Gorgo

"Like nothing you've ever seen before!"

1961 1h 18m EN

😐

5.3

MID

★5.3TMDB · 114

Science FictionActionHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When an underwater volcanic eruption tears up the sea bed off the coast of Ireland, two treasure hunters make the discovery of a lifetime when they encounter a gigantic prehistoric monster that’s been unleashed from the earth’s crust. After capturing the beast, the pair transport the creature down to London where it’s given the name of “Gorgo” and put on display to an avid public. Little do they realize that Gorgo is just an infant, and that his exponentially larger mother is about to emerge from the depths to avenge the capture of her offspring.

“Like nothing you've ever seen before!”

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Cast

Bill Travers
Joe Ryan
William Sylvester
Sam Slade
Vincent Winter
Sean
Christopher Rhodes
McCartin
Joseph O'Conor
Prof. Hendricks
Bruce Seton
Prof. Flaherty
Martin Benson
Dorkin
Maurice Kaufmann
Radio Reporter

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Eugène Lourié
Writers: Robert L. Richards, Daniel James, Robert L. Richards
Languages: English, Irish
Countries: United Kingdom, 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

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Irish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Eugène Lourié, shot by Freddie Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Eugène Lourié directs. Freddie Young behind the camera. Angelo Francesco Lavagnino scores. Eric Boyd-Perkins cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Irish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
365 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Irish.
5International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
6Directed by Eugène Lourié, shot by Freddie Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Eric Boyd-Perkins shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Bill Travers and William Sylvester and Vincent Winter carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Like nothing you've ever seen before!".
11IMDB entry: tt0054938 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "island", "london, england", "circus", "giant monster".

The technical file

Cinematography: Freddie Young
Original score: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
Editing: Eric Boyd-Perkins
Makeup / hair: Stella Morris
Runtime: 78 min · 1h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $650,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Gorgo (1961)

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Eugène Lourié

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-02-12
★ 5/10
Bill Travers does his best Stephen Boyd impersonation here as "Ryan", who leads a gang of scavenging sailors who survive an underwater earthquake that delivers a giant lizard into their hands (or nets). Determined to capitalise on their luck, they do a deal with "Dorkin" (Martin Benson) to exhibit this beastie in London and off they go. Now obviously, they had never read any "Godzilla" stories, because even we know that it's only a matter of time before somebody realises that this is only "Gorgo"-lite. Mummy or Daddy is sooner or later going to get fed up shouting him in for tea and come a-looking. This benefits from having had a surfeit of plasticine and virtually no budget at all for effects, lighting or sound - and so what we are left with is hardly going to keep Ray Harryhausen awake. That said, it's quite an entertaining fantasy adventure that once again illustrates the ability of the military to do far more destruction to the surrounding monuments that these big, bullet-proof, monsters could ever do. It's too long - it takes way too long to get going towards an ending that we all anticipated as the titles rolled, but I did - sneakingly - quite enjoy it.

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