Mighty Joe Young
Fantasy
Warner Bros.  (1949) 94 mins PG

6.9 (1,374 votes)
Lightning struck again when the team behind King Kong reunited to create another towering ape: Mr. Joseph Young. This time the simian is shorter and the jokes tongue-in-cheekier, but the Oscar®-winning Best Special Effects are just as Kong-sized.

A slick nightclub owner (King Kong veteran Robert Armstrong) discovers the giant ape frolicking in Africa as the beloved pet of a young girl (Terry Moore). He brings both to Hollywood as a floor-show sensation, until some no-goods ply Joe with booze and the blitzed behemoth goes bonkers. Highlights such as Armstrong's henchmen trying to lasso Joe cowpoke style, Joe playing tug-of-war with musclemen and plenty of Joe-to-the-rescue action make Mighty Joe Young mighty fine entertainment....

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Cast and Crew
Paul Guilfoyle  ......  Smith
Ben Johnson  ......  Gregg
Robert Armstrong  ......  Max O'Hara
Frank McHugh  ......  Windy
Terry Moore  ......  Jill Young
Regis Toomey  ......  John Young
Director  .....  Ernest B. Schoedsack
Producer  .....  Merian C. Cooper; John Ford
Writer  .....  Merian C. Cooper; Ruth Rose
Notes
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: Wires visible when Joe throws down the piano. (more)

Trivia:
This was the first feature film for which Ray Harryhausen used his newly created stop-motion technique. (more)

Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 2 nominations (more)