The Gorilla is a 1939

1939 in film

The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...

 comedy horror

Comedy horror

Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary and film genre, combining elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre; and in some respects could be considered a subset of it.The short story "The Legend...

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 starring the Ritz Brothers

Ritz Brothers

The Ritz Brothers were an American comedy team who appeared in films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s.Although there were four brothers, the sons of Austrian-born haberdasher Max Joachim and his wife Pauline, only three of them performed together. There was also a sister,...

, Lionel Atwill

Lionel Atwill

Lionel Atwill was an English stage and film actor born in Croydon, London, England.He studied architecture before his stage debut at the Garrick Theatre, London in 1904. He become a star in Broadway theatre by 1918, and made his screen debut in 1919. He acted on the stage in Australia but was most...

, Bela Lugosi

Béla Lugosi

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...

, and Patsy Kelly

Patsy Kelly

Patsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...

.

Plot outline

When a wealthy man (Lionel Atwill) is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive. Patsy Kelly portrays a newly hired maid who wants to quit because the butler, played by Bela Lugosi, scares her.

Production

By October 1938, 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

 bought the rights to Ralph Spence's play The Gorilla. Fox wanted production on the film to start in January, which would be when The Ritz Brothers finished their tour. The studio wanted Kane Richmond

Kane Richmond

Kane Richmond was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials...

 to play a part in the film, but Richmond was replaced by Edward Norris

Edward Norris

-Selected filmography:-External links:...

 who signed on for the film Charlie Chan in Reno

Charlie Chan in Reno

Charlie Chan in Reno is a 1939 American film directed by Norman Foster, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, based on an original story, "Death Makes a Decree," by Philip Wylie.-Cast:...

. Fox signed on Bela Lugosi

Béla Lugosi

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...

 for the film as the butler. This character was originally meant for Peter Lorre

Peter Lorre

Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...

.

The death of the Ritz Brothers' father caused production of the film in January to be delayed. Fox placed a $150,000 suit against the Ritz brothers for a breach of contract as the film was stated to start production on January 30, but was halted when the Ritz Brothers did not show up. By March, the film began shooting again with the Ritz brothers returning to the film. The Gorilla became the last film made for Fox by the Ritz brothers.

Release and reception

The Gorilla premiered on May 26, 1939. A negative review of the film was written in The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

stating "It's all supposed to be either really funny or shockingly thrilling, depending on how you look at it. We couldn't see it either way."