Gorgo Review by Bobby LePire. Edited by Courtney McAllister.

 

This 1961 English production is ‘King Kong’- the capturing and displaying of a massive, heretofore unknown creature- by way of ‘Godzilla’- the titular creature is lizard-esque. Aside from the unique setting, this film is strictly by the numbers. That doesn’t mean there is no quality to be found though.

 

A modern (for the time of release) ship’s crew is salvaging for treasure, when an underwater earthquake causes a volcano to rise up and erupt. This throws the boat hither and thither, which leaves them disrepaired by Nara Island, a part of Gaelic Ireland. After a few days of repairs and dirty looks from the locals, our sailors are just about ready to leave. Nara is then attacked by Gorgo. The monster is captured and brought to London as part of a circus exhibition. It’s then revealed that Gorgo is only an infant, and its mother, dubbed Ogra, goes on the rampage trying to get her son back.

 

As you can see (and as previously stated) the plot is substandard really, and offers very little in the way of surprises. Even the infant versus adult twist isn’t that shocking, and everything feels rushed through. At only 76 minutes, there’s barely any breathing room or time to let major incidents/ reveals sink in. The movie pads itself out with some pointless sequences, as when the flashing bulbs from the world’s dumbest photojournalist who crosses a barrier to get kissing close to Gorgo drives the beast mad and he nearly escapes. The photographer could have waited ten-ish minutes, with the rest of the press, to get sanctioned photos once Gorgo was safe in his cement enclosure. But just because the movie thought it could use another action beat, it pulls this stupidity. How can a move so short feel so padded? It makes no sense.

 

Aside from Gorgo and Ogra, there are only three characters that we really need to concern ourselves with-

• Captain Joe Ryan (Bill Travers), treasure hunter and good captain. He obviously cares about his crew. He has no other personality traits to speak of.

• Sam Slade (William Sylvester), the more trepidatious of our heroes, bonds with the dumbest boy in any movie ever.

• Sean (Vincent Winter), the aforementioned dumb kid. He stows away on the repaired boat only to try to release Gorgo. He clearly knows more than he’s letting on- he says that Gorgo “belongs back in the water” and that trouble will be caused by capturing him- however he doesn’t provide context (his lack of surprise when the mom shows up later on is an indication that he knew about her all along) and thus continues to be an idiot.

 

Sam has a change of heart off screen, after Gorgo has been on display for a very short amount of time. This is a big deal, since Captain Joe Ryan and Sam Slade are the two that not only captured the beast, but also both agreed to the circus touring. Having him just change his mind for no reason- no inciting incidents have happened- is jarring and awkward. He has also been gradually getting closer to Sean, but again offscreen, so the arc the audience is privy to it in fits and starts.

 

The acting is good, with each of the actors exuding exactly the right kind of attitude for their characters, but no one stands out. I imagine that has more to do with how poorly fleshed out the characters are than any real fault of the actors. Bill Travers portrays the dual nature of Joe- his stern, shrewd businessman side and his love for the boat and its crew- fairly well. He makes the character far more complex than anything on the page. William Sylvester brings a lot of gravitas to a role that has most of its character arc offscreen. We sympathize and understand his plight, and that’s all due to the acting. Vincent Winter’s Sean is dumber than dirt, but the actor is plucky, fun, and easy to root for.

 

The special effects cover a wide range. The green screen effects are the worst here, often improperly formatted so the gray outline of where the prop/ set/ miniature/ actor was meant to be is too far one direction or the other of where they actually are. While being driven around London for publicity, Gorgo’s laying down in a giant truck bed, it’s quite clearly just the suit as it’s neither breathing nor moving its eyes; simply no effort was exerted. Four years before this movie was released, Harryhausen’s ‘20 Million Miles To Earth’ was released, and still mostly holds up from a special effects standpoint. Yes, I realize Harryhausen is a special effects god, but most of his films were low budget. Four years on, how are we stumbling backwards?

 

The miniature work though, is quite good, especially once we get to London. The buildings are detailed, look real, and their destruction looks impressive. Also, the suit for Gorgo/ Ogra (I am quite positive it’s the same suit, just with different effect layers) looks good. The tail moves well, the jaw is a bit jerky, but I imagine that’s more to do with age then actually bad effects. The eyes have no emotion behind them, though. The obviously painted on pupil looks dead eyed and never moves. This uncanny valley look is off putting, but luckily, it is only noticeable in close-ups.

 

Despite the story being dumb and cliche this movie is still fun because of the action beats. At such a short runtime, the action never feels repetitive. Gorgo’s initial attack only causes a small amount of damage, but does kill some fishermen. The dumb photojournalist moment leads to some cool flamethrower usage. The ending with Ogra is typical ineffectual military strike/ rampant monster destruction of landmarks, but it is the only time the movie uses this familiar action trope, and it’s totally worth it. Big Ben gets destroyed, and it’s quite a sight to see.

This movie has a large canvas that it paints with, and the unique setting- English countryside/ London- make for a unique looking kaiju film. This is one of only two notable British kaiju films- the tremendously fun ‘Konga’ being the other- that are proper kaiju films, and have any significant reputation. Seeing a quaint English village get demolished is an intriguing and fun spectacle that offers up a nice variant on this kind of action. The social commentary also gets a new spin, this time it’s not nuclear destruction but environmental protection that gets a shout out. It’s heavy handed and the ending line, hoping to have a kind of “...Beauty killed the beast” resonance falls flat, but the attempt is appreciated. All this adds up to a different kind of kaiju film, and despite the flaws, that is worth something.

 

Over the years, this film has gained a cult following. It’s different enough, and moves quickly, so I am not too surprised. I just wished the movie wasn’t so rushed and cheaply made. In the annals of kaiju history, this is nothing more than a footprint crater.