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Mighty Joe Young (1949)

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Credits for Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)
Mighty Joe Young (1949 film) soundtrack


Mighty Joe Young
See alternate titles
The American poster for Mighty Joe Young
Directed by Ernest Schoedsack
Producer Merian C. Cooper
Written by Ruth Rose, Merian C. Cooper
Music by Roy Webb
Distributor RKO Radio Pictures (Original),
Turner Entertainment (Current via Warner Bros.)
Rating Not Rated
Budget $1.8 million
Box office $1.95 million
Running time 94 minutes
(1 hour, 34 minutes)
Aspect ratio 1.37:1
Rate this film!
3.33
(3 votes)

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“
Ten Terrific Thrills!
„ 

— Tagline
“
Striking! Startling! Staggering!
„ 

— Tagline
“
Merian Cooper's Amazing Adventure in the Unusual!
„ 

— Tagline

Mighty Joe Young is a 1949 American giant monster fantasy film produced by RKO Radio Pictures and created by the team behind the original King Kong. It was released to American theaters on July 27, 1949.

Plot

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Jill Young was a child living on her father's farm in Africa when she saw two men carrying a basket passing by her home's front gate. She asks to see what is inside, and immediately asks the men if they would be willing to trade her for their burden, and goes inside to collect some goods. She returns to them and successfully trades some jewelry, toys, and her father's flashlight for the baby gorilla that was inside. The men agree, and she shoos them away when she hears her father returning. Opting to play a prank on him to introduce her new friend, she lays the baby gorilla, now christened "Joe" in his bed. After a brief mishap in which Mr. Young is prepared to shoot the baby, he agrees to let her keep him with the understanding that he could not stay with them forever. Jill is reluctant to accept this.

Twelve years later, Max O'Hara prepares, against advice, for an African safari to procure live animals for his upcoming Hollywood night club, "Max O'Hara's Golden Safari". While in his office, he is met by Gregg Johnson, a recently out of work Oklahoman cowboy interested in signing himself and his crew up for O'Hara's venture. After months of gathering up what are alleged to be the largest lions in the world, O'Hara's camp is raided by a gargantuan gorilla, who trashes one of the carts carrying a lion, and the cowboys ride into action to try and apprehend the beast as O'Hara fails to mount his horse. The beast avoids capture and fights back against the cowboys, eventually taking O'Hara above his head in preparation to heave him over a short cliff. Jill Young then arrives to call off the men, who had apparently been poaching on her land, and convinces the now grown-up Joe to gently put O'Hara down.

Staff

Main article: Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)/Credits.

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Terry Moore   as   Jill Young
  • Ben Johnson   as   Gregg
  • Robert Armstrong   as   Max O'Hara
  • Regis Toomey   as   John Young
  • Lora Lee Michel   as   Jill Young, as a girl
  • Irene Ryan   as   Southern Belle at Bar
  • Ray Walker   as   Reporter
  • Juan Varro   as   Gigolo
  • Harry Strang   as   Cop with Tramp
  • Norman Stevans   as   Nightclub Patron
  • Clarence Straight   as   Nightclub Patron
  • Norman Willis   as   Nightclub Patron
  • Jane Weeks   as   Nightclub Patron
  • Paul Guilfoyle   as   Smith
  • Douglas Fowley   as   Jones
  • Frank McHugh   as   Windy

Appearances

Monsters

Production

Willis O'Brien, the stop-motion animator for King Kong, was the supervisor for the film's stop-motion animation. Ray Harryhausen was an assistant animator to O'Brien; however, due to various technical problems in the film's production, Pete Peterson and Marcel Delgado also animated a few sequences in the film.

Gallery

Main article: Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Mighty Joe Young (1949 film soundtrack).

Alternate titles

  • Mr. Joseph Young of Africa (alternate English title)
  • The Great Gorilla (El gran gorila; Spain)
  • The King of Africa (Il re dell'Africa; Italy)
  • Panic about King Kong (Panik um King Kong; West Germany)
  • The Phantom of Africa (Fantomen från Afrika; Sweden; Fantomet fra Afrika; Denmark)

Theatrical releases

  • United States - July 27, 1949
  • Sweden - August 29, 1949  [view poster]Spanish poster
  • Brazil - September 23, 1949
  • Portugal - November 8, 1949
  • Australia - January 5, 1950
  • United Kingdom - January 9, 1950  [view poster]British poster
  • Mexico - January 21, 1950  [view poster]Mexican poster
  • West Germany - September 1, 1950  [view poster]German poster
  • Denmark - November 16, 1950
  • Japan - January 12, 1952  [view poster]Japanese poster
  • Spain - November 22, 1955  [view poster]Spanish poster; March 31, 1969 (rerelease)  [view poster]Spanish poster

Box office

Mighty Joe Young had a budget of $1,800,000 and made $1,950,000 from its initial theatrical release.

Awards

Award Category Recipient(s) Result
Best Visual Effects Awards Work Award Mighty Joe Young Won

Video releases

Warner Bros. DVD (2005)[1]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
  • Special features: Audio commentary by Ray Harryhausen, Terry Moore, and Ken Ralston; "A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen and the Chiodo Brothers" and "Ray Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young" featurettes (22:52 and ); trailer (1:41)
  • Notes: Also packaged with King Kong (1933) and Son of Kong.

Warner Bros. Blu-ray (2015)[2]

  • Region: N/A
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (DTS-HD Master Audio Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital Mono)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
  • Special features: Audio commentary by Ray Harryhausen, Terry Moore, and Ken Ralston; "A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen and the Chiodo Brothers" and "Ray Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young" featurettes (22:52 and 11:57); trailer (1:41)
  • Notes: Also packaged with King Kong (1933), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and Them!, or Son of Kong.

Warner Bros. Blu-ray (2018)[3]

  • Region: B
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (DTS-HD Master Audio Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital Mono)
  • Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
  • Special features: Trailer
  • Notes: comes with a fold out poster, art cards and digital download

Unmade sequel

It has been alleged that a sequel was planned, tentatively titled Joe Meets Tarzan, but because the film was unsuccessful at the box office, plans for a sequel were quickly dropped.[4]

Videos

Trailers

Mighty Joe Young trailer

References

This is a list of references for Mighty Joe Young (1949 film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. ↑ Tooze, Gary W. "Mighty Joe Young". DVDBeaver. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Reuben, Michael (30 October 2015). "Mighty Joe Young Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com.
  3. ↑ https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mighty-Joe-Young-Blu-ray/214736/
  4. ↑ "Tarzan Meets Joe Young". Classic Horror Film Board.

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