Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) User Reviews

Not nearly as bad as legend has it.

[Steve-171 · 4/10 · 4 August 2000]

Okay, once you get past the fact that Mitchell and Petrillo are Dean and Jerry knockoffs, you could do worse than this film. Charlita as Princess Nona is great eye candy, Lugosi does his best with the material he's given, and the production values, music especially (except for the vocals) are better than you'd think for the $50k cost of production. The final glimpses of the characters are a hoot. Written by Tim Ryan, a minor actor in late Charlie Chan films, and husband of Grannie on the Beverly Hillbillies. All in all, WAY better than many late Lugosi cheapies.

Cult camp no budget nonsense

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 25 October 2015]

BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA barely qualifies as a proper film, although it is a madcap rip-off of a popular comedy series pairing up Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. This one stars the exceptionally irritating Sammy Petrillo (who looks just like Jim Carrey in DUMB AND DUMBER, except this time it's for real) and his buddy Duke Mitchell who travel to a remote Pacific island to live it up with the natives.

The whole film consists of their various encounters with jungle flora and fauna, from dancing native girls to chimpanzees (a welcome cameo from Tarazan's Cheetah) and even a gorilla or two. Inevitably the action is silly and the humour even sillier, although horror fans might be interested to see Bela Lugosi here, as reliable as ever in support as a sinister mad scientist type, forever conducting weird experiments. Lugosi hams it up a treat and is really the only reason to bother sitting through such a dated and otherwise pointless film. It's no surprise director William Beaudine directed around 350 movies when they were of this calibre.

Bela Lugosi meets his name in the title

[kevinolzak · 3/10 · 22 June 2021]

1952's "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla" was Realart's follow up to Lon Chaney's financially successful "Bride of the Gorilla," producers Jack Broder and Herman Cohen looking for a similar hit with another horror star, shot in six days on an even lower budget of $12,000 (working titles "Bela Lugosi Meets the Gorilla Man" and "White Woman of the Lost Jungle"). Hollywood had ignored the chronically unemployed actor during the four years since his last triumph as Dracula in "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein," and here he was opposite another comedy team that only did this lone feature together, from a witless script cobbled together by Tim Ryan, husband of Irene Ryan from THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, better known as a tough guy actor in Poverty Row pictures (the reissue title was "The Boys from Brooklyn"). Nightclub performers known for aping Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Duke Mitchell delivers like Martin with laid back style on two songs, while teenager Sammy Petrillo looks and sounds so much like the genuine Lewis that one might easily be confused. The actual Martin and Lewis surely wouldn't have fared much better playing two entertainers trapped on a Pacific island (parachuting off screen of course) with nothing to do but venture into the castle of Lugosi's mad scientist Dr. Zabor, working on a theory of evolution using primates as guinea pigs. Ramona the chimp falls for Sammy, but the doctor's assistant (Charlita) is sweet on Duke, driving the jealous Zabor to a desperate plan to keep her from straying by transforming the luckless crooner into a gorilla. Both Ray Corrigan and Steve Calvert are available in ratty ape costumes, Duke unable to speak but still able to belt out his signature piece "Deed I Do," giving Sammy ideas for a singing simian living close to the local zoo (while studying the later career of Bela Lugosi for Tim Burton's 1994 "Ed Wood," Martin Landau considered this one so bad that the Wood titles looked like "Gone with the Wind" by comparison). Both Mitchell and Petrillo could have carved out a niche for themselves were they not at the mercy of shopworn material, and by the time the real Martin and Lewis broke up in 1956 they too decided to call it quits (Lewis was more litigious than his partner, but only a great deal of shouting resulted). A native of Farrell, Pennsylvania, Mitchell later worked for Dean Martin himself, a man who certainly appreciated real talent, doing impressions of other singers and making a name for himself as 'King of Palm Springs.' Sammy Petrillo's belief was that Jack Broder had no intention of making their starring feature, expecting a huge payout from Paramount not to do it but went ahead to save face. Sammy truly gives it his all, but a tendency to laugh uproariously at his own lame jokes deadens all attempts at humor well before Lugosi finally makes his entrance at the 21 minute mark. The Bronx-born Petrillo later opened a nightclub called The Nut House in his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, lending a helping hand to up and comers like Richard Pryor and Dennis Miller. At the helm for this oddity was old pro William Beaudine, of "The Ape Man," "Ghosts on the Loose," and "Voodoo Man," whose only remaining genre titles formed the 1965 double bill "Billy the Kid versus Dracula" and "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter." Veteran cameraman Charles Van Enger also photographed "Bride of the Gorilla," a longtime Universal veteran (including Bela's "Night Monster") with a dozen Abbott and Costello titles on his resume, his most recent being "Meet the Killer Boris Karloff." It's possible that having his name in the title appeased Lugosi in some small way, he's perfectly fine in the role but it's very old and tired, no stretch for an actor so used to playing crazed doctors. The references to Dracula are numerous and not funny, and while Bela is often smiling in the early stages (17 minutes screen time), even he becomes annoyed at Sammy's antics before long, sadly looking forward only to "The Black Sleep" and the Ed Wood trio. After working with Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, Victor McLaglen and Edmund Lowe, Joe E. Brown, W. C. Fields, The Ritz Brothers, Kay Kyser, the East Side Kids (twice), Wally Brown and Alan Carney (also twice), and most recently drag act Arthur Lucan, could an ersatz Martin and Lewis really look that bad?

