"Gorgo" (1961) [Kaijuly]


by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Gorgo which is part of our 2nd annual “Kaijuly” look at some giant monster films (of which we both love thanks to seeing them in our childhood of the 60s and 70s).


Synopsis
Greedy sailors capture a giant lizard off the coast of Ireland and sell it to a London circus, inciting the wrath of the creature's much-larger mother.


The Good
Joseph: I have a soft spot for Gorgo. Heck, I have one for Reptilicus, so of course I also have one for Gorgo. I was a young, young youngster when I saw it on TV for the first time — most likely on Sacramento, California’s KCRA channel 3’s Saturday afternoon CPM Theater, which specialized in creature features and science fiction movies. I remember being touched at that tender age by the mother-and-child-monster story, and the reveal about the first Gorgo being a mere child was a surprise to me. The sets still look great, and seem to have some heft to them rather than being merely boards glued together. Gorgo’s rubber-suit design is a blast.

Mike: My first exposure to Gorgo was in the comic books by Steve Ditko, not realizing it was a movie until Godzilla, Gamera, and their respective rogues galleries were ingrained into my brain.  So when I realized there was a movie it had lofty goals to reach and, for the most part, it did.  The destruction of London is quite well done with none of the buildings looking particularly flimsy, although some of the rear projection scenes look a bit clumsy and phony. 
As a kid I wasn’t too concerned with the story of a mother looking for her child, I just wanted to see monsters doing monster stuff, but now as an adult the story resonates a bit more having been a parent for the past 30 some years.  Of course the greedy men who take the baby Gorgo back to London to make a few bucks were then, and still are, the bad guys in all of this - that I was able to see that as a kid is probably because of my hippie parents and their no love lost for “the man” mindsets.
Gorgo herself looks impressive, rivaling some of the best early Godzilla iterations, and a step above Gamera, although her lack of any type of fire or bean weapon was a minus to young Mike.  As an adult, just seeing it casually walk through Piccadilly Circus and topple the Tower Bridge is good enough thanks to the tight effects.


The Bad
Joseph: Precocious kids in monster movies are almost always a minus for me, and although this youngster is far less obnoxious than most of his cinematic cohorts, I still find him simply a token audience surrogate for the kids . . . which I guess isn’t all bad. Cynics might say that Gorgo is just a western-world attempt at reworking 1954’s Godzilla, but the more monsters, the merrier for yours truly.

Mike: For a short(ish) movie, Gorgo feels a little long which is owed to some of the pacing early on when it deals with the sailors and the harbormaster.  For younger viewers the mother-in-search of a child angle may not be apparent until it becomes painfully obvious, so it’s most likely going to seem like a slogging Godzilla-wannabe.  There’s also the aforementioned surprisingly bad rear-projection scenes which seem like they were done by someone other than those who dealt with the destruction shots and all of the suitmation work.


The Verdict
Joseph: Gorgo is a classic with a lower case “c” for me, as a big part of my childhood monster kid fandom — I even had a few of the Charlton comic books — and I have to imagine a lot of fellow monster kids feel the same way. It’s also a nice all-ages creature feature to introduce today’s young ‘uns to the genre. If, like me, you hadn’t seen Gorgo for quite a few years, I think it holds up well.   

Mike: As a kid I was never too enamored with Gorgo, seeing it as more of a rubbish Godzilla who couldn’t even breathe fire or shot an atomic ray.  As an adult, I am far more open to its place in the daikaiju pantheon and respect it for what it is.  The shots of destruction and the suit itself are both stellar and well done, with some of the destruction looking far more realistic than those in the Godzilla or Gamera films which may be the saving grace for younger viewers who may bore quickly at the slow start of the film, expecting more of what comes later to happen sooner.
Gorgo is certainly a worthy addition to any monster-fan’s collection.


Gorgo
, from King Brothers Productions, is available via streaming and physical media


Gorgo
Directed By: Eugène Lourié
Written By: Robert L. Richards, Daniel James
Starring: Bill Travers, William Sylvester, Vincent Winter
Run Time: 1h 18m
Rating:  NR
Release Date: March 29, 1961 (United States)








Comments