Search - Bride of the Gorilla on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1951 DVD Release: 02/18/2003 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 10 mins Studio: Alpha Video Total Copies: 1 Genres: Horror, Thriller See Also: Bride of the Gorilla, Bride of the Gorilla

This silly, stagebound but entertaining little monster-mash from Universal horror writer/director Curt Siodmak stars burly Raymond Burr as a steward on a rubber plantation whose romantic tryst with the boss' wife (Barbara Payton) eventually leads to the employer's murder. When one of the voodoo-practicing servants of the ex-boss learns of this, he concocts a magic potion which transforms Burr (apparently) into a "sukaras" -- a kind of were-ape which roams the village by night, savaging the locals and sparking a plodding investigation by the local constable (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Enjoyable if only for its relentless goofiness, with an ending that will have most viewers wondering if Siodmak forgot to include a reel or two in his final edit. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Barbara Payton - Mrs. Dina Van Gelder
Lon Chaney, Jr. - Taro
Raymond Burr - Barney Chavez
Tom Conway - Dr. Viet
Paul Cavanagh - Klass Von Gelder

Normally, a movie with a title like Bride of the Gorilla would be of extremely limited interest, but, as the picture in question offers virtually an all-star (or at least all-recognizable) cast -- Lon Chaney Jr., Barbara Payton, Raymond Burr, Tom Conway, Woody Strode, et al -- and was written and directed by Curt Siodmak, it comes from Alpha Video on DVD with more than a little allure. There are a few missing frames in the opening credits, and thin vertical scratches at various points, not to mention miscellaneous blemishes, but overall this is a pretty decent looking disc for the money, with an eminently watchable image offering reasonable detail and sharpness and an audio track mastered at a healthy level. The movie owes a debt to Siodmak's script for Universal Pictures' classic The Wolf Man, made a decade before Bride of the Gorilla, and at times it even seems as though the music is deliberately imitating the score to the earlier movie. This release does no violence to the filmmaker's attempts to connect the two pictures in the viewer's mind -- it's been so many years since an authorized edition of Bride of the Gorilla has been seen that this disc easily passes muster. The standard six chapters for this Alpha Video release are adequate, given the short running time on the film, and the disc opens automatically to a simple three-selection menu, with no extras. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide