Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla (DVD)

Comedians Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo encounter mad scientist Dr. Zabor on a South Pacific island. The doctor is maniacally jealous of anyone who expresses an interest in the beautiful native princess, Nona. When Duke and the princess fall in love, Zabor subjects the comic to his fiendish experiments and turns him into a singing gorilla. As the newly transformed ape runs wild on the island, Sammy must find a way to remain human himself while searching for a way to restore his partner to normal. Bela Lugosi seems to enjoy sending up his screen image and Petrillo's imitation of Jerry Lewis is flawless. William Beaudine, who directed over 250 films in his career, had worked with Lugosi in The Ape Man and Ghosts on the Loose (both 1943). In addition to writing numerous comedies and Bowery Boys movies, writer Tim Ryan also acted in dozens of Poverty Row productions spanning over forty years. Associate Producer Herman Cohen later gained international fame for his productions of I Was a Teenage Werewolf, How to Make a Monster, Horrors of the Black Museum and several other drive-in classics.

• comedy