There is a hysterical scene towards the end of the movie where the simian comes across a fake band of chimpanzees on display at a carnival. The sweet look on his face reminded me of the content two-headed gorilla eating a banana in "The Thing With Two Heads" and the scene in "Escape From the Planet of the Apes" when Kim Hunter goes shopping. Why is it that these mostly gentle giants are always titillated by a beautiful lady? Whether or not its Fay Wray, Terry Moore or Jessica Lange, that always happens. Here, it is future Oscar winner Anne Bancroft, looking absolutely gorgeous as a trapeze artist in a carnival run by Raymond Burr where murder is afoot. Pre-Perry Mason, Burr was usually typecast as a villain ("Rear Window"), but here, he seems to be fairly decent. Then comes in Cameron Mitchell (looking hysterically embarrassed with a bad yellowish blonde hair dye job!) who is to add some luster to Bancroft's trapeze act (swinging over the ape) by catching her for some added thrills to the audience. That is when the murders begin. In 3-D, this film must have been something. The opening scene with the ape swinging towards the scared spectators is even chilling in 2-D. The result of the film is a nice Thriller/Mystery that is a lot of fun, gorgeously filmed in breathtaking color (a filmmaking technique much missed!) and the chance to see one of our best actresses during the time she was much misused by the studio that didn't see her potential.

This film works out to be a mystery film wrapped around a fascination of Anne Bancroft getting pawed by a gorilla. It was made for the 3D glasses that came with it in the same time as Hondo (John Wayne) and House of Wax (Vincent Price). I mention these because these 3 films were part of a 3D film revival in the late 1980's on television which spurred some new 3D productions after.This film is Raymond Burr's second film with a gorilla. I am not sure why he would be in 2 of them & I have not seen the other one. Burr in this one is the obvious suspect which is why he turns out not to be the guilty party. He really does not get a lot of script to work with.The settings and era of the 1950's nostalgia is here but the film itself pretty much fits a normal who done it formula of the period. Burr's next film would be Rear Window which has much more to recommend it than this one.

This is one of the best B movie thrillers of the 1950's. Apart from the hokie gorilla costume (there are places where you can see the fingers bend backward), it's a fun movie and worth watching. A great Halloween double feature with "The Deadly Mantis." However, Cameron Mitchell is totally unbelievable as a young law student at age 34! A mere year younger than amusement park owner Raymond Burr.A delight for fans of Anne Bancroft to see her as a bit of posh tottie! Lee J. Cobb is great as the crabby police detective. Lee Marvin is a riot as the bumbling cop. Kudos to whomever played the gorilla, Goliath! Great job!If you like Raymond Burr as Perry Mason, this film is a must see. Lots of similarities in his delivery in this and in Perry Mason. One of my all-time favorite "corny but great" movies. Enjoy!

Just saw the new print of this maligned fun house of a production. First of all if you can't see this in real projected 3-D, I suggest skipping it. The color 3-D photography is excellent and the crew only pulls off the typical stick-it-in-the-camera 3-D hijinks a few times. The opening sequence of Raymond Burr walking through the carnival is some of the most effective 3-D photography I have ever seen.The story...yipes! It's campy and weird in an Ed Wood sort of way but it seems that the entire cast and crew were in on the joke. Lee Marvin and Lee J. Cobb both time their performances in a very strange but funny way. Anne Bancroft vamps up a storm in some scenes and Raymond Burr plods thru his role. The gorilla suit is funny too. Good movie? No! Fun? Yes!The second half drags at points and the 3-D photography loses a little steam here. I wouldn't want to sit through this movie in 2-D at this point. Who knows if this is ever going to be projected again, but if it is and you enjoy 50's kitsch make it a priority. The screening I was at, during the intermission, projected 1950's era 3-D nudie slides by...HAROLD LLOYD, the silent film comedian! Unfortunately, I don't think that will ever happen again.