Silly, but cute...

[Teenie · 23 July 2000]

OK, it was a dumb movie. It was an obvious takeoff of Martin and Lewis, but it was good, clean, innocent fun aimed at the "mad scientist and the gorilla" genre that was enjoyed by Abbott & Costello, The Three Stooges, The Bowery Boys, The Ritz Brothers, etc. Any nostalgia buff would get a nudge instead of a kick out of this film. Sammy Petrillo is almost a clone of Jerry Lewis - even his facial expressions are like carbon copies of Lewis'. Duke Mitchell, on the other hand, needed serious help. Dean Martin he ain't. He can't even sing. If just for the pleasure of seeing Bela Lugosi at his sinister best, tune in. For what few snickers it offers, it's worth a look.

Bottom-of-the-barrel comedy from Realart Pictures

[AlsExGal · 2/10 · 22 March 2021]

... and director William Beaudine. Nightclub performers Duke Mitchell (Duke Mitchell) and Sammy Petrillo (Sammy Petrillo) fall out of an airplane and land on a remote tropical island. The natives nurse them back to health, and Duke falls for the chief's daughter Nona (Charlita). Nona, who was educated in the US, introduces Duke and Sammy to the island's resident mad scientist, Dr. Zabor (Bela Lugosi), who is experimenting with transforming apes into monkeys, monkeys into apes, and humans into both.

This one certainly lives down to its reputation. Mitchell and Petrillo, for those who don't know, were an awful nightclub act that was a direct rip-off of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Petrillo, who looks a lot like the young Lewis and had a gift for vocal mimicry, makes Jerry's comic antics look nuanced and reserved, while Mitchell, a cheeseball crooner, wasn't fit to polish Martin's shoes. Combine their "talents" with a sub-moronic script, no-budget production values, and the directorial flourish of "One Shot" Beaudine, and you have a bad-movie "classic". Seeing the elderly, emaciated Lugosi trying his best in this garbage was both inspiring (he gave it his all even in this trash) and depressing (what's he doing in this trash?). Bela followed this up with his Ed Wood-directed appearances. I can't really say that I would rank this with the more entertaining of the worst movies ever made. I've sat through more excruciating experiences, but this one provided nothing warranting a second viewing. It gets two stars just for Bela being such a trooper.

...............And The Gorilla Won in Two Straight Falls.

[bkoganbing · 2/10 · 27 October 2007]

I remember seeing this film as a kid and wondering who these two guys were who were doing this bad imitation of Martin and Lewis. Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo mercifully left the cinema after this horribly bad film which only left poor Bela Lugosi work for someone like Ed Wood.

The sad thing I believe was that Bela probably took the part because he was going to be billed in the title of the film, the way his rival Boris Karloff was billed in Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. Even though that wasn't one of A&C's best it still was miles above this grade Z shlock.

Bela tries to make it work, hams it up in his best sinister manner. But even he noted that the classic horror film was killed by Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It would not be revived until Hammer Films over in the UK started putting out those Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee bloodfests.

Of course no songs were written of the caliber of what Dean Martin was singing at Paramount and Duke Mitchell is a bad high school version of Dean Martin. I can't remember any of them, probably that's a blessing.

For Bela Lugosi completists only.

