Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia 25th Anniversary is upon us, and to mark it, our gracious host is presenting one of the greatest, "misunderstood" movies of all time: Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. It premiers on March 28, on Twitch, OSI74/Roku and Amazon Fire at 10pm. However, the historic contents are captured on an illustrious Blu-ray, which one can preorder right here and now 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 maybe an alternate costar before Dean Martin came along. Of course, I was wrong, but being that I couldn't read the credits at that naïve age, let alone research the matter, I just went with the flow, nurturing my misconception.
Years later, I discovered the truth behind the 1952 production and came to appreciate its inadvertent quirkiness, which only made the movie more endearingly bizarre.
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, and Lugosi remains in top form, doing his ever iconic, sinister thing.
Despite the fact that Lewis wished to seize the flick (i.e. stomp it into oblivion), Brooklyn Gorilla managed to make the UHF rounds, and because of its surreal nature, it now inspires further, misunderstood fun, in particular that of Mr. Lobo, who surrounds it with linking skits, trailers, the Horsen Milken (Reel 7) Girl and her nifty puppet, Professor Shrimply, good ol' Kogarilla and the hilarious, Petrillo impersonator, Gary Blemish (who, if one can believe it, pitches a Birth of a Nation rock opera). 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 uttermost, 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 embrace (and own!) its commemorative hijinks.
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