ironhorse_iv
It's sad, to think, that this comedy was originally supposed to be a horror movie based off, author HG Wells 1896's novel, 'the Island of Doctor Moreau' called 'White Woman of the Lost Jungle" before it was turn into a Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis comedy rip off by studio head, Jack Broder, president of Realart Pictures & producer, Herman Cohen, with celebrity impersonators, Duke Mitchell and Sam Petrillo in the title roles. I was really, looking forward to seeing a serious version of that, with Bela Lugosi as the main villain turning humans into animals. It might had save his career. Sadly, 1952's '"The Boys from Brooklyn" did not, as Lugosi went on to star, in later films, produce & directed by Edward Woods such as 1953's 'Glen or Glenda', 1955's 'Bride of the Monster' & 1956's 'Plan 9 from Outer Space'. So, why did, Cohen & Broder made it into a comedy!? Well, they wanted to capitalize on Martin & Lewis act, with a Sci-fi/horror audience, before the duo can do that, with 1953's movie 'Scared Stiff' that has a similar story; in which, both performers find themselves on an island, fighting supernatural beings. Since, "The Boys from Brooklyn' was schedule to be released a few months before, 1953's 'Scared Stiff' come out, it really did make it seem like Martin & Lewis was ripping off them, instead of the other way, around. No wonder, why Jerry Lewis was furious, and threatened to sue, Broder & the flash-in-the-pan, limited talent, copycat-comical duo of Petrillo & Duke. 'The Boys from Brooklyn', was really the mockbuster of its day. While, the suit was later dismissed, it still convince the filmmakers to take some precautions, like changing the title in US markets. Instead of focusing the duos, the new title, focus on Bela Lugosi's appearance in the film, as it was one of Lugosi's first presence in movies, after many years, away, due to health reasons. While, Lugosi really did acted professionally and was nice, during production. His acting in this, was not good. He looks very tiresome, as he quite ill at the time due to his addiction to morphine. Also, it really did seems like, he really didn't give a crap, being typecast as a mad scientist, anymore. He was really in a bad place at the time, when playing Dr. Zabor. As for Duke Mitchell and Sam Petrillo. They were really bad playing fictional screen version of themselves performing their nightclub acts. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of celebrity impersonators; whether it's on, seeing them on television, like skit-comedy shows like 'Saturday Night Live', or meeting them in person in Music Halls, Theme Parks, Conventions, or even the streets of Las Vegas, with Elvis Presley Tribute Artists of America. Yet, I never really like Mitchell or Petrillo. They never were any good with their Lewis & Martin homage act. Where were the sexual innuendo humor that Martin & Lewis, was somewhat known for!? Where is the clever slapstick!? The jokes here, are not really funny or smart. They were mostly bland, because there wasn't much risk. They were cheesy jokes, you would, tell, in preschool, not in night-clubs. For the most part, the jokes came across, as dry & obnoxious, than funny. As for the singing. While, Mitchell does, alright voice, his cover version of "Too Song' by artist, Nick Therry & 'Deed I do' by artist, Walter Hirsch & Fred Rose, were not that memorable. As for their acting. They were really bad. They often flub their lines. They really were amateurs. It really didn't help them, that they were directed by William Beaudine, a man known as 'One Shot' Willies, whom often shot economically, regardless, if the actor mess up the line or a special effects malfunction. He usually had to do this, to save money and time, as he was always working on multiply projects, due to his financial losses over the years. So, it was no surprise that the film had a shot of Petrillo nearly getting his face, torn off, by a 'supposedly' trained champ named Ramona, known from the Tarzan movies. You would think, shots like that, wouldn't be the final film. Nevertheless, it become clearer as the film goes on, that the movie is low-budget. They often reused the same sets, props and stock footage from other movies, even if it doesn't really match, the settlings. As for the 'supposedly' native islanders extras. It was very offensive to see them, act in dirty red-face with the slow stereotypical talking, you would see, in a cartoon than a real-life movie. It was not good. To top it off, the film has one of the worst ending, I ever witness. Without spoiling it, it's a huge cop out! I haven't saw, an similar ending so bad, since 1953's 'Robot Monster', where a boy, apparently wakes up after suffering a mild concussion, revealing that the bulk of the film had presumably been a dream. It's that bad. Overall: To be quite honest, I was never a huge fan of comedian/musician Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis comedies of the 1950s. Nevertheless, I do understand, if some people love them. Lewis does have a funny zany side to him, even if he's highly annoying, and Martin does have the beautiful singing voice, and straight man, cool factor. However, I can't recommended any of them in seeing this movie. I rather slip on a banana peel, than watch this movie, again. It's that bad.
