Mighty Joe Young

"Merian Cooper's amazing adventure in the unusual!"

1949 1h 34m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 126🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★7IMDB · 6,307

AdventureFantasyDramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.

“Merian Cooper's amazing adventure in the unusual!”

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Cast

Terry Moore
Jill Young
Ben Johnson
Gregg Johnson
Robert Armstrong
Max O'Hara
Frank McHugh
Windy
Douglas Fowley
Jones
Denis Greene
Crawford
Paul Guilfoyle
Smith
Nestor Paiva
Brown

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Writers: Merian C. Cooper, Ruth Rose
Languages: English, Swahili
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Swahili.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, shot by J. Roy Hunt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ted Cheesman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Terry Moore and Ben Johnson and Robert Armstrong carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Merian Cooper's amazing adventure in the unusual!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ernest B. Schoedsack directs. J. Roy Hunt behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Ted Cheesman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Swahili.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
277 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Swahili.
4Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, shot by J. Roy Hunt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ted Cheesman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Terry Moore and Ben Johnson and Robert Armstrong carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Merian Cooper's amazing adventure in the unusual!".
9IMDB entry: tt0041650 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "africa", "gorilla", "wrestler", "decoy".
11Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: J. Roy Hunt
Original score: Roy Webb
Editing: Ted Cheesman
Costume design: Adele Balkan
Makeup / hair: Mel Berns
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,800,000
Box office: $1,950,000
Return: 108% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 6,307 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 1 win & 3 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Special Effects

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-06-22
★ 8/10
Listen you guys, cut out the rough stuff or I'll feed you to the lions. Unfairly chastised in some quarters for being a kiddie friendly King Kong, Mighty Joe Young is as charming as an Autumnal day. Many of the team from King Kong reteam to make this film, and undoubtedly it's pretty much the same plotting only with a different resolution. However, the effects work is still magical, harking back to a time when geniuses like Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen sweated buckets to make the magic move on the screen. Mighty Joe, the huge Gorilla of the title, is beautifully realised, full of expressions and emotions, he even has time for some sense of humour traits. Action is never far away, with models and sets destroyed with brute force, while plenty of beings get flung about to emphasise the madness of it all. Narratively like Kong there's still themes of greed and ignorance, the tampering with Mother Nature a big mistake, which all leads to a thrilling finale that in turn leads to something to savour. Kiddie Kong? Who cares! A wonderful film of skill and guile, of charm and brains. Go Joe Go! 8/10

Production companies