Gorilla at Large
Gorilla at Large is a 1954 American horror mystery film made in 3-D. The film stars Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J. Cobb and Raymond Burr, with Lee Marvin and Warren Stevens in supporting roles. Directed by Harmon Jones, it was made by Panoramic Productions, and distributed through 20th Century Fox in Technicolor and 3-D. It is notable for being one of the early movies distributed by 20th Century Fox to be filmed in 3-D. (The first was Inferno, released a year before Gorilla at Large.) Plot Cyrus Miller's carnival has come to town. Its chief draw is a big, bad gorilla named Goliath. Each night, Goliath is teased by a tantalizing trapeze artist named Laverne (Anne Bancroft). She swings back and forth, just out of reach from the simian's upraised arms. Naturally, this frustrates Goliath, but audiences are thrilled. However, Cyrus (Raymond Burr) thinks the act is getting old. So he promotes carnival barker Joey (Cameron Mitchell) from pitchman to performer. Joey will don a black, hairy gorilla costume and become Goliath's replacement. The difference is this time Laverne will fall from the trapeze and into the arms of a grunting, bellowing Joey. The idea seems promising to everyone but Kovacs (Peter Whitney), Goliath's trainer, who's about to become unemployed. Joey has a fiancée named Audrey (Charlotte Austin), and she's not happy either. She knows Laverne's a hot little number with a reputation to match. This new act means Laverne will be working closely with her intended. That evening, the carnival's crooked concessionaire, Morse, is found dead near Goliath's cage. Police speculate he ventured too close to the dangerous gorilla. But Joey becomes a suspect when it is learned he once threatened Morse for molesting Audrey. However, Joey believes Cyrus, who's sweet on the luscious Laverne, is out to frame him. In the meantime, Goliath escapes from his cage. Audrey's screams are heard from the Hall of Mirrors, and the carnival's crew rush to her aid. They find her safe, but another associate lies dead nearby. Nevertheless, the show must go on, so Laverne proceeds with her act. The only problem is the simian figure she's performing with is not Joey. It's actually Goliath. When the unsuspecting Laverne does her planned drop, she realizes too late that she is in the arms of Goliath, who carries a screaming Laverne to the top of the carnival's roller coaster. The gorilla dies in a hail of bullets. And the murderer? (Don't read further if you haven't seen the film.) It turns out to be Laverne, who reveals she was one of Morse's blackmail victims. As she is led away by police, Joey and Audrey resolve to quit the carnival. Cast Cameron Mitchell as Joey Matthews Anne Bancroft as Laverne Miller Lee J. Cobb as Detective Sergeant Garrison Raymond Burr as Cy Miller Charlotte Austin as Audrey Baxter Peter Whitney as Kovacs, the gorilla's keeper Lee Marvin as Shaughnessy the Cop Warren Stevens as Joe the Detective John Kellogg as Morse (as