Mighty Joe Young is well-known to geeky film fanciers as a follow-up to 1933’s King Kong. It didn’t have the greatest reputation among my teenage fanboy friends but, seeing it for maybe the first time at TCM Fest this year, it was a daffy, breezy comfort watch.
Released in 1949, it was a chance for another, more lighthearted bite at the giant-simian apple for the Kong team of director Ernest B. Schoedsack, producer/co-writer Merian C. Cooper, and stop-motion pioneer Willis O’Brien. One important addition was a 29-year-old stop-motion artist named Ray Harryhausen. A possible influence on everything from E.T. to Bong Joon-ho’s delightful Okja, Mighty Joe Young differs from all these films in that it is not technically fantasy or science fiction – it’s a simple story about a girl and her amazingly expressive and huge gorilla.
Played by child star Lora Lee Michel in the early scenes and the likable Terry Moore later, irrepressible Jill Young buys a baby gorilla in an unlikely (as in racist) interchange with some African locals. When the inevitable “Can I keep him?” scene comes along, she charms her insanely doting dad. Fortunately, even when Joe gets frightened and mildly homicidal, all it takes is a rendition of Stephen Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer” to calm the young ape.
A decade or so later, Joe is an impressive stop-motion creature but lovable and easily calmed whenever BFF Jill is around bearing bananas and a melody. An insanely optimistic impresario – Robert Armstrong essentially reprising Kong’s Carl Denham – persuades the skeptical young lady that a life in show business may be Joe’s destiny. Western regular and eventual Oscar winner Ben Johnson* is around as Jill’s protector, a good-guy rodeo cowboy. Protection becomes necessary when, against her better judgment, Jill allows Joe to become the main attraction at a lavish Hollywood nightclub. The entertainment is set to include the ape defeating real-life professional strongman Primo Carnera in a game of tug-of-war.
On opening night, things go wrong as quick as you can say “Don’t taunt the giant ape.” Joe has not enjoyed rehearsing for his debut but remains cooperative as long as Jill is nearby. Even as his human develops serious second thoughts about the arrangement, some meanspirited drunks decide it would be fun to give a super-sized ape whiskey. The boozers, and then the city of Los Angeles, find out the hard way that giant apes can’t hold their liquor! But don’t worry too much – this time beauty saves the beast!
Written by Ruth Rose (aka Mrs. Schoedsack) from Merian Cooper’s story, Mighty Joe Young may have been too mild and sweet-spirited for the late 1940s heyday of film noir, especially in comparison to its meaner predecessor. Today, however, it’s easy to see why many young baby boomers – including director John Landis who introduced the screening – bonded with the big monkey. In many respects, the effects and the expressiveness of the movie’s title character represent an improvement on the legendary effects in Kong.
As for the cocktail tie-in, not only do we have an ape getting blitzed on whiskey, but it turns out that the Chez Joe nightclub serves something called The King of Beasts. It could be made something like this…
The King of Beasts – Mighty Joe Young, 1949
2 ounces whiskey (bourbon, rye, etc.)
1 ounce banana liqueur
½ to ¾ ounce coffee liqueur
1-3 dashes chocolate bitters (Angostura or even orange bitters are decent substitutes)
1 slice fresh banana (inevitable garnish)
Combine the liquid ingredients in a mixing glass or tin with plenty of ice. Stir vigorously until you can stir no more so it’s nice, cold, and not absurdly sweet. Strain into a cocktail glass and toss in a fresh banana slice…it floats!
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I largely stuck with 100-proof 1776 Rye as well as delicious but positively beastly Fighting Cock bourbon – a solid 103-proof product that would be a decent buy for an additional $10. Honestly, however, I think any halfway decent whiskey should work fine. Even so, I like it when a strong-tasting whiskey battles sweeter ingredients.
I used a few different coffee liqueurs and, again, they all worked well. Kahlua is the brand you’re most likely to have on hand and there’s nothing wrong with that. I also had good luck with Café Dulce and fancier St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur.
I did a study in price point contrasts with my all-important banana liqueur. Combier Banana Liqueur goes for about $30.00. It’s delicious enough straight that some might prefer it neat. Conversely, I picked up Mr. Boston Crème de Banana for an absurd six or seven bucks. While I initially recoiled and had a flashback to the nastiest medicine I remember from childhood, on the second taste I found it extremely sweet and heavy on the vanilla but still drinkable. How was it in the King of Beasts? Fine. Were the versions with the pricier, classier Combier better than those with Mr. Boston? Probably, but maybe not $23.00 worth. Make your liqueur choice and go ape.
*Rodeo cowboy turned stuntman turned actor Ben Johnson is best known today for his Academy Award-winning turn in The Best Picture Show and as the seriously debauched Tector Gorch in The Wild Bunch. His filmography includes numerous other Western classics, including John Ford’s highly underseen Wagon Master.
