The Mighty Gorga (1969)

Nice effects though.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This movie is not only the poor man's version of KING KONG, but it is also plagiarizing it! Circus owner and trapper go to a lost world with creatures that time forgot located at a plateau in Africa to find a giant ape who is worshiped by a tribe. Also they find diamonds and the ape becomes their friend. I saw this movie and let me think. GASP! This is not only plagiarizing KING KONG, it is also plagiarizing THE LOST WORLD (the plateau with dinosaurs as explained in the story from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), SON OF KONG (there is one scene where the ape's finger gets bandaged) and KING SOLOMAN'S MINES (the diamonds). Just like how JOHNNY TEST is plagiarizing DEXTER'S LABORATORY, FAIRLY ODDPARENTS and SCOOBY-DOO (read my comments on those shows). Also the effects are awful with a capital A! Let's start with the dinosaur that Gorga fights. It looks like a combination between an alien and Barney the Dinosaur. Gorga looks crappy. Either it is a paper-mâché mask, decorated kitchen gloves and jacket covered in wigs or they couldn't afford money to buy a whole gorilla suit which is why he is seen from the waist up. Also footage from GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON is seen. Speaking of stop-motion animation, in the late 1970's David L. Hewitt who not only directed this movie, but played the title simian was planning to remake or re-release this movie under the title THE GREAT GORGA (as reported in a February 1978 issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND) with a higher budget and stop-motion models. A stop-motion T-Rex and Stegosaurus were made by Larry Arpin. He also made the ape. He was going to animate these beasts but during that time other studios from across the globe wanted make their own rip-offs and Dave didn't want to get caught in that mess so he called it off. What a pity. It would be a great movie to help other people to get their minds off what Dino De Laurentiis did to KING KONG in 1976. It is available on DVD by Something Weird and it plays double-bill with the porno film, ONE MILLION AC/DC (they both came out in 1969) which features the same dinosaur from that movie. (Read my review and you will thank me for saving time you will never get back.) Bottom line: If you have a knack for finding bad movies, dinosaurs, apes and stop-motion animation then give it a watch. Rated G alright. Bring out the kids so they can learn what a bad movie is and what plagiarism is too. This has been another "Matthew Rants."

The mighty gorga sounded like a good movie,the first time i seen it it was hosted by Elvira,mistress of the dark.it starts off OK,but when the mighty gorga shows up,oh boy its a guy in a k-mart bought ape mask. and then he fights a t-Rex,that is another cheap looking costume.the only good special fx is the creature in the cave(stock footage from Goliath and the dragon)this is a lot worse then plan 9 from outer space. too bad mst3k isn't on anymore this would be perfect for that.i feel bad for the actors who did this.especially Anthony eisly.this ones so cheesy and so cheap.i wonder what the directer was thinking when he filmed it. the mighty gorga is the bottom of the barrel.one out of 10.

"The Mighty Gorga" is probably the worst King Kong rip-off there is. The plot concerns an impecunious circus owner going to a Congo that looks strangely like southern California in search of a giant species of ape that will make his circus some money. Along the way he picks up a woman who is searching for her father (who also wanted to exploit the giant ape), and they encounter a tribe of Indians (played by Caucasian actors) who sustain Gorga on the flesh of maidens so that he doesn't trash their village. The characters wonder what Indians are doing in Africa, but no explanation is ever given (and, incidentally, the only Black person observed during their visit to the Congo speaks English without a foreign accent). In the final scene, the protagonists still haven't captured Gorga, but state their intention to do so although they have no idea how they will transport him back to the States. The special effects are simply unbelievable - the giant ape costume is worse than anything seen in a high school drama production, the one composite shot of the ape and the humans together is pathetic, and the "Indian" scenes (especially the colloquies between the witch doctor and the ape) are like "Gilligan's Island" scenarios; but worst of all is the dinosaur sequence in which the human characters fend off a plastic Tyrannosaur puppet (no exaggeration - it's really that bad) by pelting it with its own eggs, and then observe it being fought to the death by Gorga - this scene is an absolute insult. Even as a devotee of schlock cinema, I was shocked at the ineptitude of this film - it fell far below my already low expectations. If there is a worse giant ape film around, I haven't seen it, and I'd have to see it to believe it.

There are a lot of bad giant ape films. There are also a lot of bad movies which feature less than authentic "African" safaris which are shot on tacky studio back lots with stock footage of wild animals in place of the real thing. Therefore, to stand out in this field is an accomplishment. The Mighty Gorga does. I've seen, and enjoyed, a large number of bad giant ape films and I can assure you they don't come any worse than this one. The only exception might be the Korean made atrocity A*P*E, but its a close call.This film is absolutely awful in every way! So I was thrilled to tape this off TV one night. The ape costume is among the cheapest ever with plastic eyes which do not move. The Witch Doctor character (who also has a 2nd speaking role as a cashier in a booth at the circus near the start of the film) rants and raves a lot about evil "white men" coming to the ape's territory in "Africa" while he offers up "young maidens" as sacrifices to the Mighty Gorga giant ape. Of course the witch doctor is as white as Pat Boone and "Africa" is a few bits of stock footage and the worst movie back lot set imaginable.The special effects are among the worst ever. I especially enjoyed the "fire" scene in the animal trader's complex. Grade Z movie leading man Anthony Eisley and 1 dimensional evil "heavy" Scott Brady team up again after being in the same director's awful Journey to the Center of Time a year or so before.Its hard to convey in words just how awful this movie is. If you enjoy bad films, check this one out! You will be amazed.