The Gorilla (1939) *** (out of 4)A gorilla is going around murdering people and Walter Stevens (Lionel Atwill) gets a note warning that he will be the next victim. He hires some detectives (The Ritz Brothers) to protect him and it seems there are a large number of possible suspects including the butler (Bela Lugosi).THE GORILLA is another example of the "old dark house" genre and it really doesn't have the greatest reputation among horror fans. I can understand this as the comedy aspect certainly isn't going to be for everyone but I've seen enough Ritz Brother comedies to where I'm sure to their brand of humor. The same is true for Patsy Kelly who certainly pushes her way through scenes. If you can accept their type of comedy then you're in for a good time.I think what makes this film stand out is the fact that it's got such a great cast. The Ritz Brothers are in fine form here and I think this is perhaps their funniest film. There are some nice bits including one where people keep disappearing from a certain chair whenever the lights are turned off. Kelly has enough energy for five people and it's fun seeing Atwill in the film. Lugosi is also quite good here, although he's really not given a whole lot to do. It's still fun seeing him scare the others.Director Allan Dwan does a good job with the material as he keeps the film moving at a very good pace and there really aren't any slow moments throughout the short running time. Again, I understand that the Ritz Brothers were never in the same league as a Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello but if you can deal with their humor then THE GORILLA offers some cheap fun.

Lame old dark house comedy about a rich man (Lionel Atwill) threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla. So he hires private detectives (The Ritz Brothers) to investigate. Bela Lugosi plays the butler. Patsy Kelly the loud-mouthed maid. Anita Louise plays Atwill's niece. The old dark house elements were OK but the comedy was like having your toenails ripped off one by one. The Ritz Brothers were so painfully untalented I have to wonder how they ever became even moderately successful. It was sad to see Atwill and Lugosi playing in something like this. Fans of Bela Lugosi will be particularly disappointed. The movie is often advertised today as a Bela Lugosi movie but his part is minor and he has nothing to do. He's literally the butler, opening doors and the like. There's no twist to it. The most he gets to do is be straight man to the annoying Patsy Kelly, whose voice knows two levels: loud and louder. Avoid this unless you're a Lugosi completist and need to see all of his movies.

The 30s and 40s produced some good comedy/horror films - Cat and the Canary, The Ghost Train, One Body Too Many, Hold That Ghost, etc. Unfortunately The Gorilla cannot be added to the list, being a jaw-droppingly unfunny vehicle for The Ritz Bros. Their overripe mugging fails to raise a single laugh...All the elements are there - spooky house full of secret passages, raging storm outside, a rampaging Gorilla at large, a murder mystery, the presence of Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi, etc. All this works to some extent - indeed to me the film is only worth watching for the two horror stars. Lugosi wears an amused smile to great effect in most of his scenes, and Atwill is his usual bluff excellent self.Every time The Ritz Bros, show up the film quickly sinks into the mire. This might have worked better with Laurel and Hardy, or The Three Stooges, but the results here are pretty dire. The treatment is also very stage bound, as the action never once leaves the house. The mystery isn't really up to much, either, concerning a mysterious murderer known as The Gorilla threatening his victims with warning notes before bumping them off 24 hours later. Atwill is in line to be his next victim.I wish he'd picked The Ritz Bros....

Ritz Brothers nonsense about a mad killer on the loose called the Gorilla. When Lionel Atwill is marked for death he calls in a trio of detectives, the Ritz brothers, to keep him safe. Add to the mix an angry investor, Bela Lugosi as a butler and the appearance of Atwill's niece and her fiancé and you have a crowded old dark house comedy. Shrill remake of a remake of a play this might have worked had there been different detectives than the Ritz Brothers. The problem is that their clowning, more often then not of limited appeal under the best of times, comes off as stupid or rather mean and nasty. I kept thinking that they were annoyed with some one and so channeled that into an air of moronic cruelty. Perhaps had their gags actually been funny I might have gone with it but what ever they do seems to in from another movie entirely. They sink what was otherwise an okay horror comedy. (In all fairness to the Ritz Brothers, they were often quite funny in their supporting film roles. Trouble only really hit them when they tried to be anything other than support where their style of comedy, which was based on the three working together, was pushed past the breaking point.)