Gorilla at Large | |
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![]() Promotional one-sheet poster
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Directed by | Harmon Jones |
Produced by |
Robert L. Jacks)(Producer) Leonard Goldstein (Executive Producer) |
Written by |
Leonard Praskins Barney Slater |
Starring |
Cameron Mitchell Anne Bancroft Lee J. Cobb |
Music by | Lionel Newman |
Cinematography | Lloyd Ahern |
Edited by | Paul Weatherwax |
Production
company |
Panoramic Productions
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Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $400,000 |
Gorilla at Large is a 1954 horror mystery B-movie (with an A-cast) made in 3-D.
The film stars Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J. Cobb and Raymond Burr, with Lee Marvin and Warren Stevens in supporting roles. Directed by Harmon Jones, it was made by Panoramic Productions, and distributed through 20th Century Fox in Technicolor and 3-D.
It is notable for being one of their first 20th Century Fox films filmed in 3-D. (The first was Inferno, which was released a year before.)
Cyrus Miller's circus has come to the fairgrounds, where barker Joey Matthews invites the crowd to come see the great gorilla, Goliath.
Trapeze artist Laverne Miller flies over the gorilla's cage. She tells husband Cyrus that she wants a few changes made, demanding that the animal's handler, Kovacs, be fired, and that Joey join the act. Inside a gorilla costume, Joey would be waiting to catch Laverne when she drops from the trapeze, the crowd shrieking as it believes him to be Goliath.
Cyrus refuses to dismiss Kovacs, who is the only one able to control the gorilla. Going through with her new act, however, Laverne and Joey practice, incorporating some judo moves in their routine. Joey tells fiancee Audrey Baxter that the additional money he makes will help them raise enough money to be married and leave the circus life for good.
A concessionaire, Morse, is accused by Cyrus of robbing from the receipts. Morse is found dead near Goliath's cage with a broken neck and a gin bottle nearby. Detective Garrison of the police speculates that the victim got drunk and ventured too close to the dangerous gorilla. Cyrus' right-hand man, Owens, argues that Morse never drank alcohol due to an ulcer.