Better than its reputation

[JoeB131 · 5/10 · 17 July 2008]

This is actually a much better movie than its reputation. The shorthand is that it's a cheap movie with a couple of Martin and Lewis imitators. This is true, Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo attempted to cash in by doing a imitation of Dean and Jerry, (and were sandbagged by Lewis who didn't like the competition). Combine that with a director notorious for never shooting second takes, and Bela Lugosi in his downward spiral of his career, and it should be a complete disaster. However, it is well shot, and the performances are tolerable.

Lugosi plays his stock character of a mad scientist doing some weird experiment with apes and evolution, with an unhealthy crush on a native girl who looks way too white. When Mitchell charms her, Bela decides to make him the subject of his new serum that turns people into apes.

How often did Bela have to do movies with guys in Ape Suits? And why was that such a cool thing in the 30's and 40's?

It's watchable. The most grating part is Petrillo's imitation of Jerry Lewis, but then again, the real Jerry Lewis was equally annoying.

Torture!

[utgard14 · 1/10 · 13 July 2017]

Wretched "comedy" starring blatant Martin & Lewis rip-offs Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo. I don't even like the real Martin & Lewis, so you can imagine how much a couple of imitators must grate on my nerves. The only reason I even subjected myself to this is that it's one of the few Bela Lugosi movies I've never seen. Now I wish I could unsee it. Sammy Petrillo is the worst! Loud, talentless, incessantly trying for any laughs, desperately grabbing for them like a drowning man looking for a lifeline. He never lets up. I was sick of him by the end of his first scene. I'm shocked the cast and crew didn't assault him. As for Bela, he looks gaunt and sickly. His presence here is just depressing. Best part about the movie is eye candy Charlita. I don't ever want to see this again. I'm not surprised this is the only film Duke & Sammy made. I'm also not surprised Jerry Lewis did his best to keep Petrillo from working. Normally, I would think that's not a good look for Jerry but in this case I think he did humanity a favor.

Excruciating

[Flak_Magnet · 2/10 · 10 September 2009]

This movie is like Chemotherapy; it sucks the life right out of your bone marrow. It wrecks you on a cellular level and there is nothing funny about it. Imagine watching Jerry Lewis run around a jungle set with a guy in a gorilla suit, screaming and making cross-eyed faces. Now, replace Jerry Lewis with a Jerry Lewis impersonator; who is, if you can believe it, more annoying than Lewis. Bela has about 15-min of screen time, and he is entirely wooden. The Dean Martin impersontar looks and sounds nothing like Dean Martin. The most captivating performance is from a chimpanze. Honest. You don't have to do this, people. Some doors are best left unopened. ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet

Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla is the only movie starring the comedy team of Mitchell & Petrillo

[tavm · 3/10 · 22 August 2011]

Okay, having just watched the first 6 of Martin & Lewis' films, I thought I'd take a break and see something else. Something that starred their impersonators. Something called Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla! That title was supposedly made up by the producer's kid and by giving it that name, Mr. Lugosi didn't have to worry that anyone would forget who the star is. Yeah, I'd say he's probably the main attraction, then and now, since he's the only one anyone would recognize here except, like I just said, there's two other people that look like a popular comedy team that had emerged during this era, only their names are Duke Mitchell & Sammy Petrillo. Now Duke does sing a couple of songs of which I thought the first was lame (and he really looked like he was mouthing to, I assume, his own recordings) and the second was okay though he really doesn't resemble Dean in looks or voice but his attitude is the same. And Sammy does resemble Jerry both in looks and attitude but the lines he's given were alternately a little amusing and mostly lame though I did like it when they did a bit about having seen Lugosi before. Oh, and unlike Lewis at the time, Petrillo does mention some Jewish terms. As for their leading ladies, Charlita as Nona, Dean's girl is sexy enough while Muriel Landers as Saloma (who Sammy sometimes refers as "Salami"!) has a pleasingly plump figure that doesn't completely drive Sammy away. There's also a monkey who was borrowed from the Tarzan movies that's good for some cuteness and a couple of men in gorilla suits that provide the amusingly lame climax. And Lugosi himself, despite being reduced to appearing in many of these low-budget productions late in his career, still provides some moments worth watching especially when he parodies his career reputation with Duke & Sammy. So on that note, Bela Lugosi Meets a Broklyn Gorilla is worth a look for anyone curious about this one-shot chance with these Martin & Lewis impersonators. P.S. I have to note that Ms. Landers was another performer from my birthtown of Chicago, Ill.

Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) **

[JoeKarlosi · 5/10 · 19 August 2006]

Poor Bela. By the time he got to the Fabulous '50s, he was sharing the screen with everything from transvestites to a rubber octopus! But nothing could have prepared him for acting alongside the flash-in-the-pan, non-comical duo of Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo. These thoroughly unfunny Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis imitators were "introduced" with this picture and then promptly forgotten in its wake. I'm no fan of the real Jerry Lewis and have never cared for any of his films until he played straight man to Robert De Niro in THE KING OF COMEDY; but the actor had a point there when he became perturbed over Petrillo's dead-on steal of his characterizations in this movie.

Duke and Sammy get washed up on an island where they meet a well-formed scantily clad beauty (Charlita). When crooner Duke (who takes after Tony Curtis more so than Dean Martin) isn't breaking out into what's supposed to be "song" (this guy can't sing) with chart-busters like "Deed I Do," we're suffering through Sammy's annoying childlike hysterics that make us pine for those screechy nails on the ol' chalkboard instead. Well, we can always admire the sexy figure of Charlita in the meantime. She slips in and out of her foreign accent while helping the boys seek out Dr. Zabor (Lugosi, naturally) who lives in a castle on the far side of her island. Maybe he can help them get back home, except that he's busy developing a formula to reverse the evolution process and falling for Charlita (who's young enough to be his granddaughter). The ending of the movie kind of makes everything all right and is a hoot with Bela being particularly humorous, but I won't reveal it here.

I do like the jokey bits with Lugosi throughout this film, as he seems game and very comfortable doing the comedy. As always, he manages to keep professional and sincere in spite of the demeaning material, even spoofing his legendary Dracula persona in some comical moments. For an old man only a few years from death I was amazed at his agility, sitting cross-legged on the floor during a lengthy sequence and rising like it was nothing at all, getting knocked down a couple of times, and such. Indeed, Bela is the saving grace of a dismal movie once again. In summary, I think that BELA LUGOSI METES A BROOKYLN GORILLA - despite its laughable title and horrid reputation - is nowhere near as unwatchable as you may have heard. ** out of ****

But It's Bella Lugosi

[Der_Vampyr · 8/10 · 18 February 2002]

OK, so the stars are a poor (very poor) imitation of Martin & Lewis. Yes, the movie is a lot on the low budget and bad side. Yet, it's Bela Lugosi! From great movies like Dracula, Island of Lost Souls and The Black Cat to bombs like Plan 9 from Outer Space, Bride of the Monster and Mother Riley Meets the Vampire, Bela makes it worth your time in one way or another.

I like this film. It's silly and not very good, but it makes me laugh. Therefore, I'm entertained and that's the whole idea.

Dracula! Jerry Lewis! Monkeys! Who Can Resist?

[hokeybutt · 6/10 · 1 July 2005]

BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA (3 outta 5 stars) Okay, this is a lousy movie... but it still entertained the heck out of me. It's so unbelievably bad that you cannot take your eyes away for a second lest you miss something. Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo star as... Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Well, it was probably meant more as a rip-off than an homage... but why quibble? Duke Mitchell is a dreadful singer and he hardly even looks like Dean Martin... they could have dragged anyone in off the street and given him that haircut and they'd have been just as good. Petrillo, on the other hand, is a dead-on ringer for a young, lean Jerry Lewis (whether this is good or bad news depends on your tolerance for Jerry Lewis). Bela Lugosi co-stars as a creepy mad doctor who turns people into gorillas.. or whatever. (Don't expect the story to make any sense.) Really, this movie isn't any worse than a lot of those classic buddy comedy movies of the era. The jokes are corny, the plot is silly and there are totally unnecessary musical and romantic subplots. But. come on, you know you are just DYING to see a movie that mixes together Dracula, Jerry Lewis and monkeys!

