Product Details

• Actors: Barbara Payton, Lon Chaney Jr., Raymond Burr, Tom Conway, Paul Cavanagh
• Directors: Curt Siodmak
• Writers: Curt Siodmak
• Producers: Edward Leven, Jack Broder
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: First Look Home Ente
• VHS Release Date: September 28, 1998
• Run Time: 70 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630495350X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,345 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Actor

Life took Curt Siodmak on an amazingly varied trip, from a film extra in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in 1926 to newspaper reporter to screenwriter to film director. After some success with German feature films such as Menschen am Sonntag and F.P.1 Antwortet Nicht, he finally came into Hollywood’s limelight with such horror classics as The Invisible Man Returns (1940), Son of Dracula (1942) and I Stalked with a Zombie (1944). He continued to write successful screenplays, of which Black Friday is amongst the most well known. With Bride of the Gorilla (1951) he was clearly in his element, as evidenced by its enthusiastic box-office reaction.

THE PLOT: Police Commissioner Taro (Lon Chaney) tells a nightmarish tale that unfolds at a rubber plantation on the banks of the Amazon River. Klaas Van Gelder (Paul Cavanagh) is murdered by his wife Dina’s (Barbara Payton) handsome lover Barney Chavez (Raymond Burr) . Dr. Viet (Tom Conway) , Van Gelder’s physician and also secret admirer of the ravishingly beautiful Dina, cannot prove foul play. But the heinous deed is witnessed by the witch Al Long (Gisela Werbiseck) who puts a jungle hex on Barney that begins to turn him into a monstrous, rampaging gorilla on the night of his wedding to Dina. Soon, Taro receives news from Mr. Van Heussen (Paul Maxey) that a murderous beast is on the loose on his plantation, approximately 40 kilometers away from the Van Gelder spread. Haunted by his dark secret, Barney first decides to sell the plantation to Van Heussen and leave the jungle with Dina, then changes his mind as the insidious curse takes a stronger hold on him - now the jungle is home and hunting ground. Dr. Viet’s warnings to Dina that her new husband has been poisoned in some way cause her great alarm, as do the inexplicable changes of character she observes in Barney. He is like an animal now...

About the Actor

One of the saddest tales ever to come out of Hollywood has to be that of Barbara Payton. A blue-eyed, peroxide blonde sexpot who had a lot going for her, her life eventually disintegrated, mostly by her own doing. Things started out well enough for Barbara Lee Redfield, born on November 26, 1927, in Cloquet, Minnesota. From a modest, blue-collar background, she grew up to be a drop-dead gorgeous young woman and, following a quickie marriage at age 19, decided to leave home for good to try to capitalize on her good looks in Tinseltown. She headed for Hollywood in 1948 and, within a short time, was placed under contract by Universal, where she began the typical starlet route of bit parts. She reached her peak with routine but promising co-star work opposite James Cagney in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950), Gary Cooper in Dallas (1950) and Gregory Peck in Only the Valiant (1951). Although her talent (5) was overshadowed by her brassiness (10) and looks (10), her slightly lurid appeal seemed to be enough to carry her through. Caught up in the glitz and glamor, however, her career started taking second place to a reckless life full of capricious romances involving a number of top stars and producers, many of them married. One of her more famous trysts ended up making headlines for her, and none of them favorable. She was juggling two boyfriends at the same time, classy "A" actor Franchot Tone and muscular "B" actor Tom Neal, and they fought almost to the death for Barbara's affections. On September 13, 1951, the men engaged in a deadly brawl and when it was over, Tone was in the hospital with broken bones and a brain concussion. Barbara ended up with both a black eye and a tarnished reputation. She married Tone after he recovered, but left him after only seven weeks and returned to the violence-prone Neal. That abusive relationship lasted four years, though they never married. During that time Barbara's career had plummeted to the point where she was making such dismal features as Bride of the Gorilla (1951). She went to England to try to rejuvenate her career, but no dice; it was over and her life was skidding out of control. Her once beautiful face now blotchy and her once spectacular figure now bloated, Barbara sank deeper into the bottle. From 1955 to 1963 there were various brushes with the law - among them passing bad checks, public drunkenness and, ultimately, prostitution. She was forced to sleep on bus benches, was beaten and bruised by her tricks, and lost teeth in the process. In 1967, after failed efforts to curb her drinking, she finally moved in with her parents in San Diego to try to dry out. It was too late. On May 8, 1967, the 39-year-old former starlet was found on the bathroom floor - dead of heart and liver failure. Somehow through all this misery she managed a tell-all book ironically entitled "I Am Not Ashamed" (1963). IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "The heart is deceitful..., and desperately wicked...", July 5, 2002

