Customer Reviews

Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla [Import]

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And the award for Most Annoying Actor in the History of the Universe goes to ... Sammy Petrillo for his shamelessly bad impersonation of Jerry Lewis in Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. About the only thing this film accomplishes is to prove that Jerry Lewis was a comic genius. Lewis was funny, but Sammy Petrillo doing the same shtick is dreadful. Duke Mitchell isn't exactly Dean Martin, either. Petrillo's first line in this film is "Ah lady, you got us mixed up with two other guys!" Wrong. Try as they might, these guys are a painfully bad substitute for Lewis and Martin. Lewis apparently threatened some sort of legal action over this bomb, thereby helping ensure that Duke and Sammy never made another movie. Jerry, you have our eternal gratitude.

The only reason anyone should contemplate watching this movie is for Bela Lugosi alone. Lugosi is one of my favorite actors, but there's no denying the fact that he hit rock bottom in his later years. Just out of rehab and desperate for work, he had little choice but to take on roles such as that of Dr. Zabor - especially when the filmmakers promised to put his name in the film's title. Sadly, he would soon have one foot in the grave and the other on the rotten banana peel that is Ed Wood. I think he's pretty good in this film, but he really has nothing to work with here. William "One Shot" Beaudine didn't earn his nickname by directing theatrical masterpieces. Charlita isn't bad as Nona, aka the poor man's Dorothy Lamour, but the only genuinely impressive performance in the entire movie is that of a chimpanzee.

So what's the story here? Well, Duke and Sammy are on their way to play for the troops in Guam when they fall out of the airplane and land in a jungle paradise (the island of "Kola-Kola"). A tribe of extremely white natives finds them and, unfortunately, do not go along with their Bird Man's advice to kill them. Nona, the chief's educated daughter, takes quite a shine to Duke, and that doesn't sit well with her mad scientist employer Dr. Zabor, who lusts for young Nona himself (and who can blame him, what with all those revealing outfits she wears?). I won't bore you with all the silly details, but the upshot is that Dr. Zabor turns Duke into a gorilla. Then, just when you think the movie can't get any more ridiculous, it does.

This whole film boils down to Sammy Petrillo spewing out one-liners left and right, seemingly oblivious to the fact that nothing he says or does is remotely funny.

Filmed near the end of Lugosi's career, "Bela Lugosi meets a Brooklyn Gorilla" is just about on par with any of his movies with Ed Wood for sheer incompetence. Despite Lugosi's billing in the title, the real stars are Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, two clones of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis who are painfully untalented. Mitchell's crooning is regrettable (particularly his song "Deed I Do") and Petrillo's clowning is mind-numbing. The goofy story involves the two "entertainers" being lost on a native island. Lugosi, a mad scientist, performs bizarre experiments on gorillas, and is jealous of Mitchell's cozying up to his object of affection. The cast includes the monkey that played Cheeta on the old "Tarzan" show.
The DVD from Image gives this rather undeserving movie a crystal clear presentation, with nary a nick or scratch to be found. Sound is fine. There are also a few interesting special features, including a modern interview with Sammy Petrillo which covers the film's production and his stormy relationship with Jerry Lewis. A terrific booklet of liner notes and a theatrical trailer (advertising Duke and Sammy as something along the lines of "the next big comedy team") are also present.

This little movie isn't as bad as the title and cast might suggest. Duke Mitchell is no Dean Martin, but Sammy Petrillo does a credible imitation of a young Jerry Lewis. Whether Petrillo's performance is satire or just a blatant rip-off is up to the viewer. The humor is simple-minded, but occasionally hilarious. Charlita (as if anyone recognizes the name) does a passable imitation of Dorothy Lamour in revealing (for 1952) South Sea togs. Bela Lugosi with a twinkle in his eye spoofs his own horror movie character as Dr. Zabor. This flick was made a year or so before Bela fell into the clutches of the infamous Ed Wood. Sadly, it emphasizes Bela's troubled downward spiral career path. Veteran low budget director William Beaudine competently puts the cast through the paces. Artistically (to use an unlikely term), the flick is on the same level as Beaudine's Bowery Boys movies. Filmed in glorious B&W, the low cost DVD edition features a clear transfer and acceptable audio. It's harmless "G" rated fun. From here on, you are on your own. ;-)

This film is low budgeted but nicely done. It was shot mostly inside a studio set. It is a comedy and succeeeds at it. Other films of this nature try to be serious and end up pathethically laughable. This is not so here. Pertrillo's Jerry Lewis antics is funny although may appear forced in a few instances.He would have probably been better at it had not Jerry Lewis pre-empted him to this looney character type. Duke Mitchell plays the straight man, a la Dean Martin. His singing voice is surprisingly quite good. Lugosi's acting is relaxed. However, he does look old and haggard. Taking this type of role may have probably been a low point to him. But seeing the feature without any preconceptions, he did a credible job on this one. This is one to have in the classics collection.