What were they thinking?!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 26 February 2007]

Despite decent production values, this is a truly dreadful film. You know it's bad when probably the best thing about the movie is its direction--considering it was done by William "One Shot" Beaudine--a director famous for never doing retakes even when a cameraman or microphone is clearly visible in the scene!! The film stinks for two major reasons--the story idea is so ludicrously stupid and the stars of the film are among the least talented and annoying in film history. As for the story, it's best summed up by just reading the title! However, I'll explain a little more of the basic plot: Two total morons parachute onto a Pacific island inhabited by a very, very strange tribe. While the tribe is very primitive, there is a mad scientist (Lugosi) working on the island with the chief's daughter as his assistant. Now the tribe still has a witch doctor AND they live in primitive huts, but somehow the girl has managed to go off to college in the US and is a lab tech!! The less annoying of the morons falls for the girl and vice-versa, but Lugosi plays an old pervert who secretly wants the girl--so he naturally turns the moron into a gorilla! Believe it or not, I am NOT making this up in the least! Now while this is all super silly and bizarre, the film is even worse than you'd expect because the actors playing the morons are, in fact, real morons--in the form of the "comedy" team of Mitchell and Petrillo. They are obviously ripping off the act of Martin and Lewis and don't even try to be original. Mitchell is a shorter knockoff of Martin and his job is to sing (rather poorly) and get the girl. Petrillo is the complete cretin whose job is to make us think that turning him into a gorilla would be a major improvement!! Sadly, though, it is Mitchell that becomes the gorilla.

Although Petrillo is made up to look almost exactly like Jerry Lewis circa 1950, his shtick is essentially to take the worst aspects of Lewis' act and beat them like a dead horse. Sure Jerry is known for his mugging and over-acting, but Petrillo does this constantly--like someone's untalented family member who insists on doing obnoxious imitations every time company arrives! Goober from The Andy Griffith show did an imitation of Cary Grant where he just yells "Judy, Judy, Judy" again and again (even though Grant never actually uttered the lines)--this is about the same quality as Petrillo's performance. In addition to his awfully nasal voice and dominance of every scene he is in (sounds like Lewis, huh?), he injects a lot of Jewish humor that Lewis rarely did on film. So, if you watch it, have your Yiddish dictionary nearby you mensch!

So why did I give this film a 2 and not less? Well, for curiosity sake and adequate production values, I was feeling charitable. This film is only for fans of bad films or for someone who insists on seeing all of Lugosi's films (including the many bad ones from late in his career). Otherwise, for your sake and those in your home, DON'T watch this film!!!! Show your family you love them and burn this DVD!!!

Bela Meets the Clone

[wsureck · 28 May 2003]

Bela and Jerry Lewis clone Sammy make this oddity worth watching at least once. This film was made for DVD...so you can rapidly forward through some boring romantic scenes. Amazingly this silly film sort of grows on you like a fungus with multiple viewings; somehow it is goofy-innocent in all its dumb or dumber glory. "Gorilla" kind of reminded me of Lugosi's early 1940's hammy Monogram films despite the lack of musical numbers in the earlier films; not that anyone needs Duke Mitchell's singing (which reminded me of Elvis with a chest cold). This is one of the few non-European films of Lugosi's I had never seen, so it was a fresh experience. The DVD I bought had amazing picture clarity and sound quality; just the opposite of what is usually released at $6.99. Still, without Lugosi, the "Gorilla" probably would have decomposed in its film can long ago, and I'll admit the film is primarily of interest to bad film fans.

Pure, absolute pain.

[madscientist2787 · 4/10 · 13 November 2005]

Martin Landau was correct in his assessment that this film makes Bela Lugosi's Ed Wood-directed films look like "Gone With the Wind" in comparison. Bela gets a top billing here, but in truth he merely plays second fiddle to a Martin and Lewis ripoff duo who are quite literally the two most annoying characters in all the movies ever made.

I'm not familiar with any of the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedies, but after seeing this film I'm not in a hurry to acquire any of them. Duke Mitchell, the Dino-ripoff, has all the charm of a urinal in a men's public bathroom, and his singing voice is akin to that of Elvis Presley with a chest cold crooning into a cardboard toiler paper tube. His friend Sammy Petrillo makes for such bad, loud, ugly, unfunny, and downright wretched comic relief that he makes Jar Jar Binks look like Hannibal Lecter. With his hideous facial features and shrill, high-pitched caterwaul, I can't imagine why anyone would put him in a motion picture, as opposed to putting him in the woods, in an unmarked grave at midnight.

There isn't very much to say about Lugosi; he plays his mad scientist character with what appears to be a constant look of shame for being involved in such a dumb film. There are unconvincing-looking jungle natives, stock footage animals, a fat girl who keeps chasing Petrillo, et al. If you value your sanity and well-being, skip this one.

aka. Bela Lugosi meets the most annoying person on the planet

[kbone32-1 · 3/10 · 5 December 2006]

I gave this film a 3 only because of Bela Lugosi. If not a .07 would be about correct since there is awful and then, well there is this movie. Take a Dean Martin remove acting and singing talent then drop his IQ by about 50 points and you have Duke Mitchell. Then take a Jerry Lewis remove anything funny about him and then raise the annoying factor up about 1000% and you have Sam Petrillo. The story line is thin. These 2 maroons fall off an airplane heading to do a show for the troops in Guam. At least their luck held out, for us, well they just happen to have parachutes that work. Great. The two end up meeting the local natives and one happens to be a babe who falls for Mitchell. This makes (the only bright spot) Bela Lugosi angry since he is in love with her and so he turns Mitchell into a gorilla. (which is a vast improvement over his acting as Duke Mitchell) The problem is the real fireworks don't really start until about the last 10 to 15 minutes of the film. So you really have to endure the annoying Petrillo, and Duke singing which could bring tears to the deaf. Another bright spot happens at the end. (before the "THE END" hits the screen) and that is when Lugosi shoots Petrillo but the scene ends to quick. I was hoping Petrillo would have agonized more before dying at least 10 minutes worth of pain and suffering would have been nice. This could have allowed me time to refresh my drink, have a shot of jaegermeister, and do the lucky me dance while thinking there maybe is justice in this world. Unless you are a die hard Lugosi fan stay clear of this one.

Gorilla Glue won't fix this problem. This comedy was really bad. It seem like monkeys made it!

[ironhorse_iv · 2/10 · 5 November 2017]

It's sad, to think, that this comedy was originally supposed to be a horror movie based off, author HG Wells 1896's novel, 'the Island of Doctor Moreau' called 'White Woman of the Lost Jungle" before it was turn into a Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis comedy rip off by studio head, Jack Broder, president of Realart Pictures & producer, Herman Cohen, with celebrity impersonators, Duke Mitchell and Sam Petrillo in the title roles. I was really, looking forward to seeing a serious version of that, with Bela Lugosi as the main villain turning humans into animals. It might had save his career. Sadly, 1952's '"The Boys from Brooklyn" did not, as Lugosi went on to star, in later films, produce & directed by Edward Woods such as 1953's 'Glen or Glenda', 1955's 'Bride of the Monster' & 1956's 'Plan 9 from Outer Space'. So, why did, Cohen & Broder made it into a comedy!? Well, they wanted to capitalize on Martin & Lewis act, with a Sci-fi/horror audience, before the duo can do that, with 1953's movie 'Scared Stiff' that has a similar story; in which, both performers find themselves on an island, fighting supernatural beings. Since, "The Boys from Brooklyn' was schedule to be released a few months before, 1953's 'Scared Stiff' come out, it really did make it seem like Martin & Lewis was ripping off them, instead of the other way, around. No wonder, why Jerry Lewis was furious, and threatened to sue, Broder & the flash-in-the-pan, limited talent, copycat-comical duo of Petrillo & Duke. 'The Boys from Brooklyn', was really the mockbuster of its day. While, the suit was later dismissed, it still convince the filmmakers to take some precautions, like changing the title in US markets. Instead of focusing the duos, the new title, focus on Bela Lugosi's appearance in the film, as it was one of Lugosi's first presence in movies, after many years, away, due to health reasons. While, Lugosi really did acted professionally and was nice, during production. His acting in this, was not good. He looks very tiresome, as he quite ill at the time due to his addiction to morphine. Also, it really did seems like, he really didn't give a crap, being typecast as a mad scientist, anymore. He was really in a bad place at the time, when playing Dr. Zabor. As for Duke Mitchell and Sam Petrillo. They were really bad playing fictional screen version of themselves performing their nightclub acts. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of celebrity impersonators; whether it's on, seeing them on television, like skit-comedy shows like 'Saturday Night Live', or meeting them in person in Music Halls, Theme Parks, Conventions, or even the streets of Las Vegas, with Elvis Presley Tribute Artists of America. Yet, I never really like Mitchell or Petrillo. They never were any good with their Lewis & Martin homage act. Where were the sexual innuendo humor that Martin & Lewis, was somewhat known for!? Where is the clever slapstick!? The jokes here, are not really funny or smart. They were mostly bland, because there wasn't much risk. They were cheesy jokes, you would, tell, in preschool, not in night-clubs. For the most part, the jokes came across, as dry & obnoxious, than funny. As for the singing. While, Mitchell does, alright voice, his cover version of "Too Song' by artist, Nick Therry & 'Deed I do' by artist, Walter Hirsch & Fred Rose, were not that memorable. As for their acting. They were really bad. They often flub their lines. They really were amateurs. It really didn't help them, that they were directed by William Beaudine, a man known as 'One Shot' Willies, whom often shot economically, regardless, if the actor mess up the line or a special effects malfunction. He usually had to do this, to save money and time, as he was always working on multiply projects, due to his financial losses over the years. So, it was no surprise that the film had a shot of Petrillo nearly getting his face, torn off, by a 'supposedly' trained champ named Ramona, known from the Tarzan movies. You would think, shots like that, wouldn't be the final film. Nevertheless, it become clearer as the film goes on, that the movie is low-budget. They often reused the same sets, props and stock footage from other movies, even if it doesn't really match, the settlings. As for the 'supposedly' native islanders extras. It was very offensive to see them, act in dirty red-face with the slow stereotypical talking, you would see, in a cartoon than a real-life movie. It was not good. To top it off, the film has one of the worst ending, I ever witness. Without spoiling it, it's a huge cop out! I haven't saw, an similar ending so bad, since 1953's 'Robot Monster', where a boy, apparently wakes up after suffering a mild concussion, revealing that the bulk of the film had presumably been a dream. It's that bad. Overall: To be quite honest, I was never a huge fan of comedian/musician Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis comedies of the 1950s. Nevertheless, I do understand, if some people love them. Lewis does have a funny zany side to him, even if he's highly annoying, and Martin does have the beautiful singing voice, and straight man, cool factor. However, I can't recommended any of them in seeing this movie. I rather slip on a banana peel, than watch this movie, again. It's that bad.

