Bride of the Gorilla

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Bride of the Gorilla
Bride-of-the-Gorilla.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Curt Siodmak
Written by Curt Siodmak
Produced by Jack Broder
Edward Leven
Starring Barbara Payton
Lon Chaney Jr.
Raymond Burr
Tom Conway
Cinematography Charles Van Enger
Edited by Francis D. Lyon
Music by Raoul Kraushaar
Mort Glickman
Distributed by Jack Broder Productions Inc.
Release date
  • October 24, 1951 (1951-10-24)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Bride of the Gorilla is a 1951 horror B-movie film written and directed by Curt Siodmak and starring Raymond Burr, Lon Chaney Jr., Barbara Payton and Tom Conway.

Contents

Plot

Deep in the Latin American jungles, plantation manager Barney Chavez kills his elderly employer, who is married to the beautiful Dina Van Gelder. Old native witch Al-Long witnesses the murder and places a curse on Barney, who transforms into a rampaging gorilla-like beast each night. Superstitious police commissioner Taro investigates the plantation owner's death and a rash of strange animal killings. He interviews farmers who have seen the bloodthirsty animal, which they identify as Sukara, a mythical jungle demon resembling a gorilla.

Dina is also becoming suspicious of Barney, who seems to be more in love with the jungle than he is with her. She follows him one night into the jungle but is attacked by the feral Barney. Taro and his friend Dr. Viet follow her screams in the jungle and shoot Barney. Before he dies, Barney peers into his reflection from a pond and sees "sukara" staring back at him.

Cast

Production

Raymond Burr and Barbara Payton Barbara Payton-Raymond Burr in Bride of the Gorilla still.jpg
Raymond Burr and Barbara Payton

The film's working title was The Face in the Water.

Writer and director Curt Siodmak considered switching the roles of Lon Chaney Jr. and Raymond Burr, but because of Chaney's deteriorating appearance, the idea was dropped.

The film was shot in 10 days.

Reception

Dennis Schwartz in a modern review said, "Siodmak’s serious manner of storytelling and stagy presentation never reaches the potential camp fun this mindless film could have been if it just let itself go ape. Though far from being one of the worst films ever, it can only settle for mediocrity as a magical film where the magic just didn’t work." [1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Schwartz, Dennis. "BRIDE OF THE GORILLA". Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
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