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Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla

Play trailer Poster for Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla 1952 1h 14m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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29% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 15% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Brooklyn buddies (Duke Mitchell, Sammy Petrillo) are stranded on an island with a mad doctor (Bela Lugosi) who turns one of them into a gorilla.
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Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla

Critics Reviews

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Seraphina Alaimo New York Daily News 09/25/2021
1.5/4
Come to think of it, Ramona the chimp was the only authentic actor among the crew. Go to Full Review
Film4 Staff Film4 03/30/2019
Poor Bela. Go to Full Review
TV Guide Staff TV Guide 11/28/2018
1/5
Lugosi is at his scary best, but the movie is awful, with Mitchell and Petrillo doing awful imitations of Martin and Lewis. Go to Full Review
Steve Crum Video-Reviewmaster.com 12/19/2005
1/5
Truly bad film with Lugosi hamming it up, yet marginally entertaining. Go to Full Review
Phil Hall Film Threat 10/22/2004
5/5
Although it carries a horrid reputation, it is actually one of the greatest comedy films ever made. Go to Full Review
Daniel Palmer TheShiznit.co.uk 05/24/2003
Beaudine's films were delivered to a small and easily pleased audience with the haphazard rapidity of someone with nothing better to do. One can't help but admire his persistence. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Apr 28 Goofy film that clearly took a lot of inspiration from other comedy acts of the time. Honestly, I don't think I possess the characteristics necessary to dislike a movie. This movie wasn't good at all, and a few times I was wishing for it to be over, but I still SOMEWHAT enjoyed it. It's just sad seeing the definitive dracula play this basic villain (he wasn't even scary or nothing). Although I think he played the jealous old man very well. See more Matthew D 10/20/2021 Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo are genuinely good Martin and Lewis impersonators, but aren't given many funny things to do. See more 07/17/2019 The only good thing about this movie is the actress Charlita. Your eyes follow her throughout the movie. Couldn't take my eyes off her! See more 11/20/2016 Poor old Bela Lugosi slumming it again to keep his demons at bay. This time with a half assed Martin and Lewis rip off. Still, I guess one could find a couple nostalgic chuckles in it... See more 11/10/2016 The movie sucks but Sammy Petrillo's dead on Jerry Lewis persona must be seen. See more 02/15/2016 http://letterboxd.com/zbender/film/bela-lugosi-meets-a-brooklyn-gorilla/ The jungle, Bela Lugosi, and a gorilla. So basically everything in the title tells all? Wrong. Instead meet Sammy and Duke. They're parachutes have gotten them on an island home to an Indian tribe that doesn't speak a lick of their own language, and a bewildered Bela Lugosi who at this point has been passed around the industry a fair share of times. Duke and Sammy is essentially a knock off of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis except Sammy is the bastard child of Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey and is made a fuck ton more annoying. They were gonna be the next great duo, and there wasn't a lack of trying. Sammy's trying to bust jokes that completely missed me, and Duke has some pipes. But goddamit what about Lugosi? I felt terrible for the guy. I wonder what Lugosi was thinking when the director told him to do his Dracula impression. How horrid. At least for a moment Lugosi was reminded of what was and what would never be again. The best acting came from Ramona the monkey, they gave Sammy too many lines, and this movie could've used more Bela Lugosi meeting a fucking Brooklyn Gorilla. 72% of this film is Sammy making loud high pitched whines. Duke has a dull romantic side story bout with a woman on the island. And in the end it all won't matter when we have a "dream cop out" ending. Maybe I should be glad Bela Lugosi decided on comedy toward the end of his life. Unfortunately, for Duke and Sammy this would be their only bout together, and the Martin and Lewis get up would end along when the real Martin/Lewis team ended. See more Read all reviews
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla

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Movie Info

Synopsis Brooklyn buddies (Duke Mitchell, Sammy Petrillo) are stranded on an island with a mad doctor (Bela Lugosi) who turns one of them into a gorilla.
Director
William Beaudine
Producer
Maurice Duke
Screenwriter
Tim Ryan
Production Co
Jack Broder Productions Inc.
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 4, 1952, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 7, 2016
Runtime
1h 14m
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