Amazing ripoff of Martin & Lewis

[ilrar-1 · 2/10 · 17 March 2006]

I remember seeing Duke and Sammie in person hawking this film in front of the theater on Broadway in Manhattan in the summer of 1952. I was on vacation so I decided to see this film and the blatant ripoff of Dean and Jerry. It was hilariously bad. However today I find this film to be a collectors item. It is worth seeing just to see how they copied Martin & Lewis and because of the wonderful Bela Legosi. The film is a curiosity and rates with the likes of Plan 9 from Outer Space. I bought the DVD and watched it again. It was so bad that I really enjoyed it and laughed my head off. The DVD is available for cheap and is worth buying as a collectors item.

Worth Paying Money Not To See

[gftbiloxi · 1/10 · 15 May 2005]

Now and then a badly made film is so incredibly inept that it becomes hilariously funny and attains cult movie status. But for the most part, badly made films are just bad plain and simple, and BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA is a case in point.

The story line is similar to the Crosby-Hope films of the 1940s. Two entertainers accidentally walk out of an airplane in flight and find themselves on a strange tropical island. How strange is it? Well, it's so strange that Bela Lugosi lives there, and he's trying to find a way to turn men into monkeys. One of the native girls is the banana of Lugosi's eye, and when she takes a fancy to one of the stranded song-and-dance men you can pretty much bet the guy is about to become a laboratory experiment.

The problem with the movie isn't so much the story as it is the actual script, which is dreadful, and the cast, which is worse. The lines are dumb rather than funny and the cast--most notably Sammy Petrillo in his tooth-gritting Jerry Lewis imitation--is abrasive rather than funny. Petrillo's partner in this crime is actor Duke Mitchell, who is equally tiresome as a low-rent imitation of Dean Martin. As for Bela Lugosi, he may get title billing, but there's not much to the role, and that may actually be for the best.

There are several DVD releases of this film, some with bonuses, some without, some good quality prints, some lousy. But to my mind it doesn't matter: no matter how you look at this thing, it's worth paying money so you DON'T have to watch it. A cult favorite? I don't know who gives it that accolade, but believe me when I say they can have it.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

So Bad it's Bad

[icaredor · 1/10 · 2 December 2010]

No movie seems too awful for someone to claim SoBIG status for it. I suppose we must each draw our own lines in our own way. I think I must draw one here. Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla has all the ingredients for a fun D-grade movie – bad script, bad sets, bad acting, a gorilla, etc. However, it is so devoid of any spark of creativity that it offended even my meager aesthetic sense. In the pantheon of soft drinks, if such an erection were ever raised, this film would be decaffeinated, vanilla, diet Crown Cola: a cheap, shameless, tasteless rip-off. It plagiarizes the "Abbott and Costello Meet..." movies and those by that other comedy duo (Lewis and Clark, was it?), and just about anything else it can exploit.

