Mighty Joe Young Overview:

Mighty Joe Young (1949) was a Adventure - Fantasy Film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and produced by John Ford and Merian C. Cooper.

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Mighty Joe Young (1949, Ernest B. Schoedsack)

on Apr 13, 2020 From The Stop Button

From the first scene, Mighty Joe Young is concerning. There?s a nice establishing shot of an Africa plantation, with some great matte work, then little White girl on the plantation Lora Lee Michel sees a couple African men passing with a basket. She wants what?s in the basket, so there?s a nice leng... Read full article


Mighty Joe Young (1949)

By Beatrice on Jun 2, 2015 From Flickers in Time

Mighty Joe Young Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack Written by Ruth Rose from an original story by Merian C. Cooper 1949/USA Argosy Pictures First viewing/Netflix rental Sometimes it is good?just to sit there like a little kid and marvel at?some awesome special effects. ?This is a particularly go... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949) (1)

By Jennifer Garlen on Mar 12, 2014 From Virtual Virago

King Kong (1933) gave rise to a whole host of subsequent gorilla movies, beginning with The Son of Kong (1933), but Mighty Joe Young (1949) merits special attention because it marks the feature film debut of one of the greatest innovators in special effects history, Ray Harryhausen, who worked on th... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949) (4)

By Jennifer Garlen on Mar 12, 2014 From Virtual Virago

King Kong (1933) gave rise to a whole host of subsequent gorilla movies, beginning with The Son of Kong (1933), but Mighty Joe Young (1949) merits special attention because it marks the feature film debut of one of the greatest innovators in special effects history, Ray Harryhausen, who worked on th... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949) (3)

By Jennifer Garlen on Mar 12, 2014 From Virtual Virago

King Kong (1933) gave rise to a whole host of subsequent gorilla movies, beginning with The Son of Kong (1933), but Mighty Joe Young (1949) merits special attention because it marks the feature film debut of one of the greatest innovators in special effects history, Ray Harryhausen, who worked on th... Read full article


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Quotes from

Jill Young: [after O'Hara and Crawford have fled] Aren't you afraid of Joe?
Gregg Johnson: I sure am, but I don't want him to know it.


Max O'Hara: We're goin' to Africa- we're gonna lassoo lions.
Windy: But Maxie, you can buy all the lions you want in California!
Windy: [Dramatically] But don't you understand? I'm going to be in terrible danger - in darkest Africa!


Agent: Maxie, I can get you a great act; it can work on a raft.
Max O'Hara: What?
Agent: Monkeys!
Max O'Hara: Aw, nix, cut it out, will ya'?


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Facts about

This film was stop-motion animator Pete Peterson's first animating job. He was hired as a grip but became so enamored with stop-motion while watching Ray Harryhausen work that Willis H. O'Brien allowed him to try his hand at animating some scenes.
When Windy asks Gregg if he is from Texas, Gregg replies, "No, sir, Oklahoma; we rope and ride there, too." Ben Johnson grew up on a ranch near Foraker, Oklahoma, and had been a champion cowboy prior to coming to Hollywood as a horse wrangler.
Though Willis H. O'Brien gets top special-effects billing, Ray Harryhausen actually did 85%-90% of the stop-motion animation for this film, although the animation is based on O'Brien's designs and storyboards.
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Also directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack




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Also produced by John Ford




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Also released in 1949




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