hile King Kong is clearly recognized as the classic giant ape movie, in the 65 years since that groundbreaking feature debuted there have been dozens of flicks featuring--literally--all kinds of monkeyshines. From 3-D pictures like Gorilla at Large to weird adventures such as King Kong vs. Godzilla, most of these follow-up efforts have offered less-than-believable cinematic primates.
Mighty Joe Young is one of the few films that presents a genuinely sympathetic simian character. In this film, impresario Max O'Hara (Armstrong), on safari in Africa to drum up publicity for his Hollywood nightclub, unexpectedly encounters a 10-foot-tall gorilla. After unsuccessfully attempting to capture the creature, he finds that the mammoth beast has been raised since infancy by Jill Young (Moore). O'Hara convinces her to come to America with the animal, whom she has named Joe, to be the star attraction at his exotic cabaret.
Joe must be kept under lock-and-key when not performing, but one night, after some patrons get him drunk, he breaks free and destroys the establishment. Young manages to return the angry ape to his cell, but the authorities nonetheless decide that he must be shot. A frantic car chase ensues when Young and a cowboy named Gregg (Johnson) attempt to save the gorilla. However, just as they appear to be safe, the group passes a burning orphanage, and only Joe, with his incredible strength and agility, can save the children trapped inside.
A Kong reunion
There actually was a sequel to King Kong titled The Son of Kong, but in many ways Mighty Joe Young could be considered the legitimate heir to the archetypal cinematic ape. For the era in which this black-and-white picture was made, the special effects are quite respectable, and though the plot is not nearly as gripping as that of the original Kong flick, the overall adventure is reasonably fun.
Comparisons to the first gigantic gorilla are not wholly inappropriate, as Mighty Joe Young was a reunion of sorts for many of the folks involved with King Kong. Merian C. Cooper wrote the stories for both features, and they were each directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack. Robert Armstrong had also appeared in Kong 16 years earlier. Special effects artist Willis O'Brien provided the visual excitement for the two movies, although he was assisted on Mighty Joe Young by Ray Harryhausen, who later became famous for his own innovative stop-motion animation techniques in pictures like Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
Putting these connections aside, while Armstrong, Moore and Johnson are creditable actors, the undisputed star of this production is Joe. Even though his facial grimaces can occasionally be laughable, the subtle nuances of his "performance," such as banging the ground with his fists when angry, are remarkably lifelike. As a result, nearly 50 years after its debut, watching Mighty Joe Young remains enjoyable, engaging and, above all, entertaining.
