Couldn't find a match for this through a search. I didn't know what forum to post this one in, so hopefully this was a good choice, at least given the reissue title of THE HUMAN GORILLA.
A friend brought this film to my place last night and it turned out to be an entertaining little item, if not boasting a unique plotline. It's a noirish low budget film starring Richard Carlson as a private eye pretending to be mentally ill so he can be admitted to an asylum called "La Siesta Sanitarium". A woman reporter believes a corrupt judge is hiding out there and wants Carlson to investigate. Naturally, once our hero gets inside it is revealed that despite its seemingly comforting name, this sanitarium is anything but warm and cozy with its underhanded coordinator and nasty attendants.
This is a very short (62 minutes) and tightly wound film that moves and is well photographed with shadowy detail. Carlson is quite good in it, and I spotted former Our Gang child star Dickie Moore as a patient. I never knew Tor Johnson was in this movie, but he's here as a hulking punch drunk inmate in a padded cell who goes into his wild boxing antics whenever sadistic guards taunt him by tapping bell-like ringing sounds from outside his cage! I really want to get myself a copy of this film, but imagine my frustration when I later learned that it's also known under the name of THE HUMAN GORILLA, and recalling that I once owned it as part of a "horror" triple feature DVD which I eventually unloaded before getting around to watching that title!
A friend brought this film to my place last night and it turned out to be an entertaining little item, if not boasting a unique plotline. It's a noirish low budget film starring Richard Carlson as a private eye pretending to be mentally ill so he can be admitted to an asylum called "La Siesta Sanitarium". A woman reporter believes a corrupt judge is hiding out there and wants Carlson to investigate. Naturally, once our hero gets inside it is revealed that despite its seemingly comforting name, this sanitarium is anything but warm and cozy with its underhanded coordinator and nasty attendants.
This is a very short (62 minutes) and tightly wound film that moves and is well photographed with shadowy detail. Carlson is quite good in it, and I spotted former Our Gang child star Dickie Moore as a patient. I never knew Tor Johnson was in this movie, but he's here as a hulking punch drunk inmate in a padded cell who goes into his wild boxing antics whenever sadistic guards taunt him by tapping bell-like ringing sounds from outside his cage! I really want to get myself a copy of this film, but imagine my frustration when I later learned that it's also known under the name of THE HUMAN GORILLA, and recalling that I once owned it as part of a "horror" triple feature DVD which I eventually unloaded before getting around to watching that title!
----------------------
"It's MORE ... than a hobby!"
"It's MORE ... than a hobby!"
