A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father’s ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.

Credits: TheMovieDb.

Film Cast:

• Jill Young: Terry Moore
• Gregg Johnson: Ben Johnson
• Max O’Hara: Robert Armstrong
• Windy: Frank McHugh
• Jones: Douglas Fowley
• Crawford: Denis Greene
• Smith: Paul Guilfoyle
• Brown: Nestor Paiva
• John Young: Regis Toomey
• Jill (as a child): Lora Lee Michel
• Schultz: James Flavin
• Secretary (uncredited): Mary Field
• Orphanage matron (uncredited): Ellen Corby
• Nightclub patron (uncredited): Bess Flowers
• Gloria (uncredited): Iris Adrian
• Sam (uncredited): Jack Pennick
• Alice (uncredited): Joyce Compton
• Jones (uncredited): Byron Foulger
• Attorney (uncredited): Addison Richards
• Strong Man (uncredited): Henry Kulky
• Boy (uncredited): Dwayne Hickman
• Cowboy (uncredited): Richard Farnsworth
• Producer (uncredited): Charles Lane
• Red (uncredited): Kermit Maynard
• Southern Belle at the Bar (uncredited): Irene Ryan
• Gas Station Attendant (uncredited): William Schallert
• Woman’s Scream (uncredited): Fay Wray
• Strongman (uncredited): Ivan Rasputin
• Policeman with Tramp (uncredited): Harry Strang
• Strongman (uncredited): William ‘Wee Willie’ Davis
• Headwaiter (uncredited): Robert Tafur
• Reporter: Archie Twitchell
• Nightclub Dancer (uncredited): Jacqueline Dalya
• Strong Man: Sammy Menacker
• Nightclub Patron (uncredited): Herschel Graham

Film Crew:

• Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
• Producer: Merian C. Cooper
• Screenplay: Ruth Rose
• Director of Photography: J. Roy Hunt
• Executive Producer: John Ford
• Editor: Ted Cheesman
• Original Music Composer: Roy Webb
• Visual Effects: Ray Harryhausen
• Makeup Artist: Mel Berns
• Art Direction: James Basevi
• Assistant Art Director: Howard Richmond
• Sound Editor: Walter Elliott
• Music Director: C. Bakaleinikoff
• Costume Design: Adele Balkan
• Sound: John L. Cass
• Sound: Clem Portman
• Visual Effects: Harold E. Stine
• Visual Effects: Bert Willis
• Visual Effects: Linwood G. Dunn
• Visual Effects: Willis H. O’Brien

Movie Reviews:

• John Chard: Listen you guys, cut out the rough stuff or I’ll feed you to the lions.
• Unfairly chastised in some quarters for being a kiddie friendly King Kong, Mighty Joe Young is as charming as an Autumnal day. Many of the team from King Kong reteam to make this film, and undoubtedly it’s pretty much the same plotting only with a different resolution.
• However, the effects work is still magical, harking back to a time when geniuses like Willis O’Brien and Ray Harryhausen sweated buckets to make the magic move on the screen. Mighty Joe, the huge Gorilla of the title, is beautifully realised, full of expressions and emotions, he even has time for some sense of humour traits.
• Action is never far away, with models and sets destroyed with brute force, while plenty of beings get flung about to emphasise the madness of it all. Narratively like Kong there’s still themes of greed and ignorance, the tampering with Mother Nature a big mistake, which all leads to a thrilling finale that in turn leads to something to savour.
• Kiddie Kong? Who cares! A wonderful film of skill and guile, of charm and brains. Go Joe Go! 8/10