mark.waltz
This is the type of movie where you may laugh in spite of rolling your eyes. You're not laughing at the jokes, you're laughing at the wretched comedy team (Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo) and the ridiculous attempts at humor they make with this dumb story. It just reminded me of another Z-grade classic ("The Bride of the Gorilla") which I really found myself enjoying in spite of how obviously bad it was. It's all set on some deserted island where the Caucasian actors dressed as natives simply recite lines like "Ooga Booga" to make it appear that they are speaking a native dialect. Then, there's the New England born Charlita who speaks with no accent whatsoever and the heavyset midwestern born Muriel Landers who chases the Jerry Lewis rip-off Petrillo and tries to feed him just so she can get him as fat as her. It's all ridiculously silly, especially when Bela Lugosi is introduced into the plot as a mad scientist doing evolution experiments in a Pickfair like mansion on the other side of the island.On this island of dumb souls, Lugosi experiments with various forms of anthropoidic life, especially an adorable young chimp named Ramona who takes a shine to Petrillo. (Perhaps she just feels satisfied knowing that there's a human being she's actually smarter than.) Petrillo keeps getting locked in Ramona's cage (or ends up with Ramona in his bed) or chased by Landers while Mitchell falls for Charlita who is the unwanted recipient of Lugosi's affections. The jealous Bela decides to get rid of his romantic rival by turning him into an ape which leads to a few funny sequences where Petrillo discovers Ramona missing and the ape version of Mitchell in his place. One hilarious blooper occurs when Lugosi gives Ramona a shot to turn her back into a baby, and Ramona changes into a spider monkey!Every time Mitchell breaks into a rock song, I just wanted to cringe, and ultimately just fast-forwarded. Even so, in his ape suit, he is very funny while trying to croon a tune to let Sammy know who is really underneath all that hair. Then comes the chase between the bad guys and the good guys leading to a silly finale where a definite let-down is revealed, making you wish you were back on Gilligan's Island where there was at least a laughtrack to let you know where you were supposed to giggle or shake your head in reluctant amusement. Lugosi comes off as pretty unscathed here, although it is obvious he was starting to tire of the drivel he had been given since the early 40's, even though he never plays the role as anything but serious. One thing in Petrillo's performance which is interesting are the Jewish references he makes, starting off with a subtle "Oy vey" and moving to more obscure Yiddish phrases non-Jews might not know, like "oy gevalt" and finally referring to his fear of being considered "mashugana". As to Lugosi's name being listed in the title and his name not re-appearing in the credits, all it can be attributed to is the fact that without mentioning any names (including Lugosi or Dracula), Petrillo seems to recognize him as that fiend who goes around biting unsuspecting children on the neck.
ferbs54
The logo at the beginning of 1952's "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla" reveals that this is a "Realart Picture," and while I would certainly hesitate to call this film an instance of "real art," I can now attest that it IS real fun. In it, the poor man's Martin & Lewis, Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, playing themselves, accidentally fall out of an airplane and land on the Pacific island of Cola-Cola, where they are rescued by friendly natives. The chief's daughter, Nona (played by a pretty actress called only Charlita), falls for the charms of good-looking crooner Duke, while her 200-lb. sister, Saloma (amusingly portrayed by Muriel Landers), takes a hot-blooded fancy for Sammy. Dr. Zabor, the only other "white man" on the island, and played by you know who, soon decides that Duke is the perfect test subject for his recent devolution experiments.... Anyway, I must admit how easily this silly confection went down with me. The goofball humor is so very stoopid that it strangely becomes quite funny, and it really is remarkable how much Petrillo looks and sounds like the 1950s' Jerry Lewis. (No wonder Jerry felt compelled to slap a cease-and-desist order on him!) Bela, a graduate of the Budapest Academy of Theatrical Arts, plays his role absolutely straight here and maintains his dignity; he may have been addicted to painkillers at the time, but this particular film is surprisingly painless! A twist ending at the tail end of the picture does much to mitigate some of the silliness and illogic that had come before, and even becomes very P.C. in its treatment of the overweight Saloma. Throw in a couple of nice songs, some cute antics from Ramona the Chimp (aka Cheetah), and a cool man-into-ape transformation and you've got yourself a perfectly acceptable entertainment, finely presented on this crisp-looking Image DVD. To my delighted surprise, I DO recommend this zany picture to both young and old.
