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Greetings, and welcome to VIEWING THE CLASSICS. Here you'll find capsule reviews of vintage movies from the early days of cinema through the 1970s, with a special emphasis on sci-fi, horror, and mystery movies. Be sure to check out the Pages links, where you can find a Film Index of all my reviews, links to the reviews organized by cast members, directors, and other contributors, and links to my reviews of the films of talented young director Joshua Kennedy.

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Sunday, July 8, 2018

Konga (1961)

Starring Michael Gough, Margo Johns, Jess Conrad, Claire Gordon, Austin Trevor
Directed by John Lemont
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An English botanist returns from a harrowing year in the jungle with a plant serum that can make animals grow to a tremendous size, and uses it on a monkey to rid himself of his enemies and rivals.

One of a trio of vehicles from producer Herman Cohen for actor Michael Gough, which had him playing reprehensible characters with sadistic and evil natures who drove the horror storylines to their finish with his nefarious schemes.  In this entry, compared to the other two, Horrors Of The Black Museum and Black Zoo, we are at first exposed to a thoughtful and polite and even grateful Gough, and for a minute we think he may not be so bad, but when people start to get in his way, he liquidates them with the aid of his giant gorilla, Konga.  Despite a climax in which Konga grows to King Kong size, this is more Gough's movie than the ape's, and horror fans are sure to relish his venomous dialogue and hateful expressions.  As for the film's special effects, they are accomplished via a gorilla suit actor shot against miniatures, some of which are fairly effective and some which look horrible.  Nevertheless, it's worth seeing for Gough's showcase, and those who like to see giant apes stomping down city streets should find even more to enjoy.

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