By 

Robert S. Clay Jr. (St. Louis, MO., USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bride of the Gorilla [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Infidelity and murder on a jungle plantation lead to supernatural consequences. Veteran writer/director Curt Siodmak weaves a magic spell, and transforms a modest film into good entertainment. In addition, a strong cast is an asset. Raymond Burr suffers jungle hocus-pocus courtesy of a female shaman. His simian urges appear as the brooding night settles in. The initial metamorphosis has a dreamlike quality that transcends typical B movie standards. Lon Chaney, Jr. is the perceptive police commissioner that respects the native superstitions, and believes that Burr is a murderer. For a change, Lon is not the hirsute beast stalking the darkness. Barbara Payton is Burr's treacherously beautiful bride. Unaware of his gorilla alter ego, she is puzzled why he would rather swing through the trees at night instead of swinging with her. Familiar faces in the supporting cast include Tom Conway and Woody Strode. The production values are meager and rely on jungle movie stock-footage. Overall, the movie has a low budget look. Regardless, this is a minor gem. It is better than the sensational title might suggest. Good fare for genre fans. ;-)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must-see for some, a maybe for others, January 29, 2008

By 

James W. Harris - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bride of the Gorilla (DVD)

For a certain kind of person, and I'm one, this is a film you have to see. First there's the lurid title. Second, Lon Chaney Jr. is in it, and for many fans of classic horror films that makes this an automatic must-see. Third, Curt Siodmak is writer and director, and this guy commands respect: after all, he wrote The Wolf Man, Donovan's Brain, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, I Walked With a Zombie, The Beast With Five Fingers...

Unfortunately, though, this movie is pretty pedestrian. It is rather slow-paced, and never fully takes off. Nor is it remotely scary, suspenseful, gory, or lurid. And Lon Chaney's dull role as a native policeman is disappointing.

Understanding that, this movie still has strengths. Tom Conway, brother of the great George Saunders, is very good in his supporting role; I think he really carries the movie. He's onscreen a lot, and always good. Raymond Burr truly gives his best. Barbara Payton is beautiful and sincere. In general, the supporting cast is good-heartedly earnest. And the film does have its moments - some evocative, moody shots and scenes, some strangeness, some surrealistic charm. It is fun, and doesn't drag. It's not painful; it's just ultimately too familiar, too ordinary.

Bottom line: If you love this kind of old, oddball, no-budget horror, there are a lot of titles you should see first. But eventually you will work your way to Bride of the Gorilla, and there is a good chance you will enjoy the 66 minutes and regard it with affection.

Trivia PS: I love these desperately deceptive taglines from the original garish ads (not on this dvd, unfortunately), which have absolutely nothing to do with the film! Indeed, selling a ticket with such promises was downright larcenous. But that's all part of the sideshow-style fun of the world of b-movies and exploitation films, Enjoy.

"Her marriage vows were more than fulfilled!"
"Her clothes torn away in screaming terror!"
"A blonde beauty and a savage beast... ALONE IN THE JUNGLE!"

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most Enjoyable, May 16, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bride of the Gorilla [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Despite its established (and well-deserved) B-movie status, "Bride of the Gorilla" is a surprisingly effective, entertaining, and well-done movie. I was particularly impressed by the intelligent and original variation on a theme that was tried-and-true (indeed, rather exhausted) even a virtual half-century ago. Oh, to be sure, all the usual B-movie trappings are here -- e.g., the inevitable stock jungle footage. But wouldn't you be disappointed if it weren't?

Recommended.