MIGHTY JOE YOUNG A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
In the original 1949 version of MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, the swell looking guys and dolls, dressed in fancy tuxedos and sequined gowns, lounge around the swanky nightclub while waiting for the big act, billed simply as Mr. Joseph Young. On the stage, a dame wearing a low-cut prom dress goes over to a grand piano to play a rhapsody. As the platform under her rises magically, we see that it is being elevated by nothing less than a super-economy-sized gorilla named Joe, Mr. Joseph Young to you.
Once Joe is revealed, to the wild applause of the crowd, the nightclub's owner arranges for a demonstration of the animal's power. Ten men, who were chosen for their enormous strength, play a game of tug-of-war with the overgrown ape. Dressed tackily in skimpy, leopard skins and roman sandals, the men are easily defeated.
How big is the gorilla? How big do you want him to be?
Sometimes Joe appears only slightly taller than a human and sometimes he is several times taller. Even if you totally discount the hokey special effects in the movie, the rest is equally ridiculous.
The film starts off with promising, childlike innocence. Jill, a precious little girl of about 4, lives with her widowed dad in Africa. One day she gathers some jewelry and household items and uses them to trade with the natives for a baby gorilla (Joe) that is even smaller than she is. The dad says that she can't keep the animal, which, of course, means that she can and will.
After this brief introduction we skip to 12 years later, when Gregg (Ben Johnson), an unemployed champion rodeo roper, gets himself a job assisting a reporter going to Africa. This second part of the movie is a Western set in the jungle. The guys on the safari wear big cowboy hats and ride horses. Greg uses his roping skills to lasso lions and other wild animals.
The most outlandish sequence occurs when the fully-grown and fearsome Joe makes his entrance. The hokey, slapstick action has people running away in double time and frightened horse running around in circles. Finally, the cowboys ride around Joe, throwing their lassoes over him so they can bring him back alive.
In 1949, the movie theaters featured cheaply and quickly made serials that they showed before the double feature on Saturdays. As directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, the original MIGHTY JOE YOUNG plays like a single episode of one of those slapdash serials.
Ruth Rose's corny script is full of forgettable little lines that probably sounded as fake then as they do now. ("This is my land. You keep off of it, you big bullies" and "Am I dreaming? Did I see a gorilla and a beautiful dame?")
As they say, "They don't make movies like they used to." Sometimes that's not a bad thing.
So why, you ask, would Disney choose to remake such a miserable movie? The answer undoubtedly is that the sweet concept does have significant potential as family fare. The remake was fairly mediocre, but, compared to the original, it reminds us that sometimes newer is better, even in Hollywood.
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG runs 1:34. The film is in black and white except for a two-strip Technicolor sequence during the ending fire scene, which renders the images in black, white and red. It is not rated but would be a G -- suitable for all ages.
My son Jeffrey, age 9, said it put him to sleep. He said he liked the fire scene and nothing else. He gave it a single * and said "don't waste your time on it since there is nothing worth seeing."
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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