The Gorilla (1939)
Overview
When an escaped circus gorilla appears to have gone on a murderous rampage, a threatened attorney calls on the detective trio of Garrity, Harrigan and Mullivan to act as bodyguards. In short order, we discover that there is more to the attorney than meets the eye, and the ape may be innocent after all. When a pretty young heiress faces peril, it's up to our heroic trio to save the day.
Cast
Jimmy Ritz
Garrity - a Ritz Brother
Harry Ritz
Harrigan - a Ritz Brother
Al Ritz
Mulligan - a Ritz Brother
Anita Louise
Norma Denby
Patsy Kelly
Kitty - the Maid
Lionel Atwill
Walter Stevens
Bela Lugosi
Peters - the Butler
Joseph Calleia
Stranger
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CinemaSerf
Lionel Atwill is the wealthy "Walter Stephens" whose life has been threatened by the sinister "Gorilla". To thwart this, he engages the services of the "Defective Detectives" (Jimmy, Harry & Al Ritz) and what ensues is a slapstick horror movie with a man in a gorilla suit (or, could it be an actual ape?) and some pretty corny set piece comedy sketches strung together around Atwill and a rather under-used Bela Lugosi ("Peters"). Much of the plot is just gibberish, but the detectives have a good time, and that brings a limited amount of charm as they haplessly go about their deducing - and it isn't horrible to watch, but it's pretty cringe-making at times and 80 years after it was made is nigh on unwatchable for anything other than a kindly nod to pre-war comic cinema.
