Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia 25th Anniversary is upon us, and as a positive precursor (the first in a series of such salutes), our gracious host is showing one of the greatest, "misunderstood" movies of all time: Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. It'll manifest this Saturday Night (March 28) on Twitch, OSI74/Roku and Amazon Fire, with the preshow shenanigans starting at 10pm. (BTW: The historic contents are set to land on illustrious, collectible Blu-ray, which one can preorder at https://www.osi74.com/.)
When I was a wee lad and discovered Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, I mistook Sammy Petrillo for Jerry Lewis and thought that Duke Mitchell was an alternate costar before Dean Martin came along. Of course, I was wrong, but being that I couldn't read the time, let alone research the matter, I just went with the flow, nurturing my misconception.
Directed by William (Ghost Chasers) Beaudine and written by Tim (Dead Men Tell) Ryan, the plot pits Petrillo and Mitchell, who portray "themselves," against Lugosi's mad scientist, Dr. Zabor, who wants to implant Mitchell's brain into a gorilla on Kola Kola Island. The headlining duo is chased by lusty, native women (Muriel Landers and Charlita), with Ramona the Chimp layering on much of the mush, as she falls for Petrillo who's happy to ape Lewis throughout every speck of the calamity. Honey-voiced Mitchell cuts in to share his breezy tunes, as Lugosi dons his supreme, sinister form.
Despite the fact that Lewis wished to seize the flick (i.e. stomp it into oblivion), Brooklyn Gorilla managed to make the prevalent, UHF rounds, and because of its surreal nature, it now inspires further, misunderstood fun, thanks to Mr. Lobo, who parenthesizes it with Lewis-loving, MDA Labor Day Telethon, parody skits, joined by Sally the Zombie Cheerleader, Dr. Sphincter, Countess Bloodsugar (Jessie Seeherman), Dark Sarcasma (Penny Dreadful in disguise!), Dr. Sarcofiguy (John Dimes), the Horsen Milken (Reel 7) Girl and her nifty puppet, Professor Shrimply, good ol' Kogarilla, good ol' Romana and the pugnacious, Petrillo impersonator, Gary Blemish (who, if one can believe the audacity, pitches a Birth of a Nation rock opera), plus a number of surprise guests and fan greetings. To embellish this prolific succession, there are time-warping, nostalgic segments that cover Mr. Lobo's vast, informative career. That's right. This one leaps all over the place to ensure one's utmost, wraparound pleasure.
It should go without saying that Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia Presents Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla will go down as a wild winner; so make it a point to be part of the untamed hijinks this monumental, Saturday night!
