Konga * (1961, Michael Gough, Margo Johns, Jess Conrad, Austin Trevor, George Pastell) – Classic Movie Review 8054

Director John Lemont’s hilariously dreadful old 1961 British horror movie Konga stars Michael Gough as crazy botanist Dr Charles Decker, who finds how to grow plants and animals to an enormous size and experiments on his pet ape, baby chimp Konga, and then uses him to kill his rivals, including Dean Foster (Austin Trevor) and Professor Tagore (George Pastell). Konga grows to an enormous size and wreaks havoc on London.

‘Not since King Kong has the screen exploded with such mighty fury and spectacle!’ they claimed. Mmm, well, hardly. Konga proves no competition for the mighty Kong.

Konga could have a place in the ‘so bad it’s good’ category if you are in the mood to laugh at rotten movies. Gough sends it up and lets nothing ruffle his cool in this awesomely inept Sixties ‘chiller’ that provides much mirth and merriment. You expect it to be black and white, but actually it is shot in Eastmancolor.

The so-called original story is by Aben Kandel and Herman Cohen.

Director Tim Burton saw this movie and liked it and, as a reward, gave Gough the part of the butler Alfred in his Batman movies, Batman and Batman Returns.

Also in the cast are Margo Johns, Jess Conrad, Claire Gordon, Jack Watson, Vanda Godsell, Stanley Morgan, Leonard Sachs, Nicholas Bennett, Kim Tracy, Rupert Osborne, Waveney Lee, John Welsh and Grace Arnold. Steven Berkoff plays a student on field trip and Herman Cohen is seen as the first man buying a newspaper.

Konga [also known as I Was a Teenage Gorilla] is directed by John Lemont, runs 90 minutes, is made by Merton Park Studios, released by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK) and American International Pictures (US), is written by Aben Kandel and Herman Cohen (original story and screenplay), is shot in Eastmancolor by Desmond Dickinson, is produced by Herman Cohen, Nat Cohen, Stuart Levy (executive producer) and Jim O’Connolly (associate producer), is scored by Gerard Schurmann and is designed by C Wilfred Arnold.

It was shot at Merton Park Studios, Merton, London, and on location in Croydon High Street, London (for the film’s climax), and the former Whitelands College (now Essex College) in Sutherland Grove, Putney, London. It cost $500,000 to make.

Cohen hired renowned ape actor George Barrows’s gorilla costume, and then hired actor Paul Stockman as a good fit for the costume, which was returned from England in bad condition, upsetting Barrows. 

Sandra Banks (played by Claire Gordon) gets her lower arm trapped in one of the small carnivorous Venus Flytraps but then vanishes from the movie unexplained.

Charlton Comics did an adaptation of the film a year before its release, which started a highly successful comic series.

Jess Conrad was born as Gerald James on 24 February 1936 in London.

Pop singer Jess Conrad, who plays Bob Kenton, was to sing a song in the film but it was cut.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8054

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