It's a shame that I wasn't able to see Gorilla at Large in 3-D as originally intended because without the gimmick of an extra dimension the film is rather unremarkable, despite a surprisingly strong cast.
Cameron Mitchell stars as Joey Matthews, who is working the summer at a fairground, saving so that he can afford law school and marry his sweetheart Audrey (Charlotte Austin). Joey is given the opportunity to earn extra cash by partaking in a sideshow involving a savage gorilla called Goliath and sexy trapeze artist Laverne Miller (a young Anne Bancroft). However, the show is shut down after a series of murders in which the victims' necks are broken, as if by a large and powerful animal. Investigating the case is Detective Sgt. Garrison (Lee J. Cobb), whose suspects include the gorilla's trainer Kovacs (Peter Whitney), fairground boss Cy Miller (Raymond Burr), and Joey. Rounding out the cast is a young Lee Marvin as policeman Shaughnessy.
The plot is strictly routine, like so many B-movie gorilla thrillers of the '30s and '40s, and no amount of acting talent would be enough to make this hokey nonsense work. It doesn't help that Goliath (played by a man in an unconvincing ape costume) looks no more real than the fake ape that Joey has to play in the sideshow act. Anne Bancroft is the best thing about the film: she looks amazing and plays the seductress so well that it's not surprising that she would go on to portray an iconic temptress in The Graduate.
Cameron Mitchell stars as Joey Matthews, who is working the summer at a fairground, saving so that he can afford law school and marry his sweetheart Audrey (Charlotte Austin). Joey is given the opportunity to earn extra cash by partaking in a sideshow involving a savage gorilla called Goliath and sexy trapeze artist Laverne Miller (a young Anne Bancroft). However, the show is shut down after a series of murders in which the victims' necks are broken, as if by a large and powerful animal. Investigating the case is Detective Sgt. Garrison (Lee J. Cobb), whose suspects include the gorilla's trainer Kovacs (Peter Whitney), fairground boss Cy Miller (Raymond Burr), and Joey. Rounding out the cast is a young Lee Marvin as policeman Shaughnessy.
The plot is strictly routine, like so many B-movie gorilla thrillers of the '30s and '40s, and no amount of acting talent would be enough to make this hokey nonsense work. It doesn't help that Goliath (played by a man in an unconvincing ape costume) looks no more real than the fake ape that Joey has to play in the sideshow act. Anne Bancroft is the best thing about the film: she looks amazing and plays the seductress so well that it's not surprising that she would go on to portray an iconic temptress in The Graduate.