wooden and Robert Armstrong overacted. Terry Moore, as Mighty Joe's guardian, so to speak, was so-so. What made this movie better-than-average was the injection of some humor into this adventure story. Humor, and a bit of sentimentality as Mighty Joe is humanized to a degree. The big ape was funny while sitting in the back of a speeding truck eluding the police, and at the very of the movie he made most viewers laugh. This movie is much better now that it's on DVD. The transfer is excellent; a nice picture. Near the end, with the big orphanage fire, the black-and-white scenes are tinted. Overall, if you liked the 1933 version of King Kong, you'll like this. A lot of the same people were responsible for both films. This is pure entertainment, which is why I gave it '9' stars.
Great story, great effects.
Thanksgiving just can't be Thanksgiving without Mighty Joe Young. From as far back as I can remember, until about 10 years ago, WOR, channel 9 in New York City, played a King Kong festival on Thanksgiving day, and then a Godzilla festival on Friday, dubbing it "Monster Weekend." Of the 3 "ape movies" played back-to-back (King Kong, Son of Kong, and Mighty Joe Young), this was far and away the best. There were several reasons for it. (1) Mighty Joe Young has the best special effects of all the ape movies (and, truth be known, far better than those of most of the Godzillas -- which were filmed 10-20 years later!). (2) Mighty Joe Young has the best story. It's about a little girl who adopts a young gorilla in Africa on her family's plantation, and she grows up with it. The gorilla turns out to be the largest in the world (but nowhere near the size of Kong). Joe is affectionate with his "sister", and very protective of her, and the animators gave him a wonderful range of facial expressions and emotions. (3) Mighty Joe Young has the best climax, and the best ending. All told, Mighty Joe Young is a terriffic movie. It was light years ahead of its time in so many ways, including special effects. It is well worth the time to see it. My score: 8/10