Joe

 

 (imdb)

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG-1949-Entrepreneur Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) goes to Africa to get wild animals for his new night club. What he finds is Joe, a giant gorilla raised by Jill (Terry Moore). Despite the protestations of big lug cowboy Gregg Johnson (Ben Johnson), O'Hara convinces Jill to bring Joe to America to be exhibited at his club. They're a big hit until 3 drunks (Douglas Fowley & Nestor Paiva are two of them) make him mad and he escapes and destroys the club. The poor ape is sentenced to be shot. A plot is hatched to save Joe leading to a climatic scene at a burning orphanage (tinted red) where Joe saves the lives of two children. 

This is a wonderful little fantasy with meticulous and brilliant stop motion SFX by (among others) Willis O'Brien, Marcel Delgado and Ray Harryhausen. It was directed by Ernest Schoedsack from a story by Merian C. Cooper (the screenplay is by Ruth Rose who also wrote the screenplay for KING KONG which was co-directed by Cooper and Schoedsack without credit!). Many familiar character actors have brief scenes in MIGHTY JOE YOUNG: Regis Toomey, James Flavin (also in KING KONG), Iris Adrian, Bobby Barber, Joe Devlin, Richard Farnsworth (also a stuntman on the film), Dwayne Hickman, Charles Lane, Franks J. Scannell, William Schallert and more. Wrestlers Henry Kulky, Sam Menacker, The Swedish Angel, Man Mountain Dean and Primo Canera also appear,

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Cold War 50's

SHACK OUT ON 101-1955-A greasy spoon on the California coast is the setting for this cold war film noir drama and it's cast of characters: short tempered owner George (Keenan Wynn), sexy waitress Kotty (top billed Terry Moore from MIGHTY JOE YOUNG), sleazy cook Slob (Lee Marvin, who was in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK the same year) and Sam (Frank Lovejoy from HOUSE OF WAX), a professor at the nuclear facility who's also Kotty boyfriend (talk about an odd couple!). Also featured is Whit Bissell as George's friend Eddie who has a fear of blood.

Between the characters talking about their problems and feelings some espionage goes on as Slob is passing micro film from the professor's facility (with the help of delivery man Len Lesser) to unknown agents. One night Kotty hears Sam and Slob talking and realizes her stuffed shirt of a lover is part of a spy ring. Frank DeKova shows up in one scene as a crooked professor who gets killed. Some comic scenes involving Wynn using barbells and scuba equipment are thrown in as well.

It's an ok low budget thriller with Marvin kind of stealing the show especially when he turns violent in the finale. Donald Murphy who later played the mad doctor in FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER has a small role as a federal agent posing as a truck driver.

Director Edward Dein went on to make the vampire western CURSE OF THE UNDEAD. Earlier he made SOUL OF A MONSTER.
http://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2010/03/not-that-much-soul.html

I could write another whole entry on co-star Frank Lovejoy, who as I have mentioned before seems to have none of his last name in any of his acting. His love scenes with Terry Moore are awkward at best!

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