GORILLA AT LARGE

GORILLA AT LARGE (1954) Director: Harmon Jones.

When people start getting murdered at a carnival, the police wonder if the culprit is the star attraction, Goliath the gorilla, or someone in an ape suit. Suspects for the latter include the owner Cy Miller (Raymond Burr); his wife, Laverne (Anne Bancroft), who is a trapeze artist who works with Goliath; Joey Matthews (Cameron Mitchell), who has a crush on Laverne; Kovaks (Peter Whitney), Laverne's ex-husband; and a few others. The cops on the case include Lee J. Cobb (The Exorcist), Lee Marvin (Raintree County), and Warren Stevens (Phone Call from a Stranger). [Clearly this is one low-budget movie that has a very interesting cast.] This is a modestly entertaining, generally well-acted thriller that holds the attention if nothing else. Director Hrmon Jones did mostly television work, including a few episodes of Perry Mason. NOTE: Midnite [sic] Movies' remastered DVD looks great in high definition.

Verdict: Fun, even if most of the cast went on to much better things. **1/2.