I just bought this DVD not too long ago (reluctantly) only because I am a HUGE Lugosi fan. So, to my great surprise, I thought the film was cute. Number one, I do not feel that Lugosi's role was a let down. I thought that he seemed to be having fun. Number two, Sammy and Duke do a good job, considering that they couldn't have been much older than me (which would be 21). And number three, I over all enjoyed the film. The references to Dracula seemed to amuse Lugosi, and they amused me as well. Try not to judge this film too harshly. I guess each one has his own opinion, so you must see it to make a formed, individual opinion about this film.

Take Count Dracula, throw in a fake Martin and Lewis (Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo), add a Dorothy Lamour wannabe (Muriel Landers), and you have the perfect ingredients for "Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla." Dean and Jerry - I mean Duke and Sammy - are on their way to perform for the soldiers stationed in Guam, when they open the wrong door and fall out of the plane. Luckily for them, they're wearing parachutes and just happen to land safely on an inhabited island. The natives are led by a chief who speaks English and has two daughters, one beautiful and one extra large. The plump honey goes ape over Sammy, while Muriel falls for Duke. Bela Lugosi is a scientist who has a castle on the island and is conducting experiments on evolution. (That makes perfect sense to me!) Muriel is his assistant and the dirty old man is smitten with her, but she only has eyes for Duke. Bela has perfected a serum which reverses the evolutionary process. To get his revenge and win Muriel's hand, he injects Duke with the serum and turns him into a gorilla! Sorry to say for him, but Muriel prefers a Brooklyn gorilla to a Hungarian mad scientist. Ramona, Bela's prize chimp, also takes a liking to Sammy. If the plot sounds like there's too much monkey business going on, just relax and laugh along with the insanity! Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo never made another movie together, to the best of my knowledge. After this classic flick, Bela Lugosi was primed and ready to make a career comeback, starring in Ed Wood films.

When you see this insanity, you want to say "Oh how the mighty have fallen" when you see Bela Lugosi in this mess! What a comedown! Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis on welfare! Here, Lugosi is a mad scientist who turns the Dean Martin copycat into a gorilla so that he (Lugosi) could have the beautiful heroine all to himself. The faux Jerry Lewis does an extremely weak imitation of the "master." Folks, ths must be seen (if you can stomach it) to believed! This film is as outrageous as it's title and makes "Gilligan's Island" look like "Gone With the Wind." YUCK!

Well I happen to like this film. For thoes of you who know film very well it's kind of like the Lemmon Drop Kids by Ray Dennis Steckler (of Rat Fink and boo boo fame) here is a really silly comedy that by all means was a knock off film. but where Dean and Jerry had to not OVER due it in their films.
Sammy and Duke are more or less a warner brothers cartoon send up of them. So they wend as silly and crazy as they could go in one film. I think that they had an energy that was missing from martin and Lewis. I will admit it is a dumb plot and will not go down in time as one of the greatest films ever made.
But I definetly tell you to give it a chance.
thanks for your time
Mike

A painful movie. Not likely to be enjoyed by Lugosi fans, because he really isn't in it that much, and has little to do when he is.

Not likely to make bad movie fanatics happy, either, because movies that try for laughs are nowhere near as entertaining as those who try to be serious and largely fail. This movie is not Plan 9 funny. It's not Mole People funny. Heck, it's not even Pauly Shore funny. Make no mistake, this movie is not funny.

The Lewis and Martin impersonators were accurate enough, I suppose. But you have to think the real articles are funny in the first place to garner any enjoyment. The faux Martin croons as island ladies swoon, the quasi-Lewis shrieks and yells and mugs and runs and runs some more from a fat woman. The gorilla lumbers about and I think it's the Martin-fake, hence the title; but I've been trying to forget, so things are a little murky. Goofy, tiresome, and loud? Yes. Entertaining? Decidedly not.

Maybe this is revered in France.

Oh, yeah, there's a surprise ending, too...