White Pongo came out in 1944, one year after Nabonga and features Ray Crash Corrigan once again as an ape, in fact he's likely two apes. The story is at once simple and complex -- a safari heads into the depths of the African jungles to find a lost scientist. It turns out the team is made up of all sorts of folks, some of them not so trustworthy. Our heroine is payed by Maris Wrixon and she's the obligatory love interest who will inevitably fall victim to the ape dubbed "Pongo".
But despite some pretty decent exteriors, some pretty tight casting, the script lets the movie down with exceedingly little novelty. It's pretty standard safari drama, with a romance breaking out between the "Lady" and a lowly guard. Her noble-born boyfriend objects and that creates moments of mild friction. Then there is a major turn of events and people turn out to be not who we thought, though casting made you suspect. All the time Pongo muddles around in the brush looking at once puzzled and inclined to do something. Eventually he does.
The movie ends with a big battle between Pongo and another gorilla and the ending might surprise you, that I will admit. The Pongo suit was used a couple of more times in movies which make this one look like Citizen Kane in terms of production value. The first one we look at tomorrow.
Rip Off
I always forget I have this box set and really would like to watch this one. So many bad movies so little time!
ReplyDeleteI had almost all of these on other sets but found this box set with its delightful pop-up sleeve for just two dollars. I spend more on a Coke, so I had to have it. Savage Girl (not likely to be reviewed this month) is worth the two bucks by itself.
DeleteRip Off