I only watched Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla because it had that Dracula guy in it. I forget his name. But the waning Count is only dribbled out for his notoriety and is completely wasted here (although having the seventy-year old Bela pawing Nona, the island maiden, does produce the only moment in the movie that is creepy...but not in the spooky way).

Even given all of this, I may have let BLmaBG slide with three stars -- well, it does have Bela Lugosi AND a gorilla, two actually, and a chimp -- until the ending pushed it under the bottom: They couldn't be bothered to come up with one!

I hope none of this is off putting. I'm sure many people will find this movie SoBig, maybe flat out 'ig,' and de gustibus non est disputandum.

Now I Know Why the French Love Jerry Lewis

[dbborroughs · 1/10 · 1 June 2004]

Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo were a low rent Martin and Lewis. Mitchell had a some talent while, judging from this film, Petrillo had less then none. Petrillo is so bad, so annoying, so painful to watch, he takes Jerry Lewis' schtick to lows one would think were not possible. I had never watched this movie from start to finish until recently laid low by an illness, and all I can say is it made me sicker. Don't get me wrong I love bad movies but this is something else, or Sammy is, since if one could remove him from the film then you'd have something someone might want to watch. He doesn't speak he growls or whines in a way that I can only compare to a petulant child does moments before he's sent to his room until he's 40.(His parents should be held accountable for crimes against humanity for not eating their young)

How many people saw this and asked for their money back?

After seeing this I must take back anything I've ever said bad about Jerry Lewis, since as annoying as he can be, at least he is funny.

The plot has something to do with Mitchell and Petrillo ending up on a jungle island where they meet Lugosi (Half an hour in and after bad Petrillo mugging and a well sung but badly written song) who wants to do experiments on the pair.

Truth be told as long as Petrillo is silenced this is a good grade z movie, but he's as bad I have to put this with the lowest of the low.

One out of ten, because I can't go lower.

Jungle hi-jinx , a mad scientist, and a gorilla

[bux · 10/10 · 1 November 1998]

No doubt, this was an obvious attempt to rip-off Martin & Lewis at the height of their popularity. That said, this is a funny movie. Perhaps if M&L had stayed together, stuck to basic comedy, like this, their pictures wouldn't seem so dated today. Alright, so 'the Duke' is no 'Dino'...but Petrillo gives rise to the thought that perhaps we really didn't need Lewis. Ray 'Crash' Corrigan is in the gorilla suit.

Dated but not all that bad!

[goodolmhs67 · 6/10 · 25 January 2005]

If you have ever seen early M&L films like My Friend Irma, You can see that Sammy Pettrillo did a great impression of Jerry Lewis. In the early films Lewis was annoying with his high squeaky voice etc. This was captured perfectly by Sammy. OK so the production value was not great, but the movie was made on a shoe string budget in 9 days. The film is silly but enjoyable and if you watch it for what it is----silly 1950s entertainment you will have fun watching. The movie reminds me of the Abbott and Costello haunted house movies. I think that for a B movie it's silly enough to be funny.

Bela Lugosi puts in a fine performance. Duke Mitchell sings a few songs. The rest is just escapist entertainment.

Not So Bad

[james_morrison2 · 4/10 · 19 June 2008]

It's easy enough to take pot-shots at a movie like this, especially if you try stacking it up against other stuff. It's a long way from the best or worst I've ever seen. Of course, Bela Lugosi can do no wrong. Just watching him laugh, or hearing the line, "What an unusual cranium." makes the movie worth a look. Obviously, Petrillo did an excellent take on Jerry Lewis, and his repetition of Lugosi's line about the "unusual cranium" was my biggest laugh in the movie. Duke Mitchell's task of imitating Dean Martin has taken a lot of hits, but it had to be harder to do Martin without going "over the top" than it was to do Lewis, where going "over the top" was exactly what was called for. Personally, I could care less whether I was listening to Martin or Mitchell sing, but that brings up another point. For decades Hollywood mindlessly insisted that movies include musical numbers and romantic sub-plots that nobody could possibly care less about, as anybody who's ever watched a Marx Brothers movie can relate to. OK, it's not great